As a result of cooperation with the French Embassy and the French Institute in Podgorica, the organizers of the Herceg Novi Comics Festival had the opportunity last week to attend the world’s most prestigious comics festival in Angoulême (Festival international de la bande dessinée d’Angoulême). There, they presented HSF and Herceg Novi as a destination to numerous authors, publishers, comic book enthusiasts, and festival organizers, with whom future collaborations in this field are possible.
“For this occasion, we translated HSF’s promotional materials into French and complemented them with promotional materials about Herceg Novi, also in French. The design of the materials was handled by the brilliant comic artist Filip Andronik. We were given a fantastic welcome in Angoulême and had the opportunity to present our Festival and our city as accredited professionals. The festival takes place at dozens of different locations throughout a city that completely breathes comics and visual art. The Grand Prix of Angoulême is the highest honor a comic artist can receive in their lifetime. Our visit was extremely successful, as our presentations attracted great attention, and we also arranged numerous joint projects with international partners, which will be discussed in the near future,” stated HSF.
Another result of this collaboration with France is the spectacular special guests who will visit Herceg Novi from September 5 to 10 this year for the 19th edition of the Herceg Novi Comics Festival. First among equals is the global superstar François Boucq, a Grand Prix winner of the Angoulême Festival in 1998 and a recipient of numerous other international awards!
Boucq was born in Lille and began his career as a visual artist by drawing short comics for various magazines in France. His closest style is realistic drawing, but he has also achieved remarkable success in political caricature and absurd comedy. In the late 1970s, he dedicated himself to graphic novels and, together with his friend, screenwriter Philippe Delan, created the well-known character Rock Mastard. Following this, he successfully worked simultaneously on comic magazines and as an artist for famous comic series, establishing himself as one of Europe’s top authors.
Soon after, he began collaborating with perhaps the greatest comic book writer of all time, Alejandro Jodorowsky, on the series The Face of the Moon. He continued producing successful works, particularly with the adventures of the striking character Jérôme Moucherot. Later, he reunited with Jodorowsky on one of today’s best and best-selling comic series—Bouncer.
Boucq is undoubtedly among the most elite comic book stars, and his arrival at HSF, along with the already announced Argentinian Eduardo Risso, confirms the world-class status and exceptional reputation that the Herceg Novi Comics Festival holds in both European and global circles.