Swiss Review 2/2019

Swiss Review / March 2019 / No.2 12 5 cult Swiss graphic novels “Les pilules bleues” Frederik Peeters Atrabile ISBN 978-2-9700165-6-4 31 CHF “Damen Dramen” Anna Sommer Edition Moderne ISBN 978-3-907010-91-4 26 CHF “Le Guêpier” (volume 1) Stéphane Ceppi Casterman ISBN 2203335157 out of stock “The Number - 73304-23- 4153-6-96-8” Thomas Ott Fantagraphics Books ISBN 9781560978756 33 CHF “Souviens-toi, Jonathan”, Cosey Le Lombard ISBN 2803613107 out of stock Culture FrenchNational Book Center (CNL) in which grants are allocated by juries of experts. In Switzerland, the only such resources are a small number of can- tonal grants; federal support for graphic novels is not bestowed by teams of experts, with comic art being classed simply as another form of de- sign. But in spite of everything, the Swiss comic scene may well be on its way to achieving recognition from the public authorities, particularly in French-speaking areas where cities like Lausanne and Geneva are work- ing on plans for a centre of the “ninth art”. “Swiss comic art is earning Ge- neva a solid place amongst the gen- re’s major hubs, alongside Paris, Brussels and Angoulême,” insists TomTirabosco, who chairs the Swiss Comics Artists Association. Since 1997, Geneva has rewarded works of exceptional quality with the Rodol- phe Töpffer awards. Switzerland also houses the Cartoonmuseum in Basel and hosts three major festivals: BD- FIL, Fumetto and Delémont’BD. Ad- ditional events are celebrated in Ai- gle (VD), Belfaux (FR), Tramelan (BE) and Lugano (TI). Publishers working with Europe The Swiss publishing scene is active too, with publishing houses like Atrabile focusing on “underground” graphic novels and Paquet publish- ing work throughout Europe. RVB, a group led by Genevan artist Yannis La Macchia, also publishes work in digital format. In German-speaking Switzerland, Swiss comics are pres- ent in magazines such as “Ampel”, published by a collective in Lucerne, and “Strapazin” based in Zurich. “Moderne” also published the latest piece by Anna Sommer (see image opposite), whose work has been translated into French. When asked if there is a “Swiss” comic style, Zep replies: “Perhaps in the approach to the profession, which has developed in simultaneously multicultural and isolated surroundings.” Comics emerged from the alternative scene Born in 1799, Genevese satirist Rodolphe Töpffer is considered the founder of comic art, or “the ninth art” as it is known in French. “Töpffer wrote short stories in which he inserted drawings to support his text. He set out all of the elements of the contemporary comic,” explains Dominique Ber- lie, the councillor responsible for culture for the City of Geneva. Layout, panels, effects of repetition, arc of suspense: through these inventions, the self-taught creator of “graphic literature” met international success with his “Histoire de Monsieur Jabot” (see page 10), amongst other titles. “He also presented a theory to back up his art and received support from Goethe, who saw something important in it,” recalls Dominique Berlie. Jana Jakoubek continues: “After Töpffer, everything went quiet in Switzer- land for a long time.” “In the 1960s and 1970s came a comic that was to sell at an interna- tional level. It was an alternative piece linked to the world of squats, pub- lished in left-wing posters and newspapers,” says Dominique Berlie. In the 1970s, Genevan artists Ceppi and Poussin travelled to Paris where they worked with several large-scale publishing houses. Then, at the be- ginning of the 1990s, the Genevan magazine “Sauve qui peut” published the work of artists from the world of applied art, paving the way for voices of the new generation: Zep, Wazem, Baladi, Helge Reumann, Peeters and Tirabosco, amongst others. In his youth, Zep offered his work to the local daily newspapers, but was unenthusiastically received. Yet the future creator of the “Guide du zizi sexuel” was soon relieved to see the work of his contemporaries emerging in the media. “The success of people like Derib, the author of Yakari, made me believe that I could break through in this profession,” he explains. Zep also talks of his meeting with Cosey, the creator of “In Search of Peter Pan”. “I love the mountains and I recognised a part of my- self in the contemplative narratives set in the Pennine Alps. It showed we could tell our own Swiss stories at a time where Parisian comics were far removed from such themes.” The next generation of Swiss comic artists is making itself heard, Dominique Berlie assures us, citing notably authors like Peggy Adam, Isabelle Pralong and Guillaume Long. In German-speaking Switzerland, Tom Tirabosco mentions the Schwyz-born painter Andreas Gefe, while Jana Jakoubek highlights work by the young Noemi Laake and Andreas Kiener from Lucerne, both active members of the “Ampel” group and magazine. (SH)