From press illustration to ‘Le BD-reportage’

The tradition of press illustration• The roots of ‘le BD reportage’ can be found in

traditional press caricatures and drawings such as those that developed in the 19th century.

• For example, La Caricature, founded by Daumier, wasa weekly satirical journal which ran between 1830 and 1843 and which commented on social and politicalaffairs, in the same way that Charlie Hebdo and itscontemporaries do today.

• In the journal, Daumier was known to continually attack King Louis Philippe I, depicting him as a pear.

• As the journal became increasingly prominent in the opposition to the King, it became more controversial, and was seized over 12 times, with the publishers being prosecuted and one jailed for a year.

By Honoré Daumier after the sketch by Charles Philipon. Published in La Caricature in 1831

• Satirical journals handled news stories and political and social subjectshumorously, using caricatures and comical drawings.

• Amongst the many satirical periodicals that appeared during the 20th century, some notable names are Le Rire (1894-1950), L’assiette au beurre (1901- 1936), Le crapouillot (1915-1996), Hara kiri (1960-1985), Charlie Hebdo (1970-), SinéMensuel (2008-)

Jean Bosc ChavalCaran d’Ache Benjamin Rabier

Charlie Hebdo – an overview• Weekly satirical BD journal, established in 1970, following the ban

of its predecessor Hara-Kiri.• Publications then ceased for more than a decade between 1981 et

1992.• In 2006, Charlie Hebdo published controversial caricatures of the

prophet Muhammad, which originally appeared in the Danishjournal Jyllands-Posten and triggered violent protests worldwide, attempted terrorist plots against the newspaper and its employees, and the paper to face legal action from a number of associations.

• In 2011, the paper’s offices in Paris were firebombed afterpublishing another caricature of the prophet.

• In January 2015, Charlie Hebdo’s new offices were attacked by twoIslamist gunmen, who opened fire, killing 12 of which 5 were the journal’s top cartoonists.

After the attacks• In the aftermarth, some commentators have reported that the newpaper is struggling to fill the gap

left by the loss of their household name cartoonists, as young creatives fear they will have to censortheir work or risk being attacked.

• Although this is partially true, it is also key to take into account that, being the successor of Hara-Kiri, who dubbed themselves ‘bête et méchant’ (stupid and malicious), the left-wing, almostanarchical, editing of Charlie Hebdo, along with its aggressive sense of humour, especially againstreligion, just doesn’t appeal to everyone.

• While the drawings produced in response to the attack were based on freedom of speech, the emotions the event triggered and tributes to the deceased, it is also important to note that, for some, despite what had happened, the drawings demonstrated their conviction to continuing their work.

Banksy Charles Bataille Nawak Willis de Tunis

How press illustration can lead to ‘le BD-reportage’• Although press drawing and BDs are different modes of expression,

the two are created by the same people, illustrators, and thereforeare not mutually exclusive.

• For authors, work for newspapers and magazines is a more regularsource of income than working on projects themselves, and, likeblogs, press work can serve as a portfolio and attract publishers.

• For the newspapers and magazines, illustrations can enhanceimportant articles and, especially if the artist is already wellknown, their work can become part of the paper’s brand image.

• Some authors work more readily on topical issues and real facts than fiction, and therefore they are more able to go between the two modes, the press and BD.

Journalism in BD – ‘Le BD-reportage’

• As a part of new BD trends, there has been a rise in the number of BDs based on current affairs produced, eitherby the authors becoming press reporters themselves, or by working in cooperation with journalists.

• This new genre, ‘Le BD-reportage’, includes biographies, the documentation of travels and alternative depictions of high profile trials, handling political, economic and social subject matter.

• These types of titles have appeared increasingly in the last decade or so, especially since the publication of Joe Sacco’s ‘Palestine’ series in 1996.

Why ‘Le BD-reportage’?• In his book, BD author Chappatte demonstrates how ‘Le BD-reportage’ allows

the reader to experience the humanity behind the news. Here he explains whatmotivated him:

‘In civilian life, I am a cartoonist. It is a wonderful profession. You can launch your attacks while sitting comfortably at your desk. But after a while, I wanted to see up close the places and faces that make the news. In 1995, I also became a ‘BD reporter’. ‘Le Temps’ of Geneva sent me on the ground and had my stories published in full pages; other press, such as ‘Courrier International’ and the ‘International Herald Tribune’ have then reproduced them.Why drawings, when the news is filled with images, photos, videos? I think the black line [of a drawing], in its starkness, allows the reader to relate in a unique way: it absorbs the account of a victim, for example, without being disturbed or distracted by the invasiveness of a photographic image. The drawing enables us to see without voyeurism.What I draw, I saw. There, I work like any journalist, conducting interviews, making pictures. Yet I also dwell on anecdotes about my emotions and my doubts – things that are banned by journalistic rules, but that are the essence of reality.The press, in search of new ways to communicate stories, have begun to acknowledge the interest of cartoon, and its ability to take the reader to places they’ve never been before. In the future, in newspapers, on the internet or on television, drawing will help us more and more to report the world around us.’

— ‘BD Reporter, du Printemps arabe aux coulisses de l’Elysée’, Éditions Glénat, 2011

What makes ‘Le BD-reportage’ different?

• We live in a time when the press is facing a crisis, unableto sustain themselves in a society that is rapidlybecoming exclusively digital, and the job of a journalistno longer stable.

• It is therefore even more surprising and admirable that‘Le BD-reportage’ has become so successful.

• In the Courrier International’s special May 2015 editiondedicated to the BD, Eva Hilhorst, 45-year-old Dutch cartoonist, explains pictorally why she believes that ‘Le BD reportage’ has flourished :

‘Over the course of the last 20 years, the way in whichwe keep ourselves ‘up-to-date’ has changed a lot.

Amongst this chaos, a formof ‘slow journalism’ (where reporters are given the time they need to investigate and seek out untold stories and angles, valuing meaning over mere information) has emerged.

Before, BDs were intended for children.

With Maus, Art Speigelmanshowed that BDs can also handle serious subjects for adults.

Joe Sacco was the first journalist to use BD. He spent several months in war zones, such as in ex-Yugoslavia and Palestine, where he drew the accounts of ordinary people in BD form.’

‘Lots of cartoonists picture themselves in their accounts.

Joe Sacco, for example. Why didn’t he draw hiseyes?

The reader can identifybetter with faces drawnwith simple features. They are absorbed by the story.

By drawing themselvesinto the BD, the cartoonists show thatthey were really there.

They can literallytranscribe interviews.

But how can they do that? Since the cartoonists cannot seethemselves, can theydraw truthfully?’

‘Objectivity: A cartoon isnot objective! It is an interpretation!

But: this is not a pipe… A photo too is an interpretation.

A photo changes if it istaken 10 seconds toolate, or if the framing of the composition ischanged, or if it isretouched on Photoshop.

The STRENGTH of graphic journalism :

Complicated subjects are explained in a simple and expressive way.

The BD works well on tablets, often combinedwith sound or video.

‘Maps and graphics canprovide lots of information.

A drawing of a veryexplicit scene is lesssevere than a photo, meaning that the readerwon’t look away.

A cartoonist can work in places where cameras are not allowed, and people are less afraid of giving accounts, as theycannot be identifiedthrough drawings.

Metaphors reinforce the message that the cartoonist is trying to put across.’

Eva Hilhorst, 2014,Courrier International, n° 1280 13th-20th May 2015

‘Le BD-reportage’ – examples• ‘Quai d’Orsay’ by Antonin Baudry and

illustrator Christophe Blain was inspired by Baudry’s experience at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (known colloquially as Quai d'Orsay, after its location in Paris).

• After having followed François Hollandeon his presidential campaign in his first book, Mathieu Sapin has returned with another insider, ‘Le Château’, in which he tells us of the year he wormed his way into the Élysée Palace and what happensbehind those closed doors.

‘Le BD-reportage’ – examples• ‘Le Procès Carlton’, Boucq’s newest title,

illustrates the reports of journalist Pascal-Robert Diard on the trial of those involved in the scandalous Carlton Affair, in which officials and high-ranking businessmen, including former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, were accused of using corporate funds to facilitate the running of a prostitution ring.

• Guy Delisle’s ‘Chroniques de Jérusalem’ (2011) recounts his one-year stay in Beit Hanina with Médecins Sans Frontières, which won the AngoulêmeInternational Comics Festival Prize for Best Album in 2012.

‘Le BD-reportage’ – examples• In ‘Le Photographe’, Emmanuel Guibert tells the story

of a another team of Médecins sans Frontières between Pakistan and Afghanistan, then occupied by the USSR in 1986. Based on the testimony and photographs of Didier Lefèvre, the three volume series mixes drawing and photojournalism.

• France was the first country in the world to officially ban the hydraulic fracturing technique for the exploration and exploitation of shale gas. Yet the case is not closed. In the non-fiction thriller that is ‘Energies Extrêmes’, Daniel Blancou, investigates the issue.

• Collaborating with Yan Lindingre, Denis Robert has published the results of his examination of ‘L’affaire des affaires’, the political Clearstream scandal of 2007.

‘Le BD-reportage’ – Periodicals

• There are a number of periodicals that regularly publishBande Dessinée reports:

• XXL – founded in January 2008, published quarterly, dedicates a third of its pages to BD.

• La revue dessinée – founded in 2013, publishedquarterly, as the title suggests, is completely presentedin BD form.

• 24H01 – Belgian publication, founded in October 2013, published bi-annually, publishes a number of BD illustrators.