French Literature Reviews - 2026
Th. Groensteen, La Bande dessinée au tournant
Art and Visual Culture
Thierry Groensteen, La Bande dessinée au tournant
Brussels: Les Impressions nouvelles, 2017.
128 p.
EAN 9782874494369
12.00 EUR
Publisher's overview:
Comics are currently at a turning point in their history. Their social image has improved considerably, and their cultural legitimacy is scarcely debated anymore. Yet these developments—which make comics an increasingly well-identified and recognized medium—are taking place at a time when the market, emerging from a period of continuous growth, is experiencing a genuine crisis that impacts both publishers' profit margins and authors' incomes.
In the framework of the États généraux de la bande dessinée (General Estates of Comics), launched in January 2015 to "provide as exhaustive an assessment and analysis of the situation as possible," this short book takes a timely look at recent developments in publishing production, the feminization of the profession, the rise of non-fiction, the state of alternative publishing, the proliferation of specialized educational programs, the breakthrough of comics into the art market, their place in academia, and several other topical issues.
Table of contents:
Ten years later, are comics still an unidentified cultural object?
1. Publishing: the world where books are made
More publishers, rising production
A strained economy detrimental to authors
Major maneuvers
The rediscovery of heritage
The hydra as a new hero archetype
Emerging new genres
The evolution of formats and mediums
The feminization of the profession
How to remain alternative?
2. Reception, mediation, valorization: the world where value is created
Cultural policies
Education in the midst of transformation
How comics are becoming a research subject in academia
New critical phase
When comics are put on display
Printing plates... or printing money?
In search of a future
linking to the proceedings of the first Rencontres nationales de la bande dessinée (September 2016)
The medium of comics has long occupied a complex position between popular entertainment and recognized art, prompting ongoing discussion regarding its cultural standing. Scholars and critics frequently examine how structural changes in the publishing industry intersect with evolving readership patterns and institutional recognition. Thierry Groensteen investigates these dynamics by focusing on the contemporary state of the field, drawing upon observations connected to recent professional assemblies and debates concerning the socioeconomic realities of authors and publishers.
This volume addresses a range of contemporary topics concerning the evolution of the medium, including publishing production, educational programs, and the presence of comics within academic and art market contexts. Readers interested in contemporary French and Francophone comics studies, as well as the sociology of cultural production, may find this overview relevant.
William Foix, writing for Non-Fiction, has recently published a review of Thierry Groensteen's work.