The first edition of this award ceremony recognized nine titles illustrating the vitality and diversity of Anglo-Saxon comics, which are not limited to superheroes.
While superhero films and series have colonized screens for around twenty years, the comics from which they come remain largely unknown to the French. Independent comics without superheroes, too, are often shunned by comic book fans, despite their undeniable qualities and the remarkable work carried out by a handful of French publishers. Since the end of Walking Dead, rare are the comic books to appear in the French top 50.
To restore visibility to the genre, the specialized podcast First Print created the First Print Awards, the ceremony of which was held on Friday, December 6 at the Club de l’Étoile, in Paris, in front of a packed room. Journalists Arnaud Tomasini and Olivier-Corentin Mouchon from First Print, supported by the Pulp’s bookstore chain, financed the event thanks to a participatory prize pool. The sponsor of this first edition was Run, founder of Label 619 (Frontier ) and creator of the series Mutafukaz.
First Print
Here is the complete list:
- Grand prix First Print : The Shaolin Cowboy, tome 4, For a handful of rednecks by Geof Darrow, translated by Lorraine Darrow and published by Futuropolis.
- Bookseller prices: Inside by Will McPhail, translated by Basile Béguerie and published by 404 Graphic
- Audience Award: It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood, translated by Maxime Le Dain and published by HiComics.
- Best superhero one-shot: The Riddler – Year One by Paul Dano and Stevan Subic, translated by Jérôme Wicky, published by Urban Comics.
- Best superhero series: Wonder Woman – Outlaw, volume 1, by Tom King and Daniel Sampere, translated by Thomas Davier, published by Urban Comics.
- Best independent one-shot: The Good Asian by Pornsak Pichetshote and Alexandre Tefenkgi, translated by Benjamin Viette, published by Komics Initiative.
- Best independent series: Kaijumax, volume 3, by Zander Cannon, translated by Florent Degletagne and published by Bliss editions.
- Best youth album: Friday, volume 3, by Ed Brubaker and Marcos Martin, translated by Basile Béguerie, published by Glénat.
- Claude-Vistel Heritage Comics Prize: Garçonnes, the forgotten authors of the Roaring Twenties by Trina Robbins, translated by Marie-Paule Noël, published by Bliss.
In addition to the well-known publishing houses Urban Comics, Glénat and Futuropolis, let us note the presence of more modest but equally valuable publishers: Bliss, HiComics and Komics Initiative, of which we recently reviewed The Goldsmith.
The composition of the different juries
In all, nine prizes were awarded, including six by a grand jury composed of Anna Cazalis (bookseller at Pulp’s Comics), Nivraë (content creator and podcaster), Daniel Andreyev (specialist journalist), Le Commis des comics (videographer) , Frédérick Sigrist (comedian and host of the show Blockbusters on France Inter), Arnaud Tomasini and Olivier-Corentin Mouchon, creators of First Print.
The booksellers’ prize, for its part, was awarded by a jury composed of professionals made up of Christopher Maloine (Comics Zone), Frank Laperche (Alfa BD), Guillaume Clavery (Comptoir du rêve Comics), Damien Rameaux (Astro City), Simon Combaldieu (Excalibur Comics), Bruno Cosnier (Pulp’s Bordeaux) and Benoît Minville (Fnac La Défense). Arnaud Tomasini and Olivier-Corentin Mouchon also chose the grand prize and some 600 Internet users selected the public prize.