Bill Watterson exhibit highlight of Angouleme International Comic Art Festival

This last weekend was the Angouleme International Comic Art Festival in France. Reports say the annual event had extra security due to the recent terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo publication last month. Last year’s Grand Prix winner, Bill Watterson, did not attend, but instead OSU Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum’s Jenny Robb and Caitlin McGurk went on his behalf and exhibited his work from this early exhibit last spring.

More about Jenny and Caitlin’s trip from Michael Canva:

?We are being brought over as guests of the festival, essentially to represent Bill Watterson and the exhibit,? McGurk tells The Post?s Comic Riffs. ?Bill Watterson ? does not do public appearances, so Jenny and I are assuming the role of being the next-best-thing,? adds McGurk, with a winking ?sorry to disappoint!?

?However, being that there are barely any photos of Watterson online, maybe I can convince a few people that I?m him,? McGurk says with a laugh. ?The exhibit that we curated will be on display at the Angoulême Festival, along with a small exhibit of the History of the American Newspaper Comics that Jenny Robb also curated.

This year’s winners were also announced. The Grand Prix winner is Katsuhiro Otomo, creator of the Akira.

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