ANGOULEME (France): From the Iranian creator of “Persepolis” to cutting-edge artists from Seoul or South Africa, star authors joined some 200,000 fans this week for the world’s biggest comic book showcase.

Once a year the sleepy southwestern town of Angouleme turns into the capital of the comic book industry, playing host to a star-studded marathon of book signings, talent scouting, live drawing, screenings, round-tables and concerts.

Marjane Satrapi, whose groundbreaking comic novel on growing up in 1980s Iran was turned into an Oscar-nominated movie, was a star guest among the 1,000 authors invited to this year’s four-day event, which ended on Sunday.

Now in its 36th year, the Angouleme festival – described as the Cannes of the comic book world – aims to celebrate the best of the genre, whittled down to a shortlist of 56 key titles.

Subjects range from sci-fi, superheroes and children’s fantasy, to ambitious graphic novels on politics, war or the legacy of slavery, all the way to romance, erotica and social satire – with offerings from around the planet.

“A comic strip is always a window open on the world,” said the festival’s art director Benoit Mouchart.

“That is true of our comics tradition here in the West – but it’s just as true of the Asian traditions, manga in Japan or manhwa in Korea.”

Japanese manga has its own tent at Angouleme – with a special exhibition on the work of Shigeru Mizuki – while a dozen authors from Sai Comics, a flagship South Korean independent publisher, were in town to work on a giant fresco, live before an audience of festival-goers.

A special exhibit focuses on the South African authors of “Bittercomix,” a cult comics fanzine that violently attacks Afrikaaner culture and the lasting legacy of racism more than a decade after the end of apartheid.

Other high-profile foreign guests include Italy’s Milo Manara and the British cartoonist Posy Simmonds.—AFP