The Graphic Novel Era (1990–2010)

French comics, or bandes dessinées, have developed through six major historical periods. We explore these periods as:

1. The Origins (1830–1900)
2. The Birth of the Modern BD (1900–1940)
3. The Franco-Belgian Golden Age (1940–1970)
4. Maturity and Innovation (1970–1990)
5. The Graphic Novel Era (1990–2010)
6. The Contemporary Period (2010–Today)

This article is the fifth in our series on the history of French comics. In the previous installment, we examined the Maturity and Innovation period (1970–1990), when French comics broke artistic boundaries and began exploring complex, adult-oriented storytelling. In this article, we turn to the Graphic Novel Era (1990–2010), when bande dessinée became a recognized art form, serialized magazines declined, and the graphic novel emerged as the dominant medium.

From Serial to Standalone: The End of the Magazine Era

By the 1990s, the golden age of weekly and monthly comic magazines was drawing to a close. Iconic publications such as Pilote, Tintin, and Spirou faced shrinking readerships as television, video games, and later the internet began to occupy the attention of younger generations. Older readers, meanwhile, gravitated toward more sophisticated and complete stories rather than serialized adventures.

Economic realities reinforced the shift. Rising printing costs, decreasing advertising income, and the growing dominance of bookstore sales made the traditional magazine model unsustainable. The hardcover album — offering a complete narrative and higher production quality — became the new standard. In this way, the bande dessinée evolved from a children’s pastime into a mature, literary market.

The Rise of the Graphic Novel

The move from serialized storytelling to the graphic novel reflected a broader cultural transformation. Comics were no longer dismissed as juvenile entertainment but were now viewed as a serious artistic and literary medium.

The concept of the neuvième art (“ninth art”) — first coined by French critic Claude Beylie in 1964 — gained full cultural and institutional legitimacy in the 1990s. French museums, universities, and cultural bodies began formally recognizing comics alongside film, painting, and literature. By the late 1990s, this recognition culminated in exhibitions, critical essays, and academic programs dedicated entirely to comics studies.

Artistic Independence and Literary Depth

Publishers such as L’Association, founded in 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu, Lewis Trondheim, and others, led the way in redefining comics as a personal, experimental art form. Their publications — often minimalist, autobiographical, or socially aware — emphasized authorial voice over commercial constraints. Works like Trondheim’s Lapinot series and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2000) epitomized this new wave, earning both critical acclaim and international success.

Artistically, the period embraced introspection, psychological realism, and political commentary. Enki Bilal, whose Nikopol Trilogy (La Foire aux immortels [1980], La Femme piège [1986], Froid Équateur [1992]) had already reshaped the science fiction landscape, stood as a bridge between eras. Although most of the trilogy belongs to the preceding Maturity and Innovation period, its final volume and influence permeated the 1990s. Bilal’s later work, Le Sommeil du monstre (1998), firmly belongs to this era, combining multimedia aesthetics with themes of war, memory, and technology.

Other creators such as François Bourgeon (Les Compagnons du crépuscule), Joann Sfar (Le Chat du Rabbin), and David B. (L’Ascension du Haut Mal) broadened the narrative and artistic scope of the bande dessinée, while women authors gained increasing prominence in what had long been a male-dominated field.

Global Influences and the Manga Revolution

The 1990s also saw an unprecedented influx of Japanese manga into the French market. Titles like Dragon Ball and Akira reached mass popularity, reshaping French visual storytelling and inspiring a generation of artists. This cultural exchange led to hybrid styles that blended European craftsmanship with Japanese dynamism, enriching the visual and narrative diversity of French comics.

Meanwhile, France strengthened its position as the global capital of comics culture. The Angoulême International Comics Festival — founded in 1974 but now more influential than ever — became a stage where artists from every continent met, exhibited, and debated the artistic future of the bande dessinée.

Legacy of the Era

By 2010, the graphic novel had become the defining format of French comics. The decline of serialized magazines had given way to a literary and visually ambitious art form capable of addressing any subject — from memoir and history to philosophy and science fiction. French comics were now part of the global cultural conversation, recognized as a unique synthesis of art and literature.

The Graphic Novel Era not only transformed how comics were produced and read but also paved the way for the digital and transmedia experiments of the new century — the beginning of our final period: The Contemporary Era (2010–Today).

Continue reading: History of French Comics: Part 6