There are many comics conventions in Belgium and France . The most famous , prestigious and largest one is the " Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême " ( English : " Angoulême International Comics Festival " ) , an annual festival begun in 1974 , in Angoulême , France , and the format has been adopted in other European countries as well , unsurprisingly perhaps considering the popularity the Franco-Belgian comics enjoy in these countries , though they are typically of a more modest size , the Italian " Lucca Comics & Games " festival ( est. 1965 ) excepted &ndash; though , as the name already suggest , that festival extents beyond comics alone , whereas the Angoulême festival is comics specific . During his tenure as culture minister , Jack Lang was a frequent guest of honor of the festival as part of his endeavors to advance the cultural status of the '' bande dessinée '' , and personally awarded the festival 's awards to comic artists , which included Jean Giraud in 1985 when he received the festival 's most prestigious award , the year after Lang had announced the advent of the national comics museum on the previous edition of the festival
Angoulême International Comics Festival
Angoulême International Comics Festival
Bandes dessinées