Comic book artists and fans find a home at Galerie Attakus
by Rebecca Schwarz
You may not be in the market for a limited edition, hand-numbered Buffy the Vampire Slayer resin action figure, but you don't have to be a habitué of Star Trek conventions to appreciate what's on offer at Galerie Attakus. Open since September 2006, Galerie Attakus celebrates the art of the comic in all its forms, selling posters, original artwork, and action figures from the world of movies, Japanese manga, and more.
Fabrice Forestier, a refugee from Aix-en-Provence, chose Montreal and a 6000-square-foot loft inside a textile industry warehouse to display the resin and metal action figures he imports from the gallery's Parisian counterpart, also called Attakus. Hoping to spread his love for the BD (bédé - bande dessinée - or graphic novel, a publishing phenomenon in France), Forestier hosts vernissages by comic book artists like Magasin General's Loisel and Tripp. These events offer opportunities for the public to meet the authors, buy the book and indulge their inner-child by purchasing such things as a $3000 original panel.
Besides artwork, posters, and rare books, the gallery has branched out into publishing. Its latest venture is a tribute to the male form: En mâles de nus is a collection of nude men drawn by an international roster of comic book artists, and is available at the gallery's bookstore.
Its latest venture is a tribute to the male form: En mâles de nus is a collection of nude men drawn by an international roster of comic book artists.
While not as developed as the French market, the demand for bédés in Quebec is starting to pick up. Maryse Dubuc and Marc Delafontaine are just two of the local artists who are benefiting from the Attakus spotlight. They launched the second edition of their comic, Les nombrils: sale temps pour les moches at the gallery this month. Their work has appeared in France's Spirou magazine - the bédé bible. They also enjoyed a healthy presence at this year's Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d' Angoulême, France's annual comic book convention.
The second and latest edition of Les nombrils ("The Navels") continues the adventures of Jenny and Vicky, a pair of voluptuously drawn teenage girls, and their midriff-baring battle to steal a boyfriend from the kind-hearted but plain Karine. At the vernissage, guests were able to watch a video screen projection of artist Delafontaine at work, and compare the panels-in-progress with finished pages. Forestier explains that he likes the vernissages to be comme il faut affairs, with bow-tied waiters distributing canapés, and a bartender pouring red and white from his favourite French vineyard.
Other local authors who have appreciated the gallery's attention to detail include Régis Loisel and Jean-Louis Tripp. Magasin Général is the first collaboration for these two French authors currently based in Montreal. The story takes place in rural Quebec during the 1940s, and the second part, Magasin General: Serge had its launch at the gallery this past December.
Cartoon connoisseurs, with their love of the limited edition, will be happy to note that Montreal's Galerie Attakus is the only North American offshoot of the Parisian action figure atelier. As Serge Gainsbourg once put it in Comic Strip, his classic ode to comic books: ça fait CHTUCK!
Bande (dessinée) à part
Galerie Attakus - Attakus America
Open Monday to Friday, 12 pm - 6 pm (evenings and weekends by request)
5333, av Casgrain, Suite 603
(514) 271-5218
http://www.attakus.com/galerie |
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