Angoulême 2025

Yes, I love comics.

And I've been dreaming of going to a big comic book festival in Angouleme for a long time. Thanks to my wife Olesya, my dream came true.

When we arrived, I expected to see one big pavilion somewhere in the city center. Instead, I found an entire town transformed into a celebration of comics, with exhibitions even in local bars and cafés. EVEN IN THE CHURCH!

In just three days, I saw an overwhelming number of comics, most of them in French (which, honestly, saved me from spending all my money).

One interesting observation: a lot of the new comics revolved around medieval themes in different variations. Maybe, on some subconscious level, we’ve all returned to those times, just with different scenery.

Being surrounded by people who create comics and those who are obsessed with them recharged my creative energy. A flood of ideas hit me, and I’ve already started working on one of them — Soultripper. Now, I just need to finish and print it before the next festival so I don’t show up empty-handed.

On the way home, I tried to understand why people still create comics in print. My guess is that it's an opportunity for illustrators to sign autographs. But to be honest, I don't know.

I just love comics.