From Autoroute to AutoBioBD: The minority voice in Bande Dessinée

The world of the graphic novel has become a popular topic for academic discussion in recent decades and this wide range of work is discussed and built upon here in order to explore the theme of minority voice in the Francophone arena of bande dessinée. This exploration is centred on discovering how and why artists and groups have used the medium to bring their voice to an ever-increasing BD readership. A range of approaches are taken to achieve this, from examining the formal structures of the medium to considering the historical and political influences on contemporary albums. This thesis begins by defining the term minority in the context of the graphic novel and explaining the role which autobiographical bande dessinée, or the neogenre of AutoBioBD, will play in its discussion. It then considers a range of albums in which the minority identity and voice of the artist focus on nationality, theme and race. Finally the thesis examines the work from the 1990s produced by two artists, Baru and Fabrice Neaud. Baru’s road movie-inspired L’Autoroute du Soleil and Neaud’s autobiographical Journal project form two of the major case studies in the final chapters, and lend the thesis part of its title.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

m_ph

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

m_ph

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Birmingham

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Cooper, David

• PQ Romance literatures