Daniel Clowes is among a cluster of male comic-book artists to withdraw their names from France’s Angoulême comics festival lifetime achievement award shortlist. The creator of the Ghost World series was protesting the all male selection in support of the Women in Comics Collective Against Sexism‘s boycott, saying: “I support the boycott of Angoulême and am withdrawing my name from any consideration for what is now a totally meaningless ‘honour’. What a ridiculous, embarrassing debacle.”
The festival has agreed to add some women’s names to the shortlist after people complained the selection appeared sexist. However they also made the iffy statement: “The concept of the grand prix is to reward an author for their whole oeuvre. When you look at the prize list, you can see the artists on it have a certain maturity and a certain age. Unfortunately, there are few women in the history of comics art. It’s a reality. If you go to the Louvre, you’ll equally find very few women artists.” Yikes. What would Enid Coleslaw say?
In the 43 year history of the award only one woman, Florence Cestac has been honoured with the prize. Women who have received nominations in the past include Persepolis creator Marjane Satrapi and the hilarious Posy Simmonds who created Tamara Drewe, Mrs. Weber’s Diary and Gemma Bovary.
The Women in Comics Collective Against Sexism commented: “It all comes back to the disastrous glass ceiling; we’re tolerated, but never allowed top billing.”
