Gabon.
Gabon
1983
Gabonese comics began in the national daily L'Union in the late 1970s and grew in the 1980s with Hans Kwaaitaal, known as Achka, who launched the magazine Cocotier in 1985 and the first francophone comics publishing house in Africa, according to Africultures.
In the late 1990s the BD Boom collective and two African comics festivals in Libreville made the city a short-lived centre of African comics. Since then the scene has been small, carried by individual authors such as Pahé, whose autobiographical series La Vie de Pahé reached readers through a Swiss publisher.
7
9
1983
1990s
Artists from Gabon in the archive.
Comics from Gabon in the archive.
Bibeng, l'homme de la rue, the earliest comic from Gabon in the archive.
The decade when the most new comics from Gabon began.
bande dessinée
Gabon in 4 chapters
A short history you can leaf through. Click a page, use the arrow keys, or press Turn the page to read on.
Gabon.
4 chapters
Chapter 1
1976
to 1982
Newspaper beginnings
1976
to 1982
Chapter 01
Newspaper beginnings
Comics first appeared in the daily L'Union in 1976, when the cartoonist Munoz published there. Sports caricatures signed "coup franc" ran in the paper from 1976 to 1979.
1983
to 1992
Chapter 02
Local strips, Cocotier and the Achka publishing house
L'Union opened a comics section in 1983. Achka (Hans Kwaaitaal) began the daily strip Bibeng, l'homme de la rue, and Laurent Levigot started his strips in 1984. Achka launched the magazine Cocotier in May 1985, which ran five issues until February 1986, and founded a comics publishing house in 1988 that released seven titles before it closed in 1992.
1996
to 1999
Chapter 03
BD Boom and the African Comic Days
A 1996 workshop at the French cultural centre led to the BD Boom collective, which published nine magazine issues from 1997 to 1999. Libreville hosted the only two Journées africaines de la bande dessinée in 1998 and 1999, drawing cartoonists from ten African countries.
2000
to today
Chapter 04
A quiet scene and individual authors
After 1999 no more festivals were held and BD Boom went quiet, though it published a third educational album in 2002. Most cartoonists moved to press cartooning. Pahé published La Vie de Pahé with the Swiss publisher Paquet in 2006 and 2008, and Fargas continued his Yannick Dombi health-education series.
The comics to know
- Bibeng, l'homme de la rue1983 · comic stripAchka (Hans Kwaaitaal). Daily street-life strip in L'Union.
- Cocotier1985 · comics magazineAchka (Hans Kwaaitaal). First Gabonese comics magazine; five issues to February 1986.
- Yannick Dombi1991 · comic book seriesFargas. Health-education album series made with the national AIDS programme.
- BD Boom1997 · comics magazineBD Boom collective. Magazine of nine issues, 1997 to 1999.
- La Vie de Pahé2006 · comic book seriesPahé. Autobiographical series published by Éditions Paquet.
- DipoulaDipoula l'albinos2008 · comic book seriesPahé and Sti. Three albums about a young albino character, 2008 to 2012.
The people to know
- PahéBorn 1971Best-known Gabonese comics author; creator of La Vie de Pahé and Dipoula.
- FargasBorn 1962Doctor and cartoonist; made the Yannick Dombi health albums.
- Achka (Hans Kwaaitaal)Launched Cocotier magazine and a comics publishing house.
- Laurent LevigotMain cartoonist of L'Union in the 1980s.
- Ly BeckBD Boom member with five albums on environmental and social themes.
- Jeff IkapiPress cartoonist with books published by L'Harmattan BD.