Le Club des bandes dessinées
- About this subject, see too separate article : "CÉLEG
Club banner
Le Club des bandes dessinées or CBD (= "The Comic Strip Club") was an association, officially formed on March 29, 1962 and devoted to the study of comics. In November 1964, it was renamed "Centre d'études des littératures d'expression graphique" (CÉLEG) (= "Center for Studies of Graphic Literary Expression").
The club was born out of a debate (articles, readers' letters, advertisements) which took place in 1961-1962 in the French magazine “Fiction” (issues 92 to 98) after an article by the Swiss author Pierre Strinati starting from a certain nostalgia for the pre-war science fiction comic-strip.
From then, it was decided to found a club of comics amateurs, notably dedicated to the reissue of disappeared works. Amongst founder-members were movie directors of the “Nouvelle Vague” (“New Wave”) movement like Alain Resnais, Alain Robbe-Grillet, as well as artists like Delphine Seyrig, and comics creators like Jean-Claude Forest (author of comics work "Barbarella").
The Club was chaired by Francis Lacassin, with the director Alain Resnais, it was the first European organization of that kind, aims to affirm the importance and legitimacy of comics. During its existence, the club published the magazine "Giff-Wiff", a review that will be the starting point for the recognition of comics now designated as “The 9th Art”. In a first time, the review was edited by themselves before having, in 1966, a more commercial release distributed, with an ensuring wider distribution, by the editor Jean-Jacques Pauvert . Amongst various exhibitions, the Club took part in the organization of the first international festival of comic strips in Bordighera, Italy, in February 1965 – festival moved to Lucca from 1966 (on this point, see specific page: Spotlight on Lee Falk - Participation in the comic conventions.
One of these exhibitions was also the one concerning “Mandrake the Magician” and “The Phantom”, held on June 3-15, 1966 in Paris with the presence of “Lee Falk”.
Under the name of CÉLEG, the club also released pre-war comic classics, especially American ones such as "Mandrake the Magician", "[[The Phantom], "Flash Gordon" and "Brick Bradford".
Unfortunately, the CÉLEG club had financial problems and ceased its activities in mid-1967.
It’s worth to note that the name “Giff-Wiff” was chosen in tribute to an imaginary animal that feeds exclusively on precious pearls and appearing for the first time in "Mickey Mouse" comics in October 1935.
