The Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême is a

lifetime achievement award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

given annually during the

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (french: Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lu ...

to a

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

author. Although not a monetary award, it is considered the most prestigious award in Franco-Belgian comics. It has been awarded mainly to French and Belgian authors, but also to international authors. Recipients are, on average, 50 years old. Three women,

Florence Cestac Florence Cestac (born 18 July 1949) is a French cartoonist and former publisher. She is the first woman to have won the prestigious ''Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême'', in 2000, and was the only one until Rumiko Takahashi in 2019. Career Bor ...

Rumiko Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist. With a career of several commercially successful works, beginning with ''Urusei Yatsura'' in 1978, Takahashi is one of Japan's best-known and wealthiest manga artists. Her works are popular worldwide, where they have ...

, and

Julie Doucet Julie Doucet (born December 31, 1965)
is a Canadian

Claire Bretécher Claire Bretécher (; 17 April 1940 – 10 February 2020)
on Lambiek Comiclopedia was a French cartoonist, known particularly for her p ...

received a special tenth anniversary award apart from the main prize, a practice since repeated on subsequent anniversaries. After 1989, the prize was awarded by a jury of all previous winners, except for the time from 1997 to 1999 when all creators attending the festival voted on the winner. The jury system was criticized for favoring cronyism and Franco-centrism, and was abandoned after 2012. Subsequent years have seen a variety of changing award mechanisms. In 2015, the winner was again selected by vote of all registered comics creators, based on a list of nominees. In January 2016, 12 of the 30 nominees for the 2016 prize withdrew their names from consideration in protest against a shortlist of exclusively male nominees. Following media reports, the festival's board first announced 6 additional female nominees, then retracted all nominees, allowing registered professionals to vote for any person.

Winners

1970s

*1974

André Franquin André Franquin (; 3 January 1924 – 5 January 1997) was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best-known creations are '' Gaston'' and ''Marsupilami''. He also produced the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' comic strip from 1946 to 1968, a period s ...

(''

Gaston Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) *Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston ...

'', ''

Marsupilami ''Marsupilami'' is a comic book character and fictional animal species created by André Franquin. Its first appearance was in the 31 January 1952 issue of the Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Spirou''. Since then it appeared regularly in the ...

'', ''

Spirou et Fantasio ''Spirou & Fantasio'' (french: Spirou et Fantasio, wa, Spirou eyet Fantasio) is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comics. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European comics, European ...

'') *1975

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...

(''

A Contract with God ''A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories'' is a graphic novel by American cartoonist Will Eisner published in 1978. The book's short story cycle revolves around poor Jewish characters who live in a tenement in New York City. Eisner pro ...

'', '' The Dreamer'', ''

To the Heart of the Storm ''To the Heart of the Storm'' is an autobiographical graphic novel by American cartoonist Will Eisner released in 1991. It tells of Willie's youth as the son of an immigrant family up to World War II. On its release, writer Tom De Haven gave ...

'') *1976

René Pellos René Pellos (born René Marcel Pellarin, 22 January 1900, Lyon – 8 April 1998, Cannes) was a French artist, cartoonist and writer who worked in the Franco-Belgian bandes dessinées (BD) tradition. He also competed in the men's tournament at ...

(René Pellarin) (sports cartoonist) *1977

Jijé Joseph Gillain (), better known by his pen name Jijé (; 13 January 1914 – 19 June 1980), was a Belgian comics artist, best known for being a seminal artist on the ''Spirou et Fantasio'' strip (and for having introduced the Fantasio character) a ...

(Joseph Gillain) (''Spirou et Fantasio'', ''

Jerry Spring ''Jerry Spring'' is a Franco-Belgian comics, Franco-Belgian Western (genre), Western comics series created by the Belgium, Belgian comic book creator, comics creator Jijé. Originally published in ''Spirou (magazine), Spirou'' magazine, the serie ...

'', ''

Tanguy et Laverdure ''Les Aventures de Tanguy et Laverdure'' is a Franco-Belgian comics (''bande dessinée'') series created by Jean-Michel Charlier and Albert Uderzo, about the two pilots Michel Tanguy and Ernest Laverdure, and their adventures in the French Air For ...

'') *1978

Jean-Marc Reiser Jean-Marc Reiser (; 13 April 1941 – 5 November 1983) was a French comics creator. Biography A prolific cartoon artist from 1959 until his death, Reiser made his debut in the publication ''La Gazette de Nectar'' for the Nicolas winery. His ...

(cartoonist) *1979

Marijac Jacques Dumas (7 November 1908 – 21 July 1994), better known as Marijac, was a French comics writer, artist, and editor. Biography Jacques Dumas was born in Paris in 1908. He started his career as a comics artist in te 1930s and used the pen n ...

(Jacques Dumas) (youth comics)

1980s

*1980

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...

(Othon Aristides) *1981 Moebius / Jean Giraud *1982

Paul Gillon Paul Gillon (11 May 1926 – 21 May 2011) was a French comics artist. He won the 1982 Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême. Born in Paris, he considered fashion, theater and cinema, and only by accident made a career as a comics author. In the maga ...

*1983

Jean-Claude Forest Jean-Claude Forest (11 September 1930 – 30 December 1998) was a French writer and illustrator of comics and the creator of character Barbarella. Biography Jean-Claude Forest was born in Le Perreux-sur-Marne, a Paris suburb and graduated f ...

**10th anniversary

Claire Bretécher Claire Bretécher (; 17 April 1940 – 10 February 2020)
on Lambiek Comiclopedia was a French cartoonist, known particularly for her p ...

*1984

Jean-Claude Mézières Jean-Claude Mézières (; 23 September 1938 – 23 January 2022) was a French ''bandes dessinées'' artist and illustrator. Born in Paris and raised in nearby Saint-Mandé, he was introduced to drawing by his elder brother and influenced by co ...

(''

Valérian and Laureline ''Valérian and Laureline'' (french: Valérian et Laureline), also known as ''Valérian: Spatio-Temporal Agent'' (french: Valérian, agent spatio-temporel) or just ''Valérian'', is a French science fiction comics series, created by writer Pie ...

)'' *1985

Jacques Tardi Jacques Tardi (; born 30 August 1946) is a French comic artist. He is often credited solely as Tardi. Biography Tardi was born on 30 August 1946 in Valence, Drôme. After graduating from the École nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon and the Éco ...

*1986

Jacques Lob Jacques Lob (19 August 1932 – 24 May 1990) was a French comic book creator, known for several comics creations, including '' Superdupont''. Biography Jacques Lob began his career as an illustrator of humorous cartoons that were published in va ...

*1987

Enki Bilal Enki Bilal (born Enes Bilal; born 7 October 1951) is a French comic book creator, comics artist and film director. Biography Early life Bilal was born in Belgrade, PR Serbia, Yugoslavia, to a Czech mother, Ana, who came to Belgrade as child from ...

*1988

Philippe Druillet Philippe Druillet (; born 28 June 1944) is a French comics artist and creator, and an innovator in visual design. Biography Philippe Druillet was born in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France, but spent his youth in Spain, returning to France in 1952 ...

**15th anniversary

Hugo Pratt Ugo Eugenio Prat, better known as Hugo Pratt (15 June 1927 – 20 August 1995), was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as ''Corto Maltese''. He was indu ...

*1989

René Pétillon René Pétillon (; 12 December 1945 – 30 September 2018) was a French satirical and political cartoonist and comics artist. As a cartoonist he was most famous for his work in ''Canard Enchaîné''. As a comics artist his best known and longest ...

1990s

*1990 *1991

Gotlib Marcel Gottlieb (14 July 1934 – 4 December 2016), known professionally as Gotlib, was a French comics artist/writer and publisher. Through his own work and the magazines he co-founded, ''L'Écho des savanes'' and ''Fluide Glacial'', he was a ke ...

(Marcel Gotlieb) *1992

Frank Margerin Frank Margerin (born 9 January 1952, in Paris) is a Franco-Belgian comics, French author and illustrator of comics. Biography After lycée, secondary school, Margerin went to a school of applied art, where he met Denis Sire. He joined Sire's ba ...

**20th anniversary

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

(Maurice de Bevere) *1993

Gérard Lauzier Gérard Lauzier (30 November 1932 – 6 December 2008) was a French comics author and movie director, best known as one of the leading authors in the more adult-oriented French comics scene of the 1970s and 1980s. Biography Gérard Lauzier was bo ...

*1994

Nikita Mandryka Nikita Mandryka (20 October 1940 – 13 June 2021) was a French cartoonist. He started drawing in the '' Vaillant'' magazine, before moving to ''Pilote'' in 1967, and then created ''L'Écho des savanes'' along with Claire Bretécher and Marcel ...

*1995 Philippe Vuillemin *1996

André Juillard André Juillard (born 9 June 1948) is a French comic book creator. Biography Born in Paris, Juillard is one of the most prolific artists of historical comics in France. His career began in 1974. After studies in the School of Decorative Arts of ...

*1997

Daniel Goossens Daniel Goossens, born May 16, 1954, in Salon-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône is a French comics artist. Biography Goossens began his career in the magazine '' Pionniers''. After a short spell at ''Pilote'' magazine, he began contributing to the ...

*1998

François Boucq François Boucq (; born 28 November 1955 in Lille), is a French comic book artist. He is most famous for his Surrealism, surreal comics revolving around the main character . Career Boucq published cartoons in magazines like ''Le Point'' or ''L'E ...

*1999

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

**Special prize of the millennium

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the ''Astérix'' series in collaboration with Re ...

2000s

*2000

*2001

Martin Veyron Martin Veyron (born 27 March 1950 in Dax, Landes, France) is a French comic book author and novelist, best known for his graphic novels and editorial cartoons. His style combines disenchanted vaudeville and scathing studies of mores in the manner ...

*2002

François Schuiten François Schuiten (; born 26 April 1956) is a Belgian comic book artist. He is best known for drawing the series '' Les Cités Obscures''. Biography François Schuiten was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1956.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "François Sch ...

*2003

Régis Loisel Régis Loisel (born 4 December 1951) is a French cartoonist, best known for the series '' La Quête de l'oiseau du temps'', written by Serge Le Tendre. He worked with Walt Disney Studios on the animated films ''Atlantis'' and ''Mulan''. Biblio ...

*2004 Zep (Philippe Chappuis) **30th anniversary

Joann Sfar Joann Sfar (; born 28 August 1971) is a French comics artist, comic book creator, novelist, and film director. Life and career Sfar was born in Nice, the son of Lilou, a pop singer, who died when he was three, and André Sfar, a lawyer well know ...

*2005

Georges Wolinski Georges David Wolinski (; 28 June 19347 January 2015) was a French cartoonist and comics writer. He was killed on 7 January 2015 in a terrorist attack on ''Charlie Hebdo'' along with other staff. Early life Georges David Wolinski was born on 2 ...

*2006

Lewis Trondheim Lewis Trondheim (born Laurent Chabosy, , on 11 December 1964), is a French cartoonist and one of the founders (in 1990) of the independent publisher L'Association. Both his silent comic ''La Mouche'' and Kaput and Zösky have been made into animat ...

*2007

José Antonio Muñoz José Antonio Muñoz or simply Muñoz (born July 10, 1942) is an Argentine artist. He is most notable for his influential black-and-white artwork. His hardboiled graphic novels series ''Alack Sinner'' (with writer Carlos Sampayo) is a noted sourc ...

*2008

Dupuy and Berberian Philippe Dupuy (born 12 December 1960, Sainte-Adresse) and Charles Berbérian (born 28 May 1959, Baghdad) are French cartoonists most famous for their series of Franco-Belgian comics albums featuring the character ''Monsieur Jean''. Their colla ...

*2009

Blutch Blutch, pen name of Christian Hincker (born 27 December 1967 in Strasbourg) is a French comic book author. He is considered one of the main authors of French comics since the early 1990s. Biography After studying at the École supérieure des ...

2010s

*2010:

Baru ''Baru'' is an extinct genus of Australian mekosuchine crocodilian. It was semi-aquatic, around 4 m (13 ft) in length. Being semi-aquatic its habitat was around fresh pools of water in wet forests, ambushing their prey, much like moder ...

*2011:

Art Spiegelman Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines ''Arcade (comics maga ...

*2012: *2013:

Bernard Willem Holtrop Bernard Willem Holtrop (born 2 April 1941, Ermelo) is a Dutch cartoonist living in France since 1968, who publishes under the pen name Willem. He is renowned for his sometimes provocative cartoons featuring violent and sexual imagery on political ...

(Willem) **40th anniversary

Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for his highly successful manga series ''Dr. Slump'', before going on to create ''Dragon Ball'' (his best-known work) and acting as a character design ...

*2014:

Bill Watterson William Boyd Watterson II (born July 5, 1958) is a retired American cartoonist and the author of the comic strip ''Calvin and Hobbes'', which was syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson stopped drawing ''Calvin and Hobbes'' at the end of 1995, ...

*2015:

Katsuhiro Otomo is a Japanese manga artist, screenwriter, animator and film director. He is best known as the creator of '' Akira'', in terms of both the original 1982 manga series and the 1988 animated film adaptation. He was decorated a ''Chevalier'' of th ...

*2016:

Hermann Huppen Hermann Huppen (born 17 July 1938) is a Belgian comic book artist. He is better known under his pen-name Hermann. He is most famous for his post-apocalyptic comic ''Jeremiah'' which was made into a television series. Biography Hermann was bo ...

*2017: (Bernard Cosendai) *2018:

Richard Corben Richard Corben (October 1, 1940December 2, 2020) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine, especially the ''Den'' series which was featured in the magazine's first film ad ...

*2019:

2020s

*2020 : « Bande dessinée : Emmanuel Guibert, Grand prix 2020 d’Angoulême »
''Le Monde'', 29 janvier 2019. *2021:

Chris Ware Franklin Christenson "Chris" Ware (born December 28, 1967) is an American cartoonist known for his ''Acme Novelty Library'' series (begun 1994) and the graphic novels ''Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth'' (2000), ''Building Stories'' (2012 ...

*2022:

Julie Doucet Julie Doucet (born December 31, 1965)
is a Canadian

* Comics awards