Strip joint
Pow! Take that! A comic store in Rome.
Five years ago, the adventure was yet to begin. Jakie Bougault was teaching theatre and history in his native France. On moving to Rome he quickly noticed the city’s longstanding French bookshop had a limited range of graphic novels. After embarking on a year’s “passionate discovery of comic-strip culture”, Bougault opened l’Aventure.
The shop, near the Piazza del Popolo, has only 40 sq m of floorspace on which to flaunt over 3,000 titles, from the classics to avant-garde publications. The majority of the comics are in French, which suits the shop’s core customers – Italian graphic design students, their teachers and French-speaking Romans.
Bougault quickly learnt that independent Italian comic strips are hard to come by. So now he boasts “the widest range in Rome”, as well as a respectable English section.
The Franco-centricity reveals an underlying crisis in the Italian comics industry. As Bougault explains, “Any writer who wants to produce a strip longer than a few boxes is forced to turn to French or American publishing houses.” Bougault also hosts regular book signings – recent events include Ivo Milazzo, Corrado Mastantuono and Eugenio Sicomoro (big names in Italy), providing welcome support for Italy’s graphic authors.
Bougault helps bolster local interest too: “Most Romans are surprised and intrigued by l’Aventure, which doesn’t resemble a normal immaculate Italian bookshop.” There is also a following of local animation artists, and Roberto Perpignani, film editor for the Taviani Brothers, “turns up when he has the cash to buy 20 to 30 titles at a time” – an important customer for this niche haunt that turns over roughly 1,000 books a month.
l’Aventure, 21Via del Vantaggio, Rome; + 39 063 202 360
librairielaventure.com
Jakie Bougault’s 10 greatest strips
1.
Le chemin de Saint-Jean
Edmond Baudoin
2.
Stuck Rubber Baby
Howard Cruse
3.
Le Combat Ordinaire
Manu Larcenet
4.
Blacksad Trilogy
Juan Díaz Canales
5.
Blaue Pillen
Frederik Peeters
6.
Faire Semblant C’est Mentir
Dominique Goblet
7.
Corto Maltese: Favola di Venezia
Hugo Pratt
8.
Le Sang des Voyous
Jacques de Loustal
9.
Appunti Per Una Storia di Guerra
Gipi
10.
Le Journal de Mon Père
Jiro Taniguchi
