Ready-made answers to precise questions should not be sought in these pages; instead they yield clarification about an art that has been slow to reach maturity. The varying points of view developed in the book work well to that effect.. The multi-faceted character of the work begins with its bilingual nature; the volume indeed gathers essays in French and English. This approach was necessary since one of the ambitions of the project was to compare how  different countries have engaged with the idea of independence. Privileged observers therefore expressed themselves on American culture in the language of Shakespeare. The contributions of the Dutch-speaking researchers were also expressed in English, with a view to reaching a wider audience.

The international alternative 

The first thing that becomes evident on reading the work is the international character of contemporary comics. From the first article written by Erwin Dejasse(2), the work reaches out to a multitude of sources of comics which extend way beyond the well-known centers of activity in the area (Japan, USA and Franco-Belgian culture). Later on in the book, the texts of Rudi de Vries(3) and Gert Meesters(4) (the last co-editor of the work) also distance themselves from these more established centers of comics production, albeit in different ways and in offering different case-studies. Rudi de Vries illustrates the theories of selection systems by focusing on Joost Swarte, a Dutch artist who is also the co-founder of an influential publishing house, Oog & Blik. By retracing the international trajectory of this famous figure from the Dutch comics industry, the critic shows how an artist can influence and change an artistic environment in order to preserve a certain level of independence. By imposing his work and taking a critical look at it, and by participating in numerous collaborations, Joost Swarte, de Vries argues, has been able to modify different systems of selection  insofar as he has managed to have the market, peers, and experts  accept his work and style.  

Gert Meesters, for his part, focuses on two modest and independent Flemish publishing houses, Bries and Oogachtend. He reveals very marked individual characteristics that are their driving force: the affirmation of a very assertive character and a very subjective and rigorous appreciation with regard to the works both publishers choose to defend. After establishing a series of similarities between the two structures, the researcher notices that Bries and Oogachtend  present very different editorial positions and very different ways of constructing a catalogue and circulating it, sometimes flirting with  artisanal techniques. 

The individual, the school and the school effect

Are esthetics- or art-driven comics not an individual affair after all? This is one of the questions asked in the work, particularly by Erwin Dejasse. The researcher from Liege writes that, “Alternative comics cannot easily be defined precisely because they resist pre-formatted identity patterns and pre-established movements or categories. If anything, alternative comics are first and foremost the expression of an artist’s singularity”(5). On the contrary, the comics industry conforms to ironcast standards with regard to subject matter, narration, graphics, series logic and format (e.g. the 48-pagehard back ‘album’ in Franco-Belgian culture), etc.  

And yet, alternative comics have also experienced some form of standardization. The graphic novel, for example, has developed itself in adapting and cherishing particular genres, narrative techniques and esthetic styles, including introversion as subject matter, autobiography, social conscience through reporting, the use of black and white, a format reminiscent of the novel and a number of pages often in excess of one-hundred. By wanting to free themselves from all the standards, the most influential alternative figures have in turn also defined new standards as Tanguy Habrand explains. “Esthetics- and art-driven comics undoubtedly reflect the expression of a creator’s singularity. This means that, ideally, each author is offering something different. It is an idea that has to do with inner expression and with creative genius. But it must be said that “good ways” of being alternative have emerged through the process of legitimation that certain authors or certain publishing houses have championed. There is also an entire socio-economic dimension which explains phenomena of group formation. Communities of authors have been seen to appear and to unite not only to lay claim to a group esthetic label, but also because it was the only way for them to organize and to avail of production tools in some way”.

Christophe Dony continues to illustrate that these communities have not always had much choice when faced by an efficient entertainment industry. “Keeping a distance from others is one thing but it is easier to make oneself heard through group dissidence. As was the case with the various punk movements, a certain culture of enthusiasm has led several artists to join forces in order to better rule, paradoxically. The creation of groups has, for example, enabled some to affirm themselves more easily while creating an added value for better recognition”. What would the use of a desire to be alternative be if it could not be understood or could not guarantee a relative permanence? Comics remain a marketable product and must fulfil objectives as trivial as those demanded by the market. Moreover, this market is often saturated, which means that structures that are too small cannot survive.

(2)Ibid, Erwin Dejasse, Le regard cosmopolite et rétrospectif de la bande dessinée alternative
(3) Ibid, Rudi De Vries, Balancing on the « Clear Line : » Between Selecting and Being Selected, Independent Comics Publishing in the Netherlands : The Case of Joost Swarte and Oog & Blik
(4) Ibid, Gert Meesters, The Reincarnation of Independent Comics Publishing in Flanders in the 21st Century : Bries and Oogachtend as Deceivingly Similar Cases
(5) Ibid, page 39.