Very Important facts, figures, events and equations.

Did you know that in 2006:
1. the comic book was the third best-selling book genre in France?
2. more than 40.5 million comic books were sold here?
3. and 4130 new comic books were published; that's about 11 a day?

Twisted logic: Surely the most famous comic books are the Adventures of Asterix. If you were asked to name a Gaul, Asterix would probably be the first name to trip off the tongue. Under the name of Lugdunum, Lyon used to be the capital of Gaul. Therefore it is completely logical that next weekend Lyon will be host to the second "Festival de la Bande Dessinnee" (aka comic book festival/aka lots of adults bonding with their inner children).

Anything goes: In France, any subject can be turned into a BD... My firm favourite for incongruity between form and content is the comic book version of Marcel Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu...