The Magic of Collaboration: Creating a Comic Strip with Drawings, Speech Bubbles, and Text

Drawings, speech bubbles and text: the magic recipe for a comic strip, the result of collective work where every little hand is important.

François Abel refines his main character for his new comic strip written by his accomplice Charly Damm. Under the pencil of the Moselle designer, an old man comes to life. “It’s Opa, the grandpa, a former miner who tells his grandchildren about his work in the mine and the functioning of the Lorraine Basin Coal Mines.” he tells us in his workshop.

Once the pencil is in place, François Abel goes over the lines with black ink. Plates that he will submit to his Strasbourg publisher who will continue the work. At Éditions du Signe, computer graphic designer Eric Herr will send the drawings, stripped of unwanted details, to the colorist who will add all the desired colors. Then the text sent by Charly Damm will be inserted in the bubbles. A particular writing as Eric Herr explains: “it is a writing created by François Abel, it is the Abel font“.

A collective adventure to discover during the 9th Rencontres de la BD de Strasbourg being held at the Aubette on October 7 and 8, 2023. 16 comic artists, including François Abel, will be present to take you into diverse and varied worlds. The objective is to put young people and adults in contact with artists. This year’s Meetings are part of the preparation for “Strasbulles 2024”.