Glossary of BD-Specific Terminology

Album: The standard BD publication format, typically a 48-62 page hardcover book. Unlike American comic books or Japanese manga volumes, albums are conceived as complete reading experiences.

Artémisia: Association promoting women in BD, named after the Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi. Awards annual prizes for BD by women creators.

Bande dessinée (BD): Literally "drawn strip," the French term for comics. Encompasses the entire medium rather than specific genres or formats.

Bulles: Speech balloons or bubbles. French BD traditionally integrated these more organically into artwork than American comics.

Cases: Panels. The basic unit of BD storytelling, whose size, shape, and arrangement create narrative rhythm.

Clear Line (Ligne claire): Artistic style pioneered by Hergé, characterized by uniform line weights, minimal shading, and clear, readable compositions.

Découpage: The breakdown or layout of a BD page, including panel arrangement and pacing. Considered a crucial creative act in BD theory.

Editeur: Publisher. Major BD publishers include Dargaud, Dupuis, Casterman, and Glénat.

Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Angoulême: The world's most important BD festival, held annually since 1974. Awards prestigious prizes including the Grand Prix.

Gaufrier: Regular grid panel layout, often associated with classic BD. Modern creators often break this grid for expressive effect.

Gouttière: The gutter, or space between panels. In BD theory, this space is where readers perform "closure," imagining what happens between panels.

Grand Prix: Lifetime achievement award at Angoulême, whose winner becomes the following year's festival president.

Marcinelle School: Artistic movement associated with Dupuis publishing and Spirou magazine, characterized by dynamic, expressive line work contrasting with the clear line.

Neuvième art: The ninth art. BD's designation in French culture, placing it alongside architecture, sculpture, painting, music, dance, poetry, cinema, and television.

OuBaPo: Ouvroir de Bande dessinée Potentielle (Workshop for Potential Comics), experimental movement creating formally constrained BD.

Planche: A complete BD page, considered as both narrative sequence and unified composition.

Prépublication: Initial serialization in magazines before album collection. Less common now than during BD's Golden Age.

Récitatif: Narrative caption boxes providing authorial voice or character thoughts, distinct from dialogue in speech balloons.

Scénariste: Scriptwriter. BD often credits writers and artists equally, unlike some comics traditions prioritizing artists.

Trait: Line or stroke. Line quality is considered fundamental to BD aesthetics, with different schools emphasizing different approaches.