Legacy and Foundation

By the 1920s, the foundations of modern BD were firmly established. The medium had developed its own conventions, aesthetics, and audience expectations. Publishers recognized BD's commercial potential, while artists increasingly saw it as a legitimate form of creative expression. The tension between artistic ambition and commercial necessity that would characterize BD throughout its history was already evident.

The early pioneers of BD created more than entertainment; they established a new form of cultural expression that would prove remarkably adaptable and enduring. Their experiments with visual narrative, their development of recurring characters and serialized stories, and their integration of humor with social observation created templates that future creators would build upon and transform.

As France entered the interwar period, BD stood poised for explosive growth. The foundations laid in these early decades – technical, aesthetic, and cultural – would support an extraordinary flowering of creativity. The seeds planted by Töpffer, Christophe, and their contemporaries would grow into the rich garden of modern bande dessinée, the ninth art that continues to captivate readers worldwide.# The Golden Age and Classic Albums