24th Bédélys Awards – Bédélys Youth Québec
The Montreal Comic Arts Festival is proud to announce the finalists for the 2023 Bédélys Youth Québec Award.
The Bédélys Youth Québec category rewards the best comic book for an audience aged 14 and under by a Québec artist published in Québec. Something new this year, the Bédélys Youth Québec category has been added to the awards and comes with a $1,000 grant.
The works in this category were selected by a jury of readers composed of elementary school students.
The winners will be announced on Thursday, May 25, at Livart, during the opening night of the Montreal Comic Arts Festival. The event will be hosted by journalist and host Marie-Louise Arsenault.
Find all the details of the different categories of the Bédélys awards.
The finalists are:
Le facteur de l’espace, tome 3 : La faim du monde, Guillaume Perreault (La Pastèque)
Bob’s stomach is in knots this morning. But our hungry Earthman has no idea that this will be the least of his worries on this crazy day. Making himself understood in the four corners of the galaxy may well be the real challenge. Here is finally the third volume of the adventures of our favorite space mailman!
Guillaume Perreault is an illustrator and author. He works mainly in the field of children’s publishing with several illustrated books and novels, but also works with various clients in the cultural and advertising fields. His work is often described as calculated and thoughtful, yet lively and full of characters with strong personalities. Born in Rimouski, he currently lives in Gatineau.
Parfois les lacs brûlent, Geneviève Bigué (Front Froid)
A very rare natural phenomenon is causing quite a stir in Rivière-aux-Corbeaux: Lake Kijikone has caught fire and has become a real inferno. It is said that when it catches fire, everything that is immersed in it turns to gold. Curious, a group of teenagers decide to go on an adventure to discover if the legend is true…
Geneviève Bigué is an illustrator and graphic designer from Abitibi-Témiscamingue. After studies in animation and a bachelor’s degree in graphic design, she now works in several fields including publishing, advertising and the cultural milieu. Each illustration is, for her, an opportunity to explore composition, narration, shapes and texture.
Pol Polaire, tome 2: Le Mystérieux Docteur plastique, Caroline Soucy (Glénat Québec)
The North Pole has disappeared. Pol, the twins and Uncle Bob are drifting towards the open sea. The little family has to improvise to feed themselves while hoping that the currents will carry them to mom Lili. Between the hungry orcas and the stinging jellyfish, fishing is not very successful for Pol Polaire. Fortunately, Brigitte the seal is there to provide the meals! Does she know anything about Lili? While everyone scans the horizon for a piece of land, another species is never far away… human! This second volume, full of humor, which raises awareness of ecology among young and old alike by introducing them to the animals of the Great North, invites us to follow the thousand and one adventures of a touching family.
As soon as she could hold a pencil, Caroline Soucy started drawing animals. Today, she works as a character designer for video games, and is publishing her first comic book, which she has been working on for over 15 years. The original narration and the quality of her drawing should quickly establish her as one of the most prominent cartoonists in Quebec.
Reine Babette, Rémy Simard (La Pastèque)
Poor Princess Babette, her father has been kidnapped! Her first royal decision, after her quick coronation, is to go after the kidnappers! Here is a new funny, whimsical and charming children’s comic book where we follow the adventures of an interim queen, who is not afraid of anyone.
Rémy Simard was born in the last century in Roberval. He was bad at mathematics and French and decided to make little drawings. Since then, he tells stories in the form of albums, novels and comics. Today, Rémy takes afternoon naps and continues to draw and write great stories.
Si on était…, tome 2, Axelle Lenoir (Front Froid)
Despite the passing years and the (too) rapid changes in life, Marie and Nathalie continue to play “What if we were”, a game in which they put themselves in situations each more fantastic than the next. More and more skilled at constructing parallel universes, will the two best friends in the world reach a point where their creations will take over their lives?
Axelle Lenoir is a comic book artist born in the tiny space of time between Generation X and the millennials. In all, she has written a dozen books for the Canadian and European markets. In 2020, she turned her attention south of the border to release her first books in English, with publisher Topshelf: Camp Spirit, What If We Were and her most recent pseudo autobiography, Secret Passages (to be published in French by Pow Pow). Axelle’s writing style is a mix between humor, daily life, fantasy and comic strips.
