Julien Papelier (managing director of Dupuis editions): “With (…)

For Dupuis, how was this entire period, from confinement to recovery?

There was this strange period when nothing was happening on the ground … But we realized that things were happening anyway, finally: the market did not do -100% but -60 / 70%. Because people who went to supermarket shopping took the opportunity to buy a comic book for their children or bought online. So, for us, the work continued, we discussed with authors for whom the confinement did not ultimately change much. They continued to work and therefore their editors had to continue as well. In the marketing department, as they manage things that are done with anticipation, they always had things to do …

So we had a gap between a frozen outside world and our own pace which had changed little. Our recourse to partial unemployment has been measured, both for civic reasons, but also for reasons of support for the authors. Finally not to be delayed when restarting, to be able to be ready to get back to it as soon as it starts again. We tried to be “big back”, to grit our teeth, to prepare for the recovery while limiting the damage.

Claude de Saint-Vincent, Managing Director of Média-Participations and Julien Papelier, CEO of Dupuis. The group tried to adapt to the circumstances.

Photo: D. Pasamonik (L’Agence BD)

So to do that, we made efforts to cut our non-essential costs. We made our main savings on the absence of exhibitions and festivals, therefore less costs, and we really wanted to support and keep all the big projects that we expect a lot. We spent time rebuilding a launch plan. We did not cancel anything but we had to postpone certain projects from 2020 to 2021 and from 2021 to 2022. It is always a rather dangerous exercise because there are authors who are waiting …

We have learned to work differently, with the acceleration of the digitization of our life for example, whether it is in our way of working internally or with our partners, by doing seminars on Zoom, meetings including one with almost 200 booksellers at the same time ! So when you like the contact with people, it is a bit frustrating, but it still allows you to work well and not to lose too much rhythm. This is also why we tried after confinement, and as far as possible, to see each other “in real life”, to find contact …

Did it change the mood of creation? For authors and publishers alike, do other themes arise, other practices. Another way to do editing is emerging?

Those for whom it has changed a lot, it is the writing of Spirou Magazine. As much on the creation of a book we are on a very long term pace and a period like this is more of a parenthesis, as much when we want to complete a weekly each week, it’s hard, because nothing replaces the being together, bouncing back on exchanges.

And then, we have new projects that have arrived on the future, what will be the “new world” … It is also a period which coincided with our change of editorial director, the arrival of Stephane Beaujean, so it was going to bring about a number of changes anyway. Dupuis is a generalist publisher, therefore with the aim of embracing all comics while keeping its Franco-Belgian backbone, but we are also developing the webtoon, with the Webtoon Factory, and we also need to enrich ourselves and ” have a more panoramic view of the 9th art.

Go on a reconquest …

Photo : D. Pasamonik

Does that mean that digital technology will perhaps not do away with paper, but give rise to new practices?

The digitization of our working methods is already underway, with a stronger use of Zoom, of this kind of tool, so yes. In terms of creation, we had already put a foot in it with the webtoon, and we doubled, even quadrupled our consultations on the Webtoon Factory during confinement. It became the number one product on Izneo. The webtoon is a hit at the moment, especially since it is different content from what we usually find in bookstores, and we have gained in speed learning on the subject. Digital is above all a space complementary to paper, but they will not compete with each other. The webtoon and the Internet are also tools for bringing in other authors, who make their drawings known, which accelerates their notoriety and promotes the launch of their first project.

Spirou is also an amusement park, its opening to the general public had been postponed … It went well for them finally, this season?

Yes, we opened on June 19, we learned at the end of May that we would be able to reopen it. It’s a young park so we absolutely must continue to build its notoriety to be able to start again next year. The customers of amusement parks are often the same people who come back: you have to “build loyalty”.

So obviously, the fact of wearing a mask and the fear of Covid-19 made us lose compared to what we hoped for, but we had rather a good season, we had authors who came … We had to cancel a big educational festival on site, unfortunately, but the authors came anyway, Arthur de Pins, Midam… So we had some great days, and a great season. We had also made some improvements to the fleet upstream, so what we lost in traffic we gained for example in stores, and with even happier customers than usual.

Photo: Parc Spirou / Ed. Dupuis

The landing of your new editorial director, Stéphane Beaujean, in the company went well?

His arrival went very well. He is a great enthusiast, very eclectic, able to take an interest in and understand very diverse projects as is the case at Dupuis. He made contact with all the diversity of Dupuis editors, and he has already been accepted. We are very happy to have it.

For the rest, what are the big events that will happen and that will erase the memory of the Covid?

I would already like to salute the enormous work of the booksellers, and also the customers, who attended. Comics gained 29% in July. When I saw the number I had to look at it twice, I couldn’t believe it! It is extremely promising and encouraging, even if we remain quite uncertain. I find that great, and the fact that it is the booksellers who benefit from it is even better.

“The Golden Age” by Cyril Pedrosa and Roxanne Moreil. Volume 2 is released in November 2020.

We have therefore planned a nice program for the end of the year, for adults and youth alike. On Aire Libre we have the end of Golden age of Cyril Pedrosa, we also have Inhuman, the return of Denis Bajram and duo Be Bajram and Rochebrune with an SF like we haven’t had for a long time at Aire Libre.

In youth, we have Zombilénium which is rising more and more, especially with the short stories that have appeared in Spirou. Arthur de Pins is in great shape, he manages to combine humor, well-felt messages, graphic virtuosity …

“Zombilénium T.5: Black Friday”, by Arthur de Pins. It is published in November 2020.

And then we have the sure values ​​of Dupuis, the Game Over, the Kid Paddle of Midam. We also have the end of Roger and his humans, with Cyprien, and the capsules co-produced with him on YouTube which are doing very well.

And then a title that you spoke about on ActuaBD which is The blue tunics, and volume 65 which comes out before 64 (only Dupuis can do that), with this nice exercise in style and this homage well paid for a very very nice story.

And obviously the Spirou among the Soviets of Fred Neidhardt and Fabrice Tarrin which I hope will allow all the people who liked Spirou in their life to find the Spirou of the “great adventure”, with a lot of humor, and a very personal vision of the character.

“Spirou chez les Soviets” by Fred Neidhardt and Fabrice Tarrin. In bookstores from September 2020.

Finally, there is the Marsupilami of Frank Pé and Zidrou which is eagerly awaited!

So a rich program but controlled and contained, so as to create traffic while having the possibility of defending each book correctly.

Interview by Didier Pasamonik, transcribed by Jaime Bonkowski from Passos.

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