Comics in Algeria
Algerian comics were born after independence. The first comic strips were published in 1967 in the weekly “Algérie Actualité” and from 1969 in the daily “El Moudjahid”. It is considered the oldest and best known of all Arab, African and even Muslim countries. The names of certain cartoonists have transcended national borders and prestigious prizes have been awarded to Algerian cartoonists, whether individually or collectively.
The comics magazine M'Quidèch published in February 1969 in Arabic and French, with strong circulations which reached 20,000 copies for each edition and for each language, was both a breeding ground which allowed the emergence of many talented cartoonists and a school which has, until today, had no equivalent. In the space of five years, from 1969 to 1974, young Algerian cartoonists imposed the names of heroes like M'Quidèch, Richa, Bouzid and Zina, which would eventually supplant the names of the heroes of Franco-Belgian and American comic strips who nourished the imagination of the generation before and after independence.
The large number of comic book magazines published by different institutions, press companies and publishing houses and the considerable number of comic book albums, of different genres, published mainly by the Société Nationale d'Edition et de Diffusion (SNED) and the Algerian National Book Company (ENAL) as well as the impressive number of meetings, days, exhibitions and festivals organized from the early 1980s to the end of the 1990s testify to the vitality and of the dynamism of the 9th Algerian art.
All these efforts and all these initiatives have ended up being recognized and considered at their true value since Algeria has institutionalized the organization, since 2008, of an international comics festival in Algiers, increasingly popular with both national cartoonists and the big names in international comics.
The comics magazine M'Quidèch published in February 1969 in Arabic and French, with strong circulations which reached 20,000 copies for each edition and for each language, was both a breeding ground which allowed the emergence of many talented cartoonists and a school which has, until today, had no equivalent. In the space of five years, from 1969 to 1974, young Algerian cartoonists imposed the names of heroes like M'Quidèch, Richa, Bouzid and Zina, which would eventually supplant the names of the heroes of Franco-Belgian and American comic strips who nourished the imagination of the generation before and after independence.
The large number of comic book magazines published by different institutions, press companies and publishing houses and the considerable number of comic book albums, of different genres, published mainly by the Société Nationale d'Edition et de Diffusion (SNED) and the Algerian National Book Company (ENAL) as well as the impressive number of meetings, days, exhibitions and festivals organized from the early 1980s to the end of the 1990s testify to the vitality and of the dynamism of the 9th Algerian art.
All these efforts and all these initiatives have ended up being recognized and considered at their true value since Algeria has institutionalized the organization, since 2008, of an international comics festival in Algiers, increasingly popular with both national cartoonists and the big names in international comics.