While studying illustration at Norwich School of Art & Design I got the chance to spend three months in France on an exchange program. My tutor pressed me into going, and it turned out to be an enlightening and consequential experience.

Until then I had no idea about French comics, and cared even less. You see, I was going to be the main Judge Dredd artist within a year of leaving college and, if that failed, at the very least I would be filling in on the odd 'Future Shock'. That would be while I was talking to DC about landing the HELLBLAZER gig, and was being invited over to Alan Moore's for tea.

A few years of portfolio queues and the black hole that is the Post Office brought me to my senses, and six years out of college I recently completed the artwork for UNE AFFAIRE DES SORCIERS, my second bande dessinee (BD) for Emmanuel Proust Editions with the writer Laurent-Frederick Bollée. Though I did land a 'Terror Tale' at 2000AD along the way, and I do talk to the Americans, right now it all seems to be happening for me across the Channel, and that's fine by me.

'I had no idea about French comics, and cared even less.' I began to make inroads into the French industry in 1999, when I first went to Angoulême with my then-girlfriend Stef, who happened to be French and was able to speak perfect English. I had colour and black-and-white artwork to show so, with my portfolio, we did the rounds in the two enormous tents which fill the Place Du Champs De Mars; the section of the festival where the publishers hang out, do business and sell truckloads of BDs.

Angoulême is an awesome convention, and a must for any serious wannabe. There's so much to relate about it; it has so much life and energy that it throws the UK industry into sharp relief. When you see coach loads of school children on day trips clogging up the town, and you notice that the street signs are actually little word balloons, well, you know this is where it's happening. My command of French back then wasn't so hot, but with Stef's help I met a few industry types and got some encouraging feedback. (At least, that's what Stef said.)

The second time we went was better. In 2000 I came away with good contacts at some of the biggest publishing houses, including Casterman, Dargaud and Les Humanoides Associés. Through Dargaud I was introduced to Bollée, and we went away to cook something up. In the end it wasn't their cup of tea, and I remember a protracted negotiation (there are three editors at Dargaud who have to agree for a title to be given the green light).

For a time it looked as though they would pick up our project ORDALIE, but in the end they turned it down. EP Editions approached us after reading an online interview with Bollée, and offered us the chance to do a one-shot. Bollée radically re-worked the ORDALIE concept and turned it into LONDON INFERNO, a black and white softcover 80-page BD that was released in November 2003.

'I made inroads into the French industry when I first went to Angoulême.' This format is considered low profile in France (black and white not selling anywhere near as well as colour), so when EP offered Bollée and I the chance to adapt the George Chesbro crime novel AN AFFAIR OF SORCERERS into a BD, I was pleased to hear that it would be a full colour hardcover, to be released in two installments of 46 pages (a 'classic' format BD). MONGO LE MAGNIFIQUE 1: UNE AFFAIRE DES SORCIERS would thus have a higher commercial profile than LONDON INFERNO.

It's not obvious how the French industry works when you encounter it for the first time. With so many editors to hassle, I believed that work would be abundant. The only problem I could see (overlooking, as I do, any glaring technical deficiencies in my draftsmanship and storytelling ability) was convincing them I could understand scripts in French. As it turns out, there's a bit more to it than that.

The bulk of the market is made up of homegrown talent and material, stylistically tending towards simple linework and conventional page layouts. It is a different style to English and American comics, and that is how the French fanboy likes it. I was told, and still am, that my style is "too American" to work in France (which annoys me no end, especially when I am told by the Americans that my work is "too European").

One can't go skimping on backgrounds either, because they don't go for Eisner-esque page layouts and fiendishly clever cartoon devices. One editor thought it unnecessary that some of my figures stray outside the panel border. Splash pages are uncommon, and most pages will have upwards of eight panels on each, prompting many BD artists to work on A2.

'I'm 'too American' for France, and 'too European' in America.' The drawing style also needs to remain consistent. My work can veer from the graphic to the sketchy in the space of a page, and some French editors will not accept this. I find that the artwork in a lot of BDs either resemble an advertising storyboard or stills from an animated movie. As far as I know, there are no penciller/inker partnerships, and it could be a waste of time to go to France with this method of working in mind.

For aspiring writers, the preference among editors is for trilogies, with 46 pages in each book. Any pitch that strays from this format is unlikely to even be read. The French love sequels with stable creative teams (as do we all); look no further than VIII, or BLUEBERRY for prime examples of this. And of course, English language writers pitching to the French need to get their pitches translated.

"Too comics" is a line I hear a lot from editors, 'comics' being how they classify British and American titles. Comics are big in France, with all of the big-name creators being revered; it was a French art student who tried to tell me in broken English how great HELLBOY was, way back in 1997 before I had heard of it. Comics are loved in France, even some of the superhero books that we might get embarrassed by.

The more discerning Continental fan - the lovers of the medium (and everyone I've met who works in the industry) - will pick up a book no matter where in the world it's from. If it's an English title, they'll likely prefer to read it in the original version, and shun the translation. But comics are not considered to be mainstream, and I'd say that the average BD reader (who lives right across the demographic), mainly sticks to the home grown material.

Cultural differences aside, the single greatest obstacle for most creators hoping to work in Europe is the language barrier. It is important, and contrary to common believe, the French don't all speak perfect English. But if you make the effort, then they will too. It's all about making the effort.

An editor of my acquaintance is wondering where all the English creators are.

His name is for sale, at the right price.

Roger Mason is a storyboard artist and comics illustrator. His works include MONGO LE MAGNIFIQUE and LONDON INFERNO, and the small press titles THE MICE, THE BODY SWAP and STANISLAS: OFF THE HOOK.

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