This year, attendees will be treated to retrospective  exposition on the work of cartoonist Michel Rabagliati and an homage to French  comic book series Astérix for its 40 year anniversary. The ten years of Quebec  comic book publisher La Pastèque and the 30 years of the satirical comic book  magazine Croc are also planned.

L’Officiel, a subsection of the festival, will continue to  celebrate alternative comic books and graphic arts. The FBFQ will also host the  awards for the 2009 winners of the Bédéis Causa, celebrating Quebec  cartoonists. This year’s nominees for the various prizes include:

Prix  Réal-Fillion (First time creator)

 
• Maryse  Chouinard, pour Soeur mon âme (Monet Éditeur)
 
• Francis  Desharnais, pour Burquette (Éditions les 400 coups)
 
• Yvon  Roy, pour Agaguk (Éditions Adonis)

Grand prix  de la Ville de Québec (Best French language  graphic novel published in Quebec)

 
• Burquette,  de Francis Desharnais (Éditions les 400 coups)
 
• Les  Ravins, de Philippe Girard (Mécanique générale)
 
• Voyage  en zone d'exploitation, de Louis Rémillard (Éditions les 400 coups)

Prix Albéric-Bourgeois (Best foreign graphic novel published outside  Quebec by a Quebec-based cartoonist)

 
• Les  Nombrils t. 3 : Les liens de l’amitié, de Delaf et Dubuc (Dupuis)
 
• Les  Druides t. 4 : La ronde des géants, de Jacques Lamontagne (Soleil Productions)
 
• L'ordre  des dragons t. 1 : La lance, Denis Rodier (Soleil Productions)

Prix  Maurice-Petitdidier (Favourite foreign French language graphic novel)

 
• Spirou,  Journal d'un ingénu, d’Émile Bravo (Dupuis)
 
• Tout  seul, de Chabouté (Vents d’Ouest)
 
• Le  combat ordinaire, t. 4 : Planter des clous, de Manu Larcenet

The Albert-Chartier Prize will also be awarded to an  individual or organization that stood out in the French-speaking comic book  industry in the province of Quebec.

It is not clear from the information  provided, if the awards also include Francophone Canadians living outside of  Quebec. There are a million of them in other parts of Canada. For more  information on the FBFQ, please visit their Web site at www.fbfq.com. Please note that the Web site is  in French only.