One of the cultural highlights of Clermont- l'Hérault, in Languedoc, France, is La Vache qui Lit—a secondhand bookstore operated by Eric Simard. Specializing in BD—bande dessinée, or comics—Simard named the shop after the Laughing Cow character invented for the cheese brand "La Vache qui Rit", in 1924, by Benjamin Rabier.

On a visit to the store earlier this month, Eric showed me copy of Un Bon Petit Cochon, a 1949 book by Rabier who, he said, was the first illustrator to draw a smile on an animal.

A large portion of the store is given over to BD, with customers of all ages browsing at leisure, including a pair of teens sprawled on the floor, absorbed in some recent Manga titles.

 
Eric Simard, proprietor of La Vache qui Lit. Photos: Peggy Roalf

BD [pronounced Bey-Day], is second in readership only to comics in the States. But the country’s annual BD fest, Angoulême International Comics Festival, is second in the world only to Tokyo’s Comiket.

The 2011 Grand Prize at Angoulême went to Art Spiegelman, who chaired the 2012 edition for which he also designed the print mascot and award trophy. The 2012 winner of the Best Book Award went to Guy Delisle for Jerusalem (Drawn & Quarterly).

La Vache qui Lit, 39 boulevard Gambetta, Clermont l'Hérault, 34800 France.

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