Communautés de balcons : intimité et rencontres dans la BD québécoise contemporaine

Abstract

This article discusses the place of the balcony as a central architectural element in the urban imagination of the city of Montreal and, more specifically, its representations in contemporary comics. While it has been an integral part of the city's heritage since the 19^th century, the balcony is also a vector of sociability between the city's inhabitants. Transposed into the plots of contemporary albums, the balcony raises the question of the gaze: it allows us to see the city from a privileged position, but at the same time exposes us and reveals a part of our intimacy. Based on a survey of five contemporary albums, this article will attempt to identify the ways in which balconies are represented in the current ninth art, both graphically (framing, shots, etc.) and narratively (what kinds of stories does the presence of balconies provoke?).