La communication éditoriale : un outil de légitimation. Le cas de L’Association

Dealing with the legitimacy of comic books, researchers mainly focus on external consecration bodies (institutions, medias). Studying the deeds and claims of the producers reveals their direct involvement in this process. While communicating with its members and readers, the publishing house L'Association keeps on vindicating its own conception of what comic books should be and establises its own legitimacy through the vindication of an historical genealogy and of some values. This position, and more specifically the publication of the newsletter Les Nouvelles de l‘hydre, lead to polemics both with other actors in the sphere of comics and with its own authors and subscribers. Combining symbolic production and book promotion, this communication process invites us to reconsider Bourdieu's théories : is a distinction between aesthetics and economy the cornerstone of the concept of légitimacy?