Lucca Comics
Lucca Comics has been the nerve centre of comics in Italy since its inception and is the oldest part of the exhibition, an ever-expanding event that includes the whole art and business world of Italian comics amongst its exhibitors - publishers, writers, artists, distributors, retailers, collectors and antique dealers. In particular, a great many new publications are introduced during the Fair, proof that Lucca Comics is the real showcase of Italian comics, the one date not to be missed by anyone in the sector.
The programme is packed with events and activities taking place during the exhibition: conferences and discussions in the Meeting Rooms, screenings of animated films, workshops and seminaries, meetings with the public and live performances in the specially equipped Authors's Area; not to mention the endless series of events created almost spontaneously by the enthusiastic, participating audience - from Cosplay, the grand comic-character costume competition (the Italian version was first introduced in Lucca), to themed music shows. Inside the fair pavilions there are also exhibitions of works by great writers and artists or which focus on the most interesting themes in the relationship between comics and communication, a recurring theme of Lucca Comics. The main setting for exhibitions, however, is the historic centre of Lucca, within splendid settings like San Romano, a magnificent baroque church restored as a concert hall and exhibition space, next door to the new Italian Museum of Comics. As well as exhibitions, there are also top international guests: over the years, the greats of the comics world has come to Lucca, from Will Eisner to Stan Lee, Neil Gaiman to Sidney Jordan, Jean Van Hamme to Juan Gimenez, and countless others from Italy and the four corners of the globe. Finally, the prizes awarded by Lucca Comics, the prestigious Gran Guinigis, set the seal on the best writers and artists and best comic book stories of the year.
Info about Comics 06
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The revolution that Renato Genovese mentions in his letter is not simply rhetoric but hard fact and the evidence for it is hard to avoid. The decision to transfer the whole comics section of Lucca Comics & Games to the historic centre of Lucca was not one that was taken lightly. Forty years on since its first appearance in Lucca, the “Comics” are going back to where they started but on a much, much bigger scale than previously. This decision is sound and thoroughly thought through and is based on a fact that emerged very clearly during the last Fair at the Punto Fiera in Via delle Tagliate, namely, that the Fair had already reached its limits at that site.
The philosophy adopted over the last few years has been to regard Lucca Comics as a complex entity to be developed organically in all its aspects, by progressively strengthening the exhibition section, implementing structures and functions aimed to professionals, increasing opportunities to promote publications and meetings with authors and artists, and also by paying particular attention to the fundamental (and often misunderstood) entertainment aspects that are required to encourage the ever-increasing numbers of visitors to enjoy a whole day within the restricted spaces of the Fair area. Lucca Comics, however, needs to develop still further and, while transferring to the centre of Lucca is not without its difficulties, it is both a goal and a stage in a process of growth that has not yet come to an end.
The explicit objective of this change is not only to offer exhibitors, authors and artists and the public in general more space with a certain impact, but also, to create the conditions for the next quality leap that will allow Lucca Comics to realise its true potential through increased opportunities for enjoying the event as an increasingly rewarding, intense experience. And if that happens, the whole world of Comics can only benefit from it.
Giovanni Russo
Lucca Comics Chief-Coordinator