Widely considered to be the biggest pop culture event in Europe, Lucca Comics & Games will be returning to the walled city this November.
Every year, Lucca Comics & Games has a theme and this year, for the festival’s for its 57th edition, the theme is ‘Together’, which is highlighted in the 2023 poster for the event (see above), which has been created by twins, Asaf Hanuka and Tomer Hanuka.
“The image captures the essence of Together in a unique and evocative way; the characters depicted represent the multiple tribes that animate the vast community of the festival,” says Festival Director, Emanuele Vietina. “By doing things together we come out transformed and the stories once narrated and therefore shared, begin to take on a life of their own. The heart of it is that on our own we can go faster, but together we will go further.”
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of Lucca Games, which the games section at the festival and to celebrate, a vast array of gaming faces are attending alongside some stellar names from comics, TV and film.
First announced guests include Naoki Urasawa, Garth Ennis, Craig Thompson, Howard Chaykin, Don Ross, Jim Lee, Luis Royo, and Kim Bo-Young.
That’s not all, actor Joe Manganiello returns yet again to the event as an international ambassador. Manganiello is currently working on what has been announced as the “definitive” D&D documentary, in collaboration with Wizards of the Coast, scheduled for 2024.
Something else celebrating 30 years is Magic: The Gathering and The Creator and historic President of Wizards of Coast, Peter Adkison will be in Lucca to present the Italian premiere of the feature film Igniting the Spark.The Story of Magic: The Gathering.
In the video game part of the festival, Rand Miller, CEO and Co-Founder of Cyan Worlds, co-creator of Myst and Riven will be attending as a special guest. As well as the 30th anniversary of Lucca Games, it’s also the 30th anniversary of Myst, the iconic video game.
“It is difficult to overestimate the importance of Cyan and these two iconic games in the development of the gaming industry,” says Vietina. “Lucca Comics & Games is fortunate to celebrate Rand and Cyan on this important anniversary which demonstrates Lucca Crea’s thought leadership, and recognition of international creatives that shape not only our culture, but our future.”
There’s plenty more to look forward to at this year’s Lucca Comics & Games, keep up to date by subscribing to the event’s newsletter here.
Lucca Comics & Games will be taking place on 1-5 November. Find more event news at SciFiNow.
