The Tuscan event returns from 30 October to 3 November. Among the main attractions there are obviously Japan Town, a favorite destination for fans of the Land of the Rising Sun, the many exceptional guests including the maestro Yoshitaka Amano and then the Nintendo, Funko, Yas!Games, Topps, Hasbro, Star Comics stands , Gigaciao and Redbull and much more
The new edition of Lucca Comics & Games 2024 has begun. Fans and enthusiasts have already begun to flock to the streets of the city, for an event that this year too has no rivals in terms of number of initiatives, events, exhibitors and turnout of public. Below are some of the new features not to be missed for this season.
Japan Town
There’s no need to go into too much detail, the stand dedicated to Japan is, as always, one of the largest and hosts everything from gadgets, manga, action figures and much more. After all, we are talking about over 120 exhibitors in this pavilion alone. Japan Live are back, the coin op area for playing, the food area which will be larger and more comfortable while new entries include the Mangaka Area, with themed showcases for those who aspire to become a mangaka, and the exhibition for Chogokin’s 50th anniversary.
Exceptional guests
One of the main attractions of this fair, especially for the most hardcore enthusiasts, is the chance to meet your favorite artists. This year many will be present such as Brice Cossu, Alexis Sentenac and Xavier Dorison, Georges Ramaïoli (ZululandSegni d’Autore), Laurent Hopman and Renaud Roche (BAO Publishing, in Lucca with the Star Wars universe in Lucas’ Wars) Frédéric Pillot from France, but also Scott Snyder (guest in collaboration with Star Comics and SaldaPress), Tula Lotay (Star Comics) and Kazu Kibuishi (Il Castoro) with his exhibition at Palazzo Ducale. In addition to Peach Momoko, Jeph Loeb (author of Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Hush). And again, Daniel Clowes (Coconino Press); Sweeney Boo (BD Editions), Craig Thompson (Rizzoli-Lizard), Dustin Nguyen and many others.
Highly anticipated is Yoshitaka Amano, a Japanese illustrator famous above all for his work in the Final Fantasy videogame saga, who is also the designer of the three covers of this year’s Lucca Comics.
NINTENDO (Piazza Bernardini)
Nintendo will be present at Lucca Comics & Games with many exclusive activities, first of all the presence, for the first time in Italy, of a Nintendo Pop-Up Store, a space where it will be possible to purchase gadgets and accessories from the most famous worlds of Nintendo . Furthermore, at the Giardino degli Osservanti in Lucca, from 10am to 2pm at Lucca station, it will be possible to visit the official The Legend of Zelda train of the Trenitalia Regionale.
Yas!Games
The brand will be present at this year’s Lucca Comics and Games, more precisely at stand 347 of the pavilion dedicated to board games, namely the Carducci one. Visitors to the Tuscan fair will be able to try various games such as Kill Kimthe conspiracy game in which each player must pretend to want to eliminate the dictator Kim, while concealing their true objective; or First To Worst, the collaborative party game in which you have to get into the heads of other players to guess their unlikely rankings.
Topps
Carducci Pavilion, Topps has always been one of the points of reference for all fans of playing and collectible cards. Many surprises and novelties: from the brand new Star Wars Galaxy Chrome and Marvel Chrome collections to the Showtime collection. Inside one of the boxes of the line available at the Topps stand there is a 1/1 card of the legend Oliver Kahn, a unique piece that will send the lucky person who manages to find it into raptures.
HASBRO
Hasbro will bring tournaments, previews, and exclusives to boardgame enthusiasts. For true collectors of superheroes and stellar myths the appointment is in Piazza Santa Maria with Hasbro FAN. It will be the meeting point for communities and devotees of the Marvel universe and iconic sagas such as Transformers and Star Wars. There are two most anticipated moments: Thursday 31 October from 10.10am, Doug Hopkins, the well-known game designer of Avalon Hill, will unbox the new HeroQuest expansion, First Light. At 18, however, in Hall of England Marvel artists Dwight Stall and Chris Reiff will reveal the behind-the-scenes secrets of their artistic process. With them also Carmine Di Giandomenico, leading author of the contemporary Italian comics scene.
Funko
Funko arrives in Piazza Santa Maria, where you can purchase, exclusively, seven Funko Pop! coming from the Marvel narrative universes such as Tony Stark, Deadpool and Spiderman. From Disney comes Stitch, while for One Piece comes Pop! by Roronoa Zoro. To finish off Neil Gaiman’s timeless masterpiece, comes the exclusive Pop! of Dream, protagonist of the legendary Sandman comic series, while, directly from Springfield, the iconic Homer Simpson.
STAR COMICS (Caffè delle Mura 2)
For Star Comics an exceptional guest: Scott Snyder. Various new products will be available at the stand, starting from the works created by the publishing house’s guest authors. Readers will thus be able to find the first issue of Azuma sensei’s VERSUS, written by ONE with the story board by Bose, both in the regular version and in the variant drawn by Federica Di Meo. The first issue of Tenkaichi will also be present, drawn by Azuma and available both individually and in a bundle with the first issue of VERSUS.
GIGACIAO (Napoleon Pavilion 2)
The independent Italian publishing house founded by Sio, Dado, Frafrogg and Giacomo Bevilacqua this year celebrates 50 years of Lupo Alberto at Lucca Comics & Games, with a new volume entitled Tutto un Altro Lupo Alberto. Fans will be able to find unmissable previews including The Mysterious Duck of Japan, which arrives in Lucca with over 200 pages of ninjas, fights, samurai and brawls and One Pizz Z, protagonist of Gigazine 17.
REDBULL (Casermetta San Regolo)
Among the proposed activities it will be possible to embark on a timed challenge which involves searching for some treasures in the sand; master a test of reflexes and face a challenge of aiming and precision with the bow. Events not to be missed On Saturday 2 November, starting from 7.00 pm, the Caffé delle Mura will host an event open to the public during which the musician Fabio Bertolotti, aka Kenobit, will perform an exclusive DJ set. Furthermore, for the most passionate gamers, on Thursday 31 October from 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm and Sunday 3 November from 1.00 pm to 2.30 pm, it will be possible to take part in a meet & greet with Sara “Kurolily ” Stefanizzi, Red Bull’s top player who will be available to share his passion and experience with all fans.
