Lucca Comics & Games is a fair dedicated to comics, animation, games (role-playing, tabletop, card), video games and fantasy and science fiction imagery, which takes place in Lucca in Tuscany, on horseback days between October and November. It is considered the most important Italian exhibition of the sector, first in Europe and second in the world, after the Tokyo Comiket.
Organization
The event is organized annually by the limited liability company Lucca Comics & Games, established in 2004, and managed by Lucca Holding. Previously the event was managed directly by the Municipality of Lucca. President of Lucca Comics & Games is Francesco Caredio, while the director of the event is Renato Genovese.
In recent years, Lucca Comics & Games has also organized other events related to the world of comics and animation. In 2008 and 2009 Lucca Animation was held, an international competition dedicated to animated films. The first edition was held from 22 to 26 April, while the second from 28 October to 1 November in conjunction with Lucca Comics & Games. Lucca Collezionando was organized from 25 to 27 April 2008, a market exhibition dedicated to rare and collectible comics.
In March 2012, the Lucca City of Comics Committee was founded, made up of Lucca Comics & Games s.r.l, the Comics and Image Museum and the Culture Councilor of Lucca, which aims to coordinate the activities of both institutions .
According to what was published by Rinaldo Traini, one of the creators of the exhibition and for decades among the curators, the current Lucca Comics & Games could no longer boast the title of International Exhibition of Comics, Animation Film and Illustration, because it is a different entity , as the International Comics Exhibition, owned by the Image Association, was moved to Rome in 1994 for the event.
Exposure
It takes place every year between the end of October and the beginning of November in Lucca, in an area, in the last few editions, of around 30,000m², of which around 15,000 is for exhibitions.
All the most important operators in the sector participate and an ever-growing number of specialized shops, comics shops and ludic-cultural associations. During the days of the market exhibition, various events take place including concerts, screenings, meetings with authors, presentations, live role-playing and cosplayer tournaments and shows dedicated to the comics and animation sector in general.
Both within Lucca Comics and Lucca Games you can also find exhibitions and exhibition itineraries dedicated to the main world artists or titles of works present at the festival. Some of these exhibitions are staged in the evocative Renaissance setting of the city, inside the same ancient buildings of Lucca.
Usually the sheds where the exhibitions are held are given the same names as the places in the city where they are located (squares, buildings, streets).