Everything is ready for the XXV edition of COMICON Napoli, which will be held from May 1st to 4th at the Mostra d'Oltremare. The event will celebrate the special anniversary of the International Pop Culture Festival, one of the largest cross-media festivals in the world.
Article Key Points
- 1 Target New Records After 2024 Success
- 2 Tanino Liberatore: Magister and Protagonist of the 2025 Edition
- 3 Max Pezzali Debuts at COMICON with the New Comic Book Max Forever
- 4 Horror Film Previews and Talks with Special Guests
- 5 Absolute Batman Debuts and New Winx Club Preview
- 6 Numerous Authors and Artists Guest at COMICON
- 7 Rich Representation of International Artists
- 8 Italian Cartoonists Protagonists in Naples
- 9 eSerie A Goleador: Playoffs and Final Eight at COMICON
- 10 Cosplay Challenge PRO: Show and Competition
- 11 COMICON 2025 Palmarès Awards: Recognition of Excellence
- 12 COMICON Naples: Positive Economic Impact on the Territory
Thanks to the collaboration with the Federico II University, COMICON studies the economic impact on the territory, which has been growing: 36 million Euros in 2023 and 42 million Euros in 2024. This benefit is generated by a festival promoted by a youth cooperative with limited public intervention.
COMICON Napoli returns with over 400 exhibitors, 600 scheduled events and more than 450 guests from three continents, and will be accompanied by the OFF program, this year even richer in events in the city. To celebrate this important milestone, the festival poster was created by Jamie Hewlett, known for creating Gorillaz.
Target New Records After 2024 Success
After the extraordinary success of the 2024 edition, which welcomed 175.000 visitors, COMICON aims for new records with a packed calendar of events, guests, exhibitions, previews, meetings, concerts and more. The festival's numerous thematic areas include Comics, Videogames, Cinema & TV Series, Game, Asian, Music, Young, LARP (Neverland), Urban and PizzaCon.
Tanino Liberatore: Magister and Protagonist of the 2025 Edition
Tanino Liberatore, master of Italian illustration and comics, is the Magister of the 2025 edition. COMICON will present the exhibition DRAWING POWER. The art of Liberatore, which traces his career. Liberatore has also selected Massimo Carnevale as an artist in another exhibition. Liberatore will be the protagonist of numerous meetings and special initiatives.
Max Pezzali Debuts at COMICON with the New Comic Book Max Forever
Max Pezzali will be a guest at COMICON Napoli for the first time and will present his new comic book, the fourth volume of the Max Forever collection, written and illustrated by Roberto Recchioni. Together they will meet the public on Thursday 1 May and a signing session will follow.
Altan Receives COMICON Special Lifetime Achievement Award
Comics and satire legend Altan will receive the COMICON 2025 Special Award for Lifetime Achievement. His character La Pimpa turns 50 and will be celebrated with a dialogue between Altan and Zerocalcare.
Topolino Magazine Celebrates COMICON with a Variant Cover
Topolino Magazine will present issue 3623 with a variant cover dedicated to COMICON Napoli, created by Blasco Pisapia and Mario Perrotta.
TV Previews with The Jackal and Lillo & Frank Matano
The Jackal are back at COMICON with the preview of the second season of Pesci Piccoli. Also exclusively the first two episodes of Il Baracchino with the voices of Lillo and Frank Matano.
Yuji Horii: Legendary Game Designer Guest for the First Time in Italy
For the first time in Italy, Yuji Horii, creator of Portopia and Dragon Quest, will arrive.
Horror Film Previews and Talks with Special Guests
Space for cinema with the Italian previews of Presence by Steven Soderbergh and Werewolves with Frank Grillo. Mani Nude based on the novel by Paola Barbato will also be presented. Among the talks: Homage to David Lynch with Asia Argento, Igort and Paola Barbato, and The Boys with Darick Robertson.
Absolute Batman Debuts and New Winx Club Preview
The first volume of Absolute Batman with creators Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta will debut in Italy. While waiting for the Winx Club reboot, COMICON will host a preview of the Made in Italy classic and Virginia Bocelli will sing “Forever Winx” exclusively.
Numerous Authors and Artists Guest at COMICON
Many authors will be present with talks and showcases, including Kafka Asagiri and Sango Harukawa (Bungo Stray Dogs), Thomas Taylor (Harry Potter), James Harren (Ultramega), Dave McKean, Mike Mason (Call of Cthulhu), Jon J Muth, Shin'Ichi Sakamoto (#DRCL, Innocent), Arthur De Pins, Boichi (Dr. Stone), Paskim, Álvaro Martínez Bueno (The Nice House on The Lake), Charles Cecil (Broken Sword), Simon Bisley, Chien Chia-cheng and Yuzu.
Rich Representation of International Artists
The festival will welcome artists from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Europe. From France will come David B., Eric Lambé, Arthur de Pins, Jérémie Almanza, Clément Léfèvre and Elisa Marraudino. From Spain Marcos Martín, Laura Perez Granel and Ghaaro. From Russia Stepan Razorenov.
Italian Cartoonists Protagonists in Naples
Among the Italian cartoonists present: Zerocalcare, Igort, Davide Toffolo, Sio, Fumettibrutti, Zuzu, Daniele Kong, Luca Enoch, Leo Ortolani, Simone Bianchi, Alessandro Cappuccio, Lorenzo Pastrovicchio, Mirka Andolfo, Simone Di Meo, Quasirosso, Labadessa and Teresa Radice. A special event will be dedicated to the relationship between comics, art and writing with Davide Toffolo, Davide Iodice, Marcello Jori and the Mayor Gaetano Manfredi.
eSerie A Goleador: Playoffs and Final Eight at COMICON
For the first time in Campania, COMICON will host the Playoffs and the Final Eight of the eSerie A Goleador, the virtual championship organized by Lega Serie A. Sixteen teams will compete for the title and the top-placed teams will access the international FC Pro competitions. Among the talents present: Riberaribell, Dr. Whi7es and Misshatred.
Cosplay Challenge PRO: Show and Competition
The Cosplay Challenge PRO returns on Saturday, May 3, in partnership with Cosplay World Masters and Tournament of Champions, rewarding performance, costume and likeness.
COMICON 2025 Palmarès Awards: Recognition of Excellence
The Palmarès 2025 Awards will be assigned in eleven categories, including the Micheluzzi Awards for Italian works and the COMICON Awards for international works. The jury is chaired by Teresa Radice and composed of Gianluca Fru, Francesca Michielin, Ghemon and Alessandra Roncato. The trophies will be renewed and inspired by Petra Chérie for Italian works and created by the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples for international works.
COMICON Naples: Positive Economic Impact on the Territory
Thanks to the collaboration with the Federico II University, COMICON studies the economic impact on the territory, which has been growing: 36 million Euros in 2023 and 42 million Euros in 2024. This benefit is generated by a festival promoted by a youth cooperative with limited public intervention.
Article published on 17 April 2025 - 14:15
I think that COMICON Napoli is a very important event for popular culture, but I wonder if it can really attract so many visitors this year. Maybe they should improve the advertising to attract more people.