A nice break in Lucca before the oncoming winter, just for the weekend, profiting from the accommodation at reduced price offered by Tuscany Holiday Rent and from the Lucca Comics & Games which started yesterday, November the 1st 2012.
The customary tribute to art, creativity and imagination is going on for three days up to November the 4. Until Sunday the city is going to be the hub of comics fans whirling around the fantastic world of comics, games and animated films. The event includes meetings with the authors, presentations, historical re-enactments, workshops and musical performances spreading over the squares and historical buildings of this Tuscan jewel.
The show celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the first issue of “ Diabolik”, the comics featuring the handsome and brilliant thief, flanked by the charming Eva Kant and the inspector Ginko. “ Fifty Years lived Diabolically” lands at Lucca comics now after stops in Milan, Naples and Cremona. The journey into the life of this smart adventurer is accompanied by the memorabilia from the archives of its publishing house Astorina.
Another anniversary is celebrated, “ Eighty Years Together” a memory publication of Mickey Mouse comics.
The book is rich in unpublished curiosities, rare historical stories as Mickey Mouse journalist of 1935. Another important show about “Il Corriere dei Ragazzi”, popular Italian kid comics of the seventies is held at Palazzo Ducale, hosting its famous characters such as Nick Carter, Jolly Flipper and Lupo Alberto.
The comics fans are not going to miss the retrospective dedicated to the Argentine comics strip artist Enrique Breccia or the original watercolours of the young Portoguese Cyril Pedrosa. A special mention deserves” Marvellous Divas” the strips of Sara Pichelli and Laura Zuccheri designers of the official poster of the festival.
Japan is playing a major role at Lucca Comics. It is possible to admire Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s third collection ”Drawn& Quaterly’s” where the author of manga collections peers into lives pervaded by darkness and loneliness such as in his famous ” Good-Bye”. Another great artist of manga, Takeshi Obata, known to most fans for his “Death Note” and “Bakuman” is the protagonist of a much waited conference.
In the extraordinary event , the show of Gary Frank , the designer of Batman and Superman exhibits at Palazzo Bernardini 16 original drawings of his own personal collection.
The film section hasn’t got to be neglected.
It focuses on “Frankenweenie” the new film of Tim Burton which is going to be shown in Italy in January.
The aficionados are surely going to appreciate the previews of ” Django” by Quentin Tarantino and the latest adventure of Marvel studios “ Iron Man 3”, sequel to Iron Man 1 and 2 , scheduled in the States in May 2013, starring Robert Downey, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Kingsley among others.
