The Lake Como Comic Art Festival: Can We Tempt You To A World Class European Comics Festival?

As you know, we’re all about comic conventions and festivals here at Comicon. And here’s one to definitely add to that list — The Lake Como Comic Art Festival.

Set on the shores of beautiful Lake Como, Italy, the Lake Como Comic Art Festival is a very special curated comics festival now on its fifth year that’s uniquely crafted by its two founders, Arnaud Lapeyre and Steven Morger, both of whom have plenty of convention organising experience.

As with all my favourite conventions, including Thought Bubble and The Lakes International Comic Art Festival in the UK, Lake Como is is about the comic artists and the medium.

But what truly makes it so special, apart from the beautiful setting that is, is the fact that Lake Como Festival limits attendees to just 1,000 — perfect for a more intimate and relaxed atmosphere where comic fans and the artists involved can really enjoy the whole thing — and with 60 artists, that’s a hell of a lot of talent to go around!

Now, as we say, none of us here at Comicon have been to a Lake Como Festival, but we’ve heard many good things said about it by both fans and artists who have been and it really sounds and feels like somewhere that just gets it right — you know, like this from Bill Sienkiewicz, designer of the Lake Como CAF logo…

“I’ve been to a lot of conventions around the world, but I’ve never seen anything quite like the Lake Como Comic Art Festival. This festival is an amazing mix of art and comics and sophistication. For the logo design, I wanted to create something that captures the spirit of the Lake Como Comic Art Festival.” – Bill Sienkiewicz

The artist list for this year just looks pretty perfect to us, full of a wide range of names from around the world, but including a hell of a lot of big US names like Sienkiewicz, Sara Pichelli, Simone Bianchi, and Sean Murphy; some very famous Brits including Simon Bisley and Glenn Fabry, as well as some absolutely iconic Euro comic artists including Jordi Bernet, Juanjo Guarnido, and Enrico Marini. First time attendees include Jordi Bernet, Bill Morrison, David Petersen, Glenn Fabry, David Finch, Philip Tan, John Romita Jr. and Charles Vess, along with returning guests Frank Cho, Juanjo Guarnido, Tula Lotay and Bill Sienkiewicz.

And with the festival limited to just 1,000 attendees and so many top-notch artists there, you can easily see the benefits — a festival where there’s no mile-long queue for the one big name and instead there’s 60 big names and a way more intimate and relaxed atmosphere to enjoy — both for artists and fans. It’s quite the perfect place to enjoy the art, meet the artists, maybe buy some art whilst you’re there, and just relax in some absolutely beautiful and luxurious surroundings.

The limit on attendees also means that there’s none of that festival crush stress that you can get at bigger shows where you find yourself desperately needing a little space and personal time after a few hours fighting the crowds. Having said that though, with Lake Como Festival, if you do fancy a little chill time I don’t think there’s any festival in the world that offers this sort of scenery to relax in…

So, if you’re the sort of comics fan who loves, as we do, festivals and conventions and wants to try something that sounds and looks so good, maybe it’s time to get looking at flights to Italy and the delights of Lake Como?

The Lake Como Comic Art Festival runs from Friday May 17th to Sunday May 19th at the Villa Erba in Cernobbio, Lake Como, Italy. It all begins on Friday night with an opening reception overlooking the lake and gardens of the historic Villa Erba, followed by two full days of attendees mingling with some of the most renowned comic book artists from around the world.

Tickets are available now for 1-Day, 2-Day, and all-access passes (that last one includes the opening reception.)

The Lake Como Comic Art Festival was founded by Arnaud Lapeyre and Steven Morger. Like we said, both gents have a fine history in comics and in particular organising comics conventions and festivals. Lapeyre as part of Pulp, the largest and most recognized American comic book chain store in France, and organiser of five Paris Comics Expos; and Morger having 20 years of running events and conventions, including running California’s Big Wow! Comic Convention from 2008-2015.

Now, as for the current artist list, it goes very much like this…[deep breath]… Alan Quah, Alex Maleev, Alexander Lozano, Belen Ortega, Ben Oliver, Bill Morrison, Bill Sienkiewicz, Brian Haberlin, Carla Cohen, Charles Vess, Dani, David Finch, David Messina, David Petersen, E.M. Gist, Elena Casagrande, Emanuela Lupachino, Enrico Marini, Esad Ribic, Federico Bertolucci, Frank Cho, Frank Pe, Frank Quitely, Gabriele Dell’Otto, Glenn Fabry, Javi Fernandez, Jay Anacleto, Jim Cheung, John Romita, Jr., Jordi Bernet, Juanjo Guarnido, Julian Tedesco, Lee Bermejo, Lucio Parillo, Luis Royo, Mahmud Asrar, Marco Checcheto, Mark Raats, Martin Simmonds, Mathieu Lauffray, Matteo Scalera, Niko Henrichon, Olivier Vatine, Philip Tan, Pierangelo Boog, Rafael Albuquerque, Riccardo Federici, Romulo Royo, Regis Loisel, Sara Pichelli, Sean Murphy, Simon Bisley, Simone Bianchi, Simone Di Meo, Stan Sakai, Stuart Sayger, Terry Dodson, Tony Harris, Tula Lotay, and Yoann. And breathe.

Now, a few more images from past festivals… surely this has you checking out flights already? Get tickets here.