COMICON NAPOLI
XXVI INTERNATIONAL POP CULTURE FESTIVAL
APRIL 30 – MAY 3
OFFICIAL KEY ART for the 2026 edition is designed by
AURÉLIEN PREDAL
artistic director of masterpieces for Pixar, Sony Pictures Animation,
Dreamworks, Illumination
Among the first international guests:
Marvel authors Alex Maleev and David Mack
From the world of American video games, stars like Troy Baker, Austin Wintory and Andrea Pessino will join the Festival
LEO ORTOLANI is the new Magister
For the first time in Italy, COMICON Napoli will welcome
Kazuhiko Torishima, legendary editor of Shonen Jump and editor of Dragon Ball,
and Koji Igarashi, video game creator known for his work on the Castlevania series,
while one of the greatest Disney authors of all time returns to COMICON after ten years: Don Rosa.
Japanese comic artists Shintaro Kago and Satoshi Shiki
DJ and founder of “Tokyo Dance Music Week” Naz Chris. Tomoyuki Tanaka,
composer and sound director of Castlevania and Metal Gear Solid, from Japan will join the Festival.
As part of the extensive programme of OFF events held throughout the city in collaboration with the Municipality of Naples, this spring will see a major exhibition dedicated to one of the most influential comic book authors of all time: the master Robert Crumb
Online ticket sales for COMICON Naples 2026 are now open!
Road to COMICON Napoli 2026 begins today. The event will take place from April 30 to May 3 at the Mostra d’Oltremare (Naples, Italy) and, as usual, will be accompanied by an extensive and rich programme of events throughout the city. It starts with the announcement of the Magister, the unveiling of the poster for the 26th edition, the first international guests, the major exhibition on Robert Crumb and the opening of online ticket sales.
“After celebrating its 25th edition, the festival is beginning to unveil its 2026 programme, starting with a number of international guests who share a common thread: the courage to redefine creative languages by challenging editorial contexts,” stated Matteo Stefanelli, Artistic Director of COMICON. “For this reason, I would like to thank the author of this year’s key art, Aurélien Predal, and Magister Leo Ortolani for accepting to join us. I’m particularly pleased to welcome Kazuhiko Torishima and Koji Igarashi, true architects of the contemporary imagination, for the first time in Italy.”
KEY ART DESIGNED BY AURÉLIEN PREDAL
The COMICON Napoli 2026 key art was designed by Aurélien Predal, one of the most influential and creative figures on the international animation scene. With nearly two decades of experience as art director, concept artist and character designer, and an Annie Award nomination under his belt, Predal has collaborated with studios such as Pixar, Sony Pictures Animation, DreamWorks, Illumination and Aardman — helping to define the aesthetics of franchises that have captured the hearts of global audiences. His unmistakable touch has shaped the visual identity of groundbreaking works and major blockbusters, from the stylised worlds of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to the emotional Inside Out 2, via the iconic Despicable Me saga (1 and 4) and the universe of Hotel Transylvania (2 and 3). His artistic influence also ranges from the sci-fi masterpiece Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 to the innovative Ron’s Gone Wrong, and European productions such as Mune: Guardian of the Moon and Astérix & Obélix: Le Combat des Chefs.
“For this year’s key art, I imagined COMICON as a colourful jungle: vibrant, lush and teeming with playful shapes and characters. A world to get lost in, where light, colour and graphic shapes overlap like foliage. The characters are explorers who have arrived from distant horizons: curious, messy and joyful. I wanted the work to reflect the spirit of the festival: dense, bright and full of discoveries for anyone who wants to venture out” explained Predal.
Predal’s work will be the focus of an exhibition on his main projects and a special masterclass. The artist will also be present every day of the festival in the Artists’ Hall area, where he will be available for signing sessions and commissions from the public.
LEO ORTOLANI – THE 2026 ‘MAGISTER’ ARTIST
Leo Ortolani will be the Magister of the 26th edition.
Born in Pisa in 1967, he moved to Parma, the city that adopted him permanently and where he has been drawing and inventing stories ever since. His first comic strip was entitled Il Rapimento (The Kidnapping), a two-panel detective story created when he was seven years old, which unfortunately has been lost. Among his more recent comic stories is Tapum! La storia delle armi (Tapum! The History of Weapons), a monumental work on the madness of human warfare published by Feltrinelli Comics.
In between and at the end, he created a universe. First and above all, there is the series entitled Rat-Man, published for twenty years by Panini Comics, but also popular science comics for Comics & Science, a book on dinosaurs published by Laterza, and three books for the Italian Space Agency (ASI) entitled C’è spazio per tutti (There’s space for everyone), Luna 2069 (Moon 2069), and Blu Tramonto (Blue Sunset). Not stopping there, he created a deck of tarot cards and short series that have populated newsstands for years, from Star Rats to Nightman, including a spaghetti western, Matana, and successful graphic novels such as Cinzia.
Unable to stop drawing and writing, when he’s not working on a book, he writes online film reviews (which he then collects in books, because, you know, there’s something about paper……), where no blockbuster is safe from his pencil. He has created a distinctive humorous style, capable of connecting different generations by switching from pop parody to social satire.
Eclectic by nature, he has performed on stage with the Italian composer and pianist Stefano Bollani, written a show for actor and magician Arturo Brachetti, co-written a film with actor and comedian Lillo, and made TikTok videos with his daughter Lucy.
Leo Ortolani is also a geologist, but he doesn’t mention it often because he can’t remember crystallography.
Ortolani will be the protagonist of an exhibition that will look back over the key stages of his career and be at the center of talks, meetings, and special initiatives.
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FIRST INTERNATIONAL GUESTS Among the first international artists at COMICON Napoli 2026, arriving in Italy for the first time, are Kazuhiko Torishima – the most influential editor in modern manga history, who discovered and shaped the careers of masters such as Akira Toriyama, Masakazu Katsura, and Koji Inada, pushing them beyond their limits to create cultural phenomena such as Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball. Also attending will be Koji “IGA” Igarashi, one of Japan’s most influential video game creators and father of the “Metroidvania” genre, known for revolutionizing the Castlevania series with his masterpiece Symphony of the Night.
After ten years, Don Rosa, one of the most influential and beloved authors of Disney comics worldwide, returns to COMICON Naples. An artist who redefined the epic of Duckburg with the Scrooge McDuck Saga, an epic built by weaving together every biographical reference to the richest duck in the world present in the work of Carl Barks, winner of several Harvey and Eisner Awards.
Four leading figures from the video game industry will be taking part in talks and meetings with the public: Troy Baker, legendary voice actor for video games such as The Last of Us I and II, Death Stranding I and II, Call of Duty, Fortnite, Bioshock, and the recent Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, as well as the Emmy Award-winning series Love, Death & Robots; composer Austin Wintory, three-time Grammy nominee and two-time BAFTA winner, known for the PS3 game Journey and his collaborations with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, The Banner Saga trilogy, ABZU, The Pathless, Aliens: Fireteam Elite, LEGO Fortnite, and the recent Sword of the Sea and Hades II; Andrea Pessino, co-founder of video game development studio Ready At Dawn®, collaborator at Blizzard Entertainment, where he created the core technologies for several blockbuster video games of the WarCraft series, winner of numerous industry awards, including PC Magazine’s “Graphics Software of the Year” award; Composer and sound director Tomoyuki Tanaka, an artist who has worked on the soundtracks of iconic video game series such as Castlevania, Metal Gear Solid, and Yakuza, and collaborated with visionaries such as Koji Igarashi and Hideo Kojima.
Also from Japan are the comic artists Shintaro Kago and Satoshi Shiki. A master of the grotesque Ero-Guro genre and known in the West for his style defined as “Fashionable Paranoia,” Shintaro Kago blends grotesque satire and extreme visual experimentation. He achieved global fame by collaborating with Flying Lotus (on the album You’re Dead!) and creating the concepts for the Netflix film In the Tall Grass. Already winner of the Gran Guinigi Award in 2014, he is currently working on the dystopian and visionary series Parasitic City. Known for his action-packed works, Satoshi Shiki has conquered the fans around the world with his most famous works: RIOT, KAMIKAZE, Daphne in the Brilliant Blue, and XBLADE. He has gained wide recognition as the lead artist for Attack on Titan – Before the Fall and for Dororo and Hyakkimaru – The Legend, a modern adaptation of Osamu Tezuka’s classic Dororo. Comic book artists Alex Maleev and David Mack will fly from the United States to Naples. Bulgarian by birth and American by adoption, Alex Maleev has collaborated with Marvel Comics on numerous series, including the famous Daredevil series alongside Brian Michael Bendis. He has illustrated titles such as Moon Knight, Spider-Woman, Scarlet, and Iron Man, as well as projects for DC Comics and Dark Horse. He is also known for his ability to integrate photographs and digital textures into his artwork, giving his comics a distinctive and modern visual style. American writer, artist, director, and designer David W. Mack has collaborated with the giants of US comics publishing (Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image Comics). He is the creator of the acclaimed KABUKI series, which made the New York Times bestseller list, and screenwriter for Daredevil, the series in which he created the character Echo. The latter was the protagonist of the recent Disney+ miniseries Echo, for which Mack returned to collaborate directly with Marvel Studios, creating the original illustrations for the credits of each episode. Nominated for an Emmy and several Eisner Awards (for Cover with Brian M. Bendis, and for Tori Amos’ Little Earthquakes, The Graphic Album project), Mack is also renowned for film design: in addition to the ending titles for Captain America: The Winter Soldier (which won the Excellence in Title Design Award), he has continued to work as a concept artist and cover artist on projects related to the world of Neil Gaiman (American Gods, Norse Mythology) and the Star Wars universe. With a career combining music and manga, Naz Chris, producer, DJ, and founder of “Tokyo Dance Music Week”, will be at COMICON Napoli. Host and co-creator of the famous radio program KosoKoso Broadcasting Station alongside legends such as Torishima and Yuji Horii, Naz Chris is also the voice of J-WAVE and holds key roles in Geidankyo and the Japan Dance Music & DJ Association.
COMING SOON: ROBERT CRUMB EXHIBITION IN NAPLES! Among the exciting events planned by the city of Naples to welcome the new edition of the festival is an exhibition dedicated to one of the most influential comic book authors of all time: the master Robert Crumb. One of the undisputed founding fathers and central figures of the American underground comics scene of the 1960s and 1970s, Crumb is an artist whose work continues to offer a satirical and penetrating social critique of modern society, and an innovator who was among the first to experiment with autobiographical writing in comics, influencing generations of subsequent authors. Thanks to the determination of Mayor Gaetano Manfredi and the commitment of contemporary art councillor Vincenzo Trione, Naples will offer one of its most prestigious venues for the first time to a major exhibition dedicated to one of the protagonists of the Ninth Art. The exhibition will open in Naples in spring 2026 and will be the cornerstone of the initiatives of the COMIC(ON)OFF Napoli programme, the city’s off-festival, which continues to expand with dozens of events spread across all the municipalities of the Campania capital. More details will be revealed in the coming weeks. |
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COMICON NAPOLI COMICON Napoli – International Pop Culture Festival is among the top 5 European festivals in terms of size and cultural content. In 2025, the 25th edition ended with a record 183,000 visitors (+4.6% compared to 2024) and staggering figures: over 600 events held across more than 323,000 sq ft of indoor space, 538,000 sq ft of outdoor area, an indoor theater with 850 seats, meeting rooms ranging from 20 to 400 seats, stages for live performances, and an open-air arena with 6,000 seats. It is a leading cultural festival in Italy, a point of reference not only for the Campania region but for the entire Italian peninsula (71% of the audience comes from outside Naples), with an extraordinarily positive impact on the entire Naples area: the economic impact—i.e., the wealth generated by the festival for the various players in the supply chain, accommodation, transport, shops, bars, restaurants, and so on—is constantly growing: €36 million in 2023 and €42 million in 2024.* Thanks to a packed programme, COMICON Napoli attracts fans of comics, cinema and TV series, video games, games and all aspects of pop culture every year, with an average age of under 25 (60%), confirming Naples’ reputation as a city of young people and an attractive cultural hub for Italy and abroad. COMICON Napoli is an event sponsored by the Campania Region and the Municipality of Naples. COMICON Napoli is supported by the Directorate-General for Cultural Policies of the Campania Region, while COMIC(ON)OFF is supported by the Culture Department of the Municipality of Naples. As every year, COMICON Naples confirms its eco-friendly approach, focusing on the environment through partnerships with national consortia involved in the recovery and recycling of aluminum packaging with CIAL, plastic with COREPLA, and steel with RICREA. COMICON is an accessible festival: many of the events on the program can also be followed in LIS – Italian Sign Language.
TICKETS, MEMBERSHIPS, AND THE EXCLUSIVE JUNGLE PASS Daily admission: €20.00 4-day ticket: €46.00 Reduced price for children aged 6-11: €10.00 (for all children born between 29/04/2014 and 29/04/2020) Jungle Pass: €250.00 (more information at napoli.comicon.it)
Tickets, memberships, and Jungle Passes are on sale at ticket.comicon.it.
Follow COMICON on comicon.it, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, X, Twitch, Telegram, Linkedin, Youtube, and through the official hashtags #napolicomicon2026 #comiconitalia #comicon2026
*Data from the economic impact study carried out in collaboration with the team led by Prof. Francesco Izzo – Professor of Economics and Business Management, Department of Social Sciences, University of Naples Federico II – for 9 years (6 editions) with COMICON, he has been studying and analyzing the economic impact of the event on the territory, the benefits for tourism, commercial, and cultural operators, but also the indirect effects linked to reputation and sociality. |
