Barcelona Comic Fair kicks off on Thursday

Comic books and graphic novels have engaged readers for decades, retaining fans well into adulthood while captivating the imagination of kids. The 36th International Barcelona Comic Fair seems to be aware of this, designing its 2018 event to pay homage to the past, while engaging younger generations.  

The event will run from April 12 to 15 at the Montjuïc Fira de Barcelona spread throughout 50,000 m². This year, an even bigger exposition space will feature Marvel artist and creator of Captain America, ‘King of Comics’ Jack Kirby, as well as the beloved Superlópez character, and the boom years of comics geared towards adults from the ‘70s to the ‘90s.

Established authors and teaching new ones

So far, there are 32 confirmed speakers for this year. Also invited are graphic creator of ‘V for Vendetta’ David Lloyd, script-writer for ‘Hellblazer’ and ‘Animal Man’ Jamie Delano, ‘Sandman’ cover artist Dave McKean, and script-writer behind the ‘DC Super Hero Girls’ Shea Fontana. This, along with Dann Thomas, Roy Thomas, and artist Stan Sakai, creator of the 'Usagi Yojimbo' comic, among others.

This all meets another highlight of the fair, the new ‘Còmic Kids’ space. Here, almost 3,000 m²will be dedicated to children ages 5 to 12, to discover the art form through workshops, talks, and a comic book library. This will also include the exhibition 'Com es fa un còmic?' explaining how a comic book is made.

The general director of FICOMIC, Meritxell Puig, heading the association that organizes the comic fair, explained that the event wants to introduce little ones to this artistic world “so they can learn to have fun.”  

This year’s and last year’s winners

This year will also see an official competition, for which the experts making up the jury will also add their own selection of comics and authors. The jury’s final decision will be based on the five nominees that get the most votes in the categories of best Spanish comic, best foreign comic published in Spain, best new author and best fanzine. Visitors will also be able to revist last year’s winners in an exhibition, dedicated to Josep Maria Martín Saurí, Jaime Martín, Javi Rey and ‘Paranoidland.’

The International Barcelona Comic Fair hopes to reproduce last year’s attendance of 118,000. The venues for this edition of the fair have also been expanded to include the Auditorium in the Palau de Congressos (Palau 5) on Montjuïc, for which talks, musical performances, author meet-ups with fans, and the screening of documentaries about comics will take place. Meanwhile, Plaça Univers will be the venue for the information points and food trucks. The rest of the fair will, as always, be located in Palaus 2 and 4 of the congress venue.