comic

The 20^th edition of the Manga Fair is taking place between Thursday 30^th October and Sunday 2^nd November at the Fira de Barcelona's Montjuic exhibition space. The Manga Fair is an annual event that celebrates the popular Japanese anime, bringing together fans from all around the world, through a series of exhibitions and activities in Barcelona. This year, the space has increased to 50,000m², and the opening times will be extended. There will be a variety of special guests attending, including the author Kengo Hanazawa, artist Takeshi Obata from Japan, and Ken Niimura, a Spanish author of Japanese descent. There will also be a number of musicians participating, such as the Japanese pop group Loverin Tamburin. The programme features various exhibitions on Japanese authors and illustrators. On the catering side, the event will feature Michelin-star chefs including Ricardo Sanz and Jordi Roca.

This year the Barcelona International Comic Fair celebrated its 32^nd edition by looking back at the golden age of superhero comics and the wars that shaped History. Organizers FICOMIC increased this year´s event space from 19,000 to 32,000 square meters, which resulted in attendance figures of 106,000 throughout all four days and an increase in sales of comics and other products. The Fair Director, Carles Santamaría, stated that “weare satisfied with the high participation of the audience in an edition that has beaten its record for space”. The festival was once again characterized by the presence of well-known names of the comic universe, such as Spanish artists Paco Roca and Francisco Ibañez, Canadian Ramón K. Perez and Maltese Joe Sacco.

The 19^th Edition of the Manga Fair opened its doors on Thursday on the grounds of Fira de Barcelona in Montjuic. The exhibition space has increased by 10% since the previous edition, with the number of exhibitors reaching 160. This year the ‘Saló del Manga’ will focus on sports Mangas, highlighting works like Captain Tsubasaand Slam Dunk. Another exhibition will be dedicated to Spanish Mangakas. Catalan Minister for Culture Ferran Mascarell said the Fair was an “expression of popular culture” and a place of “creativity”. Director of the Manga Fair Carles Capdevila added the event was a showcase for Japanese culture as a whole, beyond the realm of Manga.

This year’s edition of the Catalan comic exhibition has chosen Westerns as one of its main themes but also includes retrospective exhibitions of superheroes like 'Superman', 'The Avengers' and the 'X-Men'. Another focus of the Comic Fair is the presence of authors and cartoonists from last year’s edition along with different types of conferences and cultural and artistic activities. International artists such as Manu Lacernet, Guy Delisle, Liniers and Lorena Canottiere have confirmed their participation at the event which will be held from the 11th to the 14th of April.

The 18th Manga Fair of Barcelona is running from the 1st to the 4th of November, in the Montjuic venue of Fira de Barcelona. The fair has moved location, increasing the space from 11,000 square metres to 17,000. This year’s ‘Saló del Manga’ pays tribute to Dragon Ball, written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. During the opening of fair, many people were dressed up as Goku, Son Gohan, Piccolo, Master Roshi, Bulma, Pilaf or Red Ribbon Army members. The fair is the annual get-together of the Catalan manga and anime fans. This year, the meeting also focused on Japanese cuisine, with cooking workshops and an exhibition showing its relationship with manga cartoons.

The People's Republic of China is this year’s special guest at the 30th edition of the Barcelona International Comic Fair, which runs from May 3rd to 6th at the Fira de Barcelona. An exhibition will showcase the most important works in the history of Chinese comics. Furthermore, this edition is turning the spotlight on robots, dedicating its main exhibition both to entertaining and exploring the relationship between robots and comics, cinema and literature.

The convention is celebrating its 29th edition. It hopes to gather a total of 100,000 comic fans during the four-day fair. This year the largest exhibition is devoted to creatures of the living-dead.

The Comic Book and Illustration Museum aims to contribute to the development of a cultural industry with a long tradition in Catalonia. Professionals ask the already approved museum to open its doors by 2013 in Badalona, next to Barcelona.