The Annual Lake Como Comic Art Festival in Lake Como, Italy, is a unique and curated event, crafted by the organizers of the Big Wow Comic Fest in California and the Paris Comic Expo. This festival is dedicated to showcasing the work of the world’s top comic book artists. Unlike other events that cater to a wide variety of genres and activities, the Lake Como Comic Art Festival focuses entirely on comic art.
Since its inception in 2018, founders Arnaud Lapeyre and Steven Morger have worked diligently to establish the Lake Como Comic Art Festival as a must-visit destination for comic art enthusiasts. This year is no different, with the event taking place on Saturday, April 25th, and Sunday, April 26th, and an opening reception on Friday, April 24th, set against the stunning backdrop of Lake Como, Italy, and the historic Villa Erba’s gardens.
Guest List
This year’s guest list includes: Alan Davis, Alex Maleev, Alvaro Martinez Bueno, Andy Belanger, Brian Bolland, Carmen Carnero, Dani, David Mack, Dustin Nguyen, Enrique Breccia, Enrico Marini, Esad Ribic, Frank Cho, Gabriele Dell’Otto, Gary Frank, J Scott Campbell, Joe Chiodo, Jordi Bernet, Joshua Cassara, Juanjo Guarnido, Liam Sharp, Mahmud Asrar, Monte Michael Moore, Olivier Vatine, Patrick McDonnell, Pepe Larraz, Riccardo Federici, Rick Leonardi, Sanjulian, Sara Pichelli, Scott Hampton, Stanley Artgerm Lau, Sylvain Repos, Tanya Lehoux, and Terry Dodson. With more additions possible.
Fine Art Portfolio Examples
In advance of this exciting event, and courtesy of The Lake Como Comic Art Festival, we are proud to reveal this exclusive look at some of the prints that will be appearing in this year’s Fine Art Portfolio.
The Lake Como Comic Art Festival gives fans and collectors a unique chance to meet and buy original art from world-renowned artists in a luxurious setting in Italy. Past guests include Jordi Bernet, Bill Morrison, David Petersen, Glenn Fabry, David Finch, Philip Tan, John Romita Jr., Charles Vess, Frank Cho, Juanjo Guarnido, Tula Lotay, and Bill Sienkiewicz. The Lake Como Comic Art Festival commences with an opening reception overlooking the lake and gardens of the historic Villa Erba in Cernobbio, Lake Como Italy, followed by two full days of attendees interacting with some of the most renowned comic book artists from around the world.
Logo Design: Bill Sienkiewicz
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, comics, and sophistication. For the logo design, I wanted to create something that captures the spirit of the Lake Como Comic Art Festival.”
About the Founders
Arnaud Lapeyre
Arnaud Lapeyre shifted his focus to managing pull lists instead of pursuing his urban sociology studies when Peter Parker discovered his clone was still alive. Since then, alongside his partners Claude and Anne, he transformed Pulp’s into the largest and most recognized American comic book chainstore in France, all while endeavoring to persuade as many customers as possible to read Preacher.
In 2003, Arnaud took a break from reading comics for a whole year while backpacking. During his travels, he exchanged books and listened to the same six audio tapes on bus trips around the world.
Upon his return in 2004, catching up with thousands of comics (albeit only four issues of The Ultimates) brought him great delight.
After organizing five editions of Paris Comics Expo, the most respected and renowned comic book-focused event in France, and nearly succumbing to exhaustion in 2016, Arnaud swore he would never, EVER organize another convention—until his friend called and said, “Hey Arno, I’ve found the perfect location. What do you think of this idea…”
Arnaud (often referred to as Arno to save milliseconds in every written message) will gladly retire once the one and only spaghetti webs and homeless artist Matt Murdock attends LCCAF.
Steven Morger
An avid comic art collector, Steven Morger has been producing comic books, conventions, and comic art events for over 20 years. From 2008-2015 he ran the Big Wow! Comic Convention which attracted over 10,000 attendees annually. After decades of vacationing in Lake Como, he bought an apartment there in 2016—and found inspiration to create the Lake Como Festival.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
