Two cars driven by Mad Max arrived early to the Naples fair grounds while Mickey Mouse and Goofy were seen wandering among the ruins of Pompeii, and the comic book master Milo Manara stood ready to cut the inaugural ribbon for the Comicon international festival.
Some 100,000 visitors were expected at the Mostra d'Oltremare fair grounds in Naples for the 17th Comicon international comics festival that begins Thursday and continues to Monday. The Mad Max cars were the first to arrive, coming on a lorry from the Netherlands and said to be presented in an exclusive European event.
The two cars included the legendary Interceptor, an XB Ford Falcon coupé, and its companion, a five-door Chevrolet coupé.
Fans of the Road Warrior series will be able to see both in motion in all of their extraordinary power during the event. It is a gift for the saga's fans from Warner Bros films, which will be presenting a seven-minute preview of the George Miller film Mad Max: Fury Road.
It is arriving out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival and due to be released on screens on May 14.
As well, an episode of the Gotham series that has never before been screened will be shown to fans.
There are two magazine covers that will be dedicated to the four-day event: one of Topolino (Mickey Mouse), shown with Pluto against the Pompeii ruins as a backdrop; and the other of the 200th issue of Julia (Bonelli), by Vittorio Giardino.
This year's focus is on Comics and the Press, a sort of journey from newspapers to magazines to graphic journalism, presented by Manara, the Italian comic book writer and artist.
An exhibition at Pan will pay homage to for his 70th birthday. Exhibition itineraries will lead from the monthly magazine Linus, which is celebrating 50 years since it founding, to the authors of Futuro Anteriore and Becco Giallo. International guests from Japan will include Yoshiki Tonogai and Ryuhei Tamura, as well as the cosplayer Reika. There will be many Italian artists, from Ortolani to Liberatore, and a great deal of space for Marvel's 75th anniversary.
The largest domestic publishers will be among the over 250 exhibitors, many presenting new ideas for spring, as well as parallel sections including GameCon and CartooNa on animated films (with the Century Fox previews for The Book of Life by Jorge Gutierrez, produced by Guillermo del Toro).
Other sections will include the Asian Village while the Comicon Cosplay Challenge will be back (the winner will be flown to the London championships).
As well, special areas will be set aside for children. The event will take place over a surface area of 70,000 square meters, some 40% larger than last year, including four hectares of the new pond area. Passes for the entire event have been sold out and 10-euro day-entrance tickets are being snapped up.
Organizers say that 100,000 visitors may come, 20,000 more than last year. "We are getting big", said Comicon director Claudio Curcio.
Mayor Luigi de Magistris spoke of an "extraordinarily high level of quality" at the event which he said should be consolidated and improved ever more with the large amount of space at the Mostra d'Oltremare fair grounds.
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