PopHorror Let's Get Scared
November 3, 2019, was the last day of the 53rd edition of the Lucca Comics and Games Festival, which had a record of 270,000 tickets sold.
“Every year, the festival transforms the medieval Italian town of Lucca into the cradle of pop culture, gathering a growing number of comics, board games, video games, fiction and fantasy art, animation, cinema and TV series fans over 5 days. Lucca Comics & Games consolidated its position as the premiere pop culture festival in the western world, with over 1,600 activities including meetings, tournaments, workshops, and live performances; more than 4,000 autograph sessions; 1,500 gaming stations with tens of thousands of sessions played; 16 concerts and musical performances; two theatre shows produced by the festival and over 1,000 speakers including 180 international guests.”
RPG (Role Playing Games) was incredibly popular this year. Fans of all ages lined up to play Dungeons and Dragons in an actual dungeon beneath the ancient walls of Lucca! D&D epic is the largest themed event ever held in Europe with 180 players and 30 Dungeon Masters. One of the players included actor Joe Manganiello (Justice League).
In the Movie Area, Sir Patrick Stewart took the stage to announce Picard’s return to Star Trek fans and to get inducted into Lucca’s Walk of Fame.
Netflix was ??back to Lucca to present its new original series The Witcher based on the novels by Andrzej Sapkowski. The festival audience was able to watch the world premiere of the trailer and meet, in addition to the author of the famous saga, the showrunner of the series Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and the leading actresses Anya Chalotra and Freya Allan, as well being treated to three never before seen clips.
Among the guests: Joonas Suotamo, the Finnish actor who plays Chewbacca in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker; Rebecca Sugar, creator of the cult series Cartoon Network, Steven Universe; As always, there were plenty of Italian premieres: from Terminator: Dark Fate to Zombieland: Double Tap and the much-awaited Sky series His Dark Materials.
In the evocative setting of the eSports Cathedral, many competed in e-sport tournaments, including Brawl Stars and League of Legends, in addition to the Quake Pro League, featuring some of the best players in the world. At the Esport Palace (formerly Cavallerizza) the adrenaline rushes of the Logitech G Challenge were celebrated, a competition that offered a coveted place for the European finals on November 9th in Cologne, and the exciting Gillette Bomber Cup, an official Fortnite Tournament won by the excellent Filoakai. Nintendo came with a double pavilion dedicated to upcoming titles, and Bandai Namco Entertainment gave fans the opportunity to try one of the most anticipated titles of the moment: Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot.
Two authors, Donny Cates and Megan Hutchinson decided to celebrate their marriage at the festival on October 31st, and afterward, they shot a photo at the Giglio Theatre that mirrored the same pose as the poster of the festival!
In addition, Cosplayers had parades, competitions, a Zombie Walk Parade, and a Rat-Man theme parade. In the Junior area, kids participated in game sessions, constructed with LEGOs and met with authors.
Finally, “the now-iconic Japan Town, was also featured this year, the district in the wonderful historical center of Lucca dedicated entirely to Japanese art and culture was, as always taken over by protagonist of numerous meetings dedicated to Japan: exhibitions, events, food tasting, and initiatives dedicated to the discovery of Japanese culture and traditions.”
WOW! Sounds amazing! This sounds like something to shoot for attending in the years to come.
