Italy has a Day of the Dead similar to our Halloween and All Saint’s Day, however, the people of Italy get bank holidays too, so the Monday and Tuesday of Lucca Comics & Games 2022 continued with its wonderful mayhem and multitudes of fans from every niche of pop culture and sub genre therein entered the ancient walled city.
It seemed every related major brand had a presence in some capacity at the event: PlayStation, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon, Nintendo, Bandai Namco, CD Projekt Red, Dungeons & Dragons, Hasbro, Funko, you name it, all have an exhibition or site, with many exclusive and immersive opportunities for fans. This isn’t including the countless tents around the city, containing representatives from pretty much every comic book, Manga or graphic novel publishers we’ve ever heard of.
The entire city is so comprehensively consumed by the event – every shop brings out mannequins in cosplay or dresses up for the occasion. For example, a nearby Gelateria has been converted to Stranger Things’ ‘Scoops Ahoy’ and by sheer coincidence, we saw a Demogorgon walk in for a scoop. These sorts of things occurring aren’t uncommon here. We even witnessed a spontaneous and unplanned street Beyblades tournament in a nearby square on a night out – which was exactly what you think it is.
On Monday the iconic director Tim Burton (pictured above), guest of honour at Lucca Comics & Games arrived and hosted a very special European Fan Screening of the first episode of Wednesday, the highly anticipated TV series directed by Burton.
After the press conference at the prestigious Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, Tim Burton greeted the public in Piazza San Michele, where more than 8,000 fans and cosplayers dressed as Wednesday gathered. He was then greeted by a Wednesday Cosplayer flashmob, that’s a thing here.
In case you missed it Wednesday is an eight episodes series that follows Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy, where she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the murder mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore.
In the afternoon, in order to help us understand Lucca better outside LC&G, we were taken up the Guinigi Tower in the centre of the town. The seven-hundred-year-old structure, standing 125 ft high is a huge presence in the city and commands stunning views of not only the town, but the nearby Tuscany region, it’s rolling hills and mountains. The several large Holm Oaks growing 40 meters above the ground also made it slightly surreal. We caught the views at sunset, and it was a truly moving and beautiful experience. For all the craziness of the last few days it was nice to pause…briefly… Right, back to the Comics & Games.
The event also hosted a Q&A panel for the upcoming TV series of Willow. Set after the events of the 1988 fantasy fan favourite, Warwick Davies returns with an exciting new cast, some of whom joined us in the city. Guests were delighted to meet new cast members Erin Kellyman, Ellie Bamber and Amar Chadha Patel who joined them for a Q&A. The audience was also treated to several clips from the upcoming show in a world exclusive at Lucca. No spoilers from us but you won’t have long to wait, the series Premieres on Disney+ on 30 November.
Following the panel, we visited Florence. The stunning scenery on the drive to Firenze was almost worth it for just that, and at only an hour drive from Lucca, a day trip to Florence was very manageable. In order to avoid being too much a like a travel blog, we’ll try to keep it loosely SFN oriented! If you’re a Hannibal fan, there are areas of the city that are hugely recognisable…
For gamers, the popular Assassin’s Creed II was set in Florence and we were able to check out some of the iconic landmarks including the incredible Duomo, the Basilica Santa Croce (burial site of Machiavelli and Michelangelo), Piazza della Signoria and the famous bridge Ponte Vecchio before heading back to Lucca.
Lucca officially closed on 1 Nov and sold 320,000 thousands tickets! We cannot stress how amazing our time at Lucca Comics & Games has been and we’ve been hugely fortunate to have been looked after by the people of this city. The people here have been so warm and welcoming and there truly is something here for everyone and we hope to meet some of you readers in Lucca in future years.
Until then, Ciao!
Keep an eye on https://www.luccacomicsandgames.com/ for news on Lucca 2023.