Fantastic, magical, inspiring, friendly – this is how European and regional comic masters describe the 19th edition of the Herceg Novi Comic Festival.
One of the world’s biggest comic stars, the artist whose creations have graced some of the most iconic editions of Batman, Superman, Daredevil, Hulk, and Venom – Mark Simpson, better known as Jock – has been in Herceg Novi these days, sketching for comic lovers and spending time with numerous authors who are guests of HSF.
“It’s fantastic! It’s my first time here, they’ve invited me several times, I wanted to come, and this year I finally managed. It’s wonderful – lovely people, a great atmosphere, beautiful sights,” shared Jock, the festival’s special guest. He revealed that he is currently working with Scott Snyder on the “Absolute Batman” edition, on the adaptation of the comic “Witches” produced by Amazon Studios, as well as on design for a Batman movie.
Yesterday, comic artists spent the day at the beach bar People’s in Topla, drawing for fans and enjoying the warm September sun. The comic fair, fan sketching, and T-shirt drawings lasted for a full eight hours, accompanied by the musical backdrop of DJ duo 2Beat.
Also at the festival for the first time, as a special guest, was Maria Laura Sanapo, an artist who has largely built her career with the publishing giant DC Comics. Some of the titles she has worked on include Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, DC Bombshells, and Batwoman. As she explained, she came to HSF with the intention of presenting her work to the audience, but the festival, the sea, the people, and the energy became her inspiration.
“This town is pure magic. It is very romantic, you have an incredible fortress, the sea, you have everything – I am in love with this place, and the people are fantastic. This is one of the best comic festivals. You can truly connect with people; it is very friendly. We can see the interest people, especially young people, have in our work, and that is wonderful,” Sanapo emphasized.
Comic author, illustrator, director, and animator Aleksa Gajić is a traditional guest and friend of HSF. He believes that the advantage of this festival, compared to others, lies in the closeness and encounters between authors and with the audience.
“Perhaps because – although it’s not popular to say – there isn’t much money in comics in Serbia, and then the space left empty by the lack of money is filled with love. Unlike that, French festivals don’t look like this at all – there’s not much love, but there’s a lot of work. You can guess which one I prefer,” said Gajić.
He announced his new release, which will be presented at this year’s Book Fair – the book The Expanded Field of Comics, and Beyond will offer over 150 comic objects he created in the past 15 years, which he believes will be a real treat for lovers of experimental comics and comic objects.
A frequent guest of the Herceg Novi festival is also Robert Solanović Bob, the author of the hit comic Mister Cat. He says that meetings are his main reason for coming, as HSF always provides opportunities for new connections with amazing authors and audiences.
“I am always glad to see the audience getting younger; we all hope for that. Of course, comics will never disappear, that’s impossible, but as authors we all have that fear. This is actually one of the great things about Herceg Novi – here I see the most young people, today there was a whole group of kids,” Solanović noted.
HSF is both work and pleasure in one, says Dušan Mladenović, chief editor of the publishing house Veseli Četvrtak, one of the biggest regional comic publishers, famous for editions of cult series such as Zagor, Tex, and Dylan Dog.
“I take the opportunity to come to the best Balkan, and very possibly the best European comic festival, to spend time with people I have the privilege to work with, both professionally and privately, and to ‘torment’ them into sketching various heroes we publish or will publish, and of course, to discuss cover art and new comics we may publish,” Mladenović explained.
He added that each year in Herceg Novi he discovers new authors and new ways of creating comic art, and he always brings along a sketchbook for drawings and dedications, which grows richer every time with works of top comic artists.
Comparing HSF to the Lucca Comics festival – the largest in Europe and second-largest in the world – Mladenović said: “The festival in Herceg Novi is much more pleasant, much more intimate, an opportunity for readers and authors to make close contact. Over there, it is much more industrial; you can spend hours standing in line.”
“Moby Dick City Blues” comes alive at the 19th HSF
The multimedia comic performance Moby Dick City Blues marked last night’s fourth evening of the 19th HSF. The audience enjoyed this visual-musical spectacle, following Cosimo Miorelli, who was digitally painting live, accompanied by Stefano Bechini.
“Moby Dick City Blues” is a graphic novel I illustrated, written by Marco Gnaccolini, and published in Italy by Eris Edizioni. It’s an urban adaptation of “Moby Dick,” explained Cosimo Miorelli.
The story of following dreams is brought into today’s world, because everyone follows their own “white whale,” says Miorelli: “I thought my obsession was to be better and to dive deeper into my work, but my ‘white whale’ changed, and now I swim with it, I don’t chase it anymore.”
Stefano Bechini shares the same vision of the story and described the role of music in this unique performance: “I try to give the image more strength. The story is there before you, but the music gives it more depth.”
This event was organized as part of the EU project Comics Beyond, which HSF is carrying out in cooperation with the Comic Strip Museum in Brussels, Komikon from Naples, and festivals in Amiens (France) and Amadora (Portugal).
Yesterday’s day program began with activities for the youngest visitors – an exhibition of works created in comic-drawing workshops and an award ceremony sponsored by the company One. The main awards went to Strahinja Vasiljević, Ana Radonić, and Elena Ikonić, along with ten special prizes.
The fourth festival day concluded with a performance by DJ Andrea Nox, who brought the audience a mix of melodic techno, peak time, and driving techno.
Today, HSF continues to Tivat – at 11 a.m. the fan sketching and comic fair start at Magnolia Square, followed by a cable car trip to Lovćen, where from 3 p.m. there will be fan sketching, an outdoor comic-drawing school, and drawing for “Comics in a Bottle.” Both programs will be accompanied by music from DJ duo 2Beat.
The music program will feature a concert by Boka All Stars, the festival audience’s favorite band, in the legendary amphitheater of the Herceg Novi Theater.
Boka All Stars consists of experienced musicians from Boka, led by vocalist Marko Vlahović: Dragan Ivanović, Martin Đorđević, Goran Milojević, Miodrag Šule Jovović, Sara Jovović, and Antonije Pušić. Their repertoire includes soul, funk, pop, and rock.
Joining them on stage in the amphitheater will be the Herceg Novi band Chenova. The program starts at 9 p.m.