The penultimate day of the 20th anniversary edition of the Herceg Novi Comic Festival (HSF) was marked by its first visit to Risan, a unique Festival tradition and a memorable musical finale.

For the first time, the comic caravan arrived in Risan, where, in the pleasant shade of the town park, fans of the ninth art enjoyed spending time with leading comic book artists. Visitors took the opportunity to receive free drawings and dedications from creators from the region and around the world, while also adding the latest releases to their collections at the comic book fair. The programme in Risan was successfully organised with the support of the Municipality of Kotor and the Risan Local Community.

After drawing for fans and meeting with the audience, Festival guests visited the famous Risan Mosaics, where they discovered the fascinating and rich history of the town.

This year once again saw one of HSF’s most beautiful and recognisable traditions — “Comics in a Bottle.”

During a cruise around the Bay, comic book artists created original illustrations and short comics, which were then placed in glass bottles. These unique artistic messages are now floating across the Adriatic Sea towards a curious finder on another shore, carrying with them a little of Boka’s comic book magic.

One of the special guests of the 20th anniversary edition of HSF is Darick Robertson, the American superstar artist, writer and executive producer known for the cult comics Transmetropolitan and The Boys. He has also worked on titles including Batman, Justice League, Wolverine, Spider-Man and Deadpool.

“I’m meeting international creators, completely new people whom I’m getting to know and becoming good friends with. The fans who come are incredibly respectful, they know my work very well and they’re very enthusiastic. It’s a wonderful combination — I’m meeting people from so many different countries, and we all share a common passion for comics. Art and love for the ninth art are the great unifying force here,” Robertson says.

Making his first appearance among HSF guests is Portuguese multidisciplinary artist Filipe Andrade, who, among other projects, draws some of Marvel’s best-known titles, including Immortal Hulk, Fantastic Four and Jessica Jones.

“The focus here is on socialising, getting to know one another and artists enjoying this beautiful bay. The setting literally looks like a dream. I come from the seaside myself, but nothing like this — the combination of mountains and sea feels like some kind of tropical Switzerland, or like a scene from Miyazaki’s Porco Rosso. Yesterday we were in the mountains, today we’re by the sea — it’s a paradoxical combination that comes together here in an incredibly poetic way,” Andrade says.

Josephine Tomarchio, a representative of Italy’s new wave and one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Italian illustration, says the Festival has a special energy: “The atmosphere is incredibly relaxed and has that genuine summer spirit. Sunshine, beautiful beaches, the sea and great music in the evenings — simply, everything is absolutely perfect.”

One of Serbia’s most prominent comic book creators and visual artists, Aleksa Gajić, first attended HSF as a guest back in 2010. Today, he says the programme is so rich that it is a challenge to keep up with every segment of the anniversary edition. He notes that comic book artists generally lead solitary, creative lives, and that a festival like HSF provides a place where they can meet and exchange experiences.

The music programme of the 20th HSF concluded with a concert in the packed amphitheatre of the Herceg Novi Theatre.

The atmosphere was first warmed up by Seagulls, whose members delighted the audience by taking the stage dressed as comic book characters, creating the perfect opening for the final night of this year’s outstanding music programme.

The stage was then taken over by the Festival’s resident band, Boka All Stars — Marko Vlahović, Dragan Ivanović, Martin Đorđević and Miodrag Šule Jovović — once again proving that they never disappoint. They were joined by Rambo Amadeus, who returned to the HSF audience following his concert at Forte Mare. The band’s superb performance and improvisations were met with an energetic audience, whose applause and ovations brought the musical finale of the anniversary HSF to a triumphant close.

Today, HSF moves to People’s beach bar, where artists will be drawing for fans until 6 p.m. The programme will also feature “School Day” and the promotional programme “Ecology and the Ninth Art.”