Almost one hundred thousand. Etna Comics closes the four days of the twelfth edition and almost reaches the full number of visitors. This year the International Festival of Comics, Games and Pop Culture offered a completely redesigned venue, also taking advantage of Via Archimede and Piazza Giovanni XXIII for the first time, but above all Piazzale Rocco Chinnici; a choice that gave wider scope to the avenues of the Le Ciminiere exhibition center in Catania.
In a magical place, suspended between reality and fantasy, like every year hundreds of national and international guests animated conferences, panels, masterclasses, screenings and previews. It was Ross Mullan who ideally opened the final day, meeting the fans of “Game of Thrones”, who had the opportunity to meet in person the Canadian actor who plays the White Walker in the hit TV series.
Standing ovation in the Movie area for the Sicilian comedian Nino Frassica, welcomed with applause by two wings of the crowd shouting “Nino, Nino!” on the occasion of the absolute preview screening of the trailer of the film “30 anni (di meno)”, presented together with the director Mauro Graiani. The traditional charity auction allowed a total of 10,490 euros to be raised and a work created at the fair by Zerocalcare, inspired by the 2024 poster he created which pays homage to Luigi Pirandello, was sold for 970 euros. The proceeds will be entirely donated to the “Locanda del Samaritano”, a structure that welcomes homeless people.
This year too, the Archbishop of Catania, Luigi Renna, did not miss the appointment and visited several exhibitions, in particular the one dedicated to the Corriere dei Piccoli. On this occasion he expressed his desire to create a diocesan library in Catania, also suitable for children, like the one he was responsible for in Andria.
The historic Cosplay Contest closes the twelfth edition. The scepter of best went to Martina Campo, with the cosplay of Esmeralda, taken from the Disney animated film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, who will be able to fly to any destination in the world she wishes. She will represent Etna Comics at the final for the Cosplay Italian Cup. The dates of the thirteenth edition have already been set, scheduled from 30 May to 2 June 2025.
