This year too, both editions, Comicon Napoli and Bergamo 2024, have come to an end. Despite less than ideal weather conditions (rain, hail and the typical freezing cold that is not expected in June), what we witnessed were nevertheless events that we will struggle to forget.
Due unmissable events for all lovers of the world of comics and pop culture, who accompanied us first from 25 to 28 April in Naples and subsequently from 21 to 23 June in Bergamo. Confirmation of the strong influence of this world of pop culture from the south to the north of Italy, in an atmosphere of common celebration and joy.
Comicon naturally has the power to make nerds everywhere feel at home, but it is also opening the doors to a different audience, making people passionate about it who perhaps would never have expected it.
My experience at Comicon Naples and Bergamo
Personally this year I was lucky enough to experience both the fair as an audience at Comicon Napoli and seeing it from the inside as Kj Girl at Comicon Bergamo and I can assure you that both were experiences that I still find difficult to explain. This year I could notice how the fair was focused on the inclusion not only of the world of comics but above all of artistic aspects such as music and street art with an entire dedicated area, in the Neapolitan edition.
Unfortunately, due to the large turnout this year, I missed at least in Naples the concert of the greatest captain of all time: Giorgio Vanni, but I will tell you, I followed the entire concert in the rain outside the Arena Flegrea and I can swear that perhaps it was even more suggestive. Seeing people of all ages singing the theme songs that have traveled and are traveling through the childhood of all generations has generated a warmth that has counteracted the humidity of the rain.
Not to mention the Forever Teen Fiesta present at both editions, directed by DJ Shiru accompanied by his KJ Girls, a show that unleashed all the people present at the fair both in Naples and Bergamo, also thanks to the skill and friendliness of the band which makes up 50% of the show: The Stars of Hokuto.
In my case I was lucky enough to support DJ Shiru during the fair in Bergamo, an experience impossible to forget. Thanks to this I had the opportunity to meet amazing people that maybe I would never have known, looking out into a world that I previously lived exclusively as a spectator but that this year I was able to breathe deeply and, I tell you, I will never have enough of it!
Inclusion and evolution
Another important objective of these two editions was to give a face to the most loved voices of the small and big screen, the voice actors, among the most anticipated guests. On April 28th at Comicon Napoli many were present inside the Auditorium to follow the panel one of the most popular series of this year: Hazbin Hotel. Fans were able to speak one-on-one with the voice actors of the Amazon Prime series, taking a look at the world of dubbing… a rare and unique experience.
Artists apparently foreign to this world participated, such as the famous Elodiewho at Comicon Napoli sealed the connection between the art of music and that of illustration through the drawings of the master Milo Manara, giving life to the cover of his recent album where the master expressed the power and triumph of the artist in a reborn Venus.
Seeing people happy, alienating themselves in a common world where it doesn’t matter if you’re a fan or not but only if at that moment you’re singing the same K-pop song together or if maybe you recognized the cosplay character that someone has so laboriously prepared, is priceless. K-Pop was the protagonist with two very important moments: K-Pop National Finals for Crews and Soloistsrespectively in Naples and Bergamo.
I really hope that there will be more and more fairs of this kind, capable of stimulating these feelings that just thinking about them fill my heart with joy and nostalgia, anxiously awaiting the next editions in 2025!
In fact, I remind you that both fairs will return from 1 to 4 May 2025 (Naples) and from 20 to 22 June 2025 (Bergamo). Well, what can I say…
I can’t wait to start the countdown for the 25th edition of this fantastic fair!
