20th Zagreb Comic Con report
At the start of May, we had our sights set out to Zagreb, Croatia. 20th Zagreb Comic Con took place in Zagreb, Croatia from 12th to 14th of May 2017. The festival was formerly known as Crtani Romani Šou and this being the 20th anniversary, the organizers introduced the name change to Zagreb Comic Con and really went all out regarding the big names at the festival this year. There were 23 official guests, a lot of exhibitions, promotions, lectures and discussions during these 3 action packed days.
A lot of great names, to be exact 23 officially, were in Zagreb during these three days. Jordi Bernet, Eduardo Risso, Alfonso Font, François Boucq, Giovanni Freghieri, Marco Nizzoli, Eugenio Sicomoro, Luigi Piccatto, Marco Soldi, Goran Parlov, Vladimir Mario Davidenko, Krešimir Biuk, Darko Kreč, Željko Pahek, Milorad Vicanović Maza, Stevan Subić, Kiko da Silva, Bernard Kolle, Elsa Sztulcman, Olivier Jalabert, Zoran Đukanović and Didier Pasamonik. All of these authors (except for the last 4, Elsa and Olivier were headhunting for Glenat, while Zoran and Didier are comic critics) had multiple drawing sessions for which numbers were handed out, and to get a number you had to buy one serigraph printing from the CRŠ. Prices varied from 80 HRK to 120 HRK (11 to 16.5 EUR approx.).

Top row, left to right: Zoran Djukanović, some guy as Groucho, Giovanni Freghieri, Marco Soldi, Eugenio Sicomoro, Luigi Piccatto, Alfonso Font, Jordi Bernet, Stefano Bartolomei, Francois Boucq, Olivier Jalabert.
Bottom row, left to right: Milorad Vicanović Maza, Stevan Subić, Eduardo Risso, Slaven Gorički, Goran Parlov. (Copyright: CRŠ)
During the whole festival duration, six exhibitions were open: Jordi Bernet – Torpedo 1936, Retrospective exhibition of Eduardio Risso, Made in CRO (various Croatian artists), Croatian comics for kids – Darko Kreč, Modesty Blaise and 30 years of Dylan Dog in Croatia. The exhibitions looked great because of the festival location, Meštrovičev paviljon, that is a circle in form. Also, seeing Bernet, Risso and other artists original art pages is priceless.
There were some hiccups with the program, some things got delayed, moved around or cancelled, but there was a lot to offer at Zagreb Comic Con this year. Maybe even too much if you ask me, since there were constantly 3-4 different events at the same time. So if you wanted to attend most of the things at the festival, if you do not have a clone it was not possible. Great thing is that a lot of visitors were at the festival, some looking at the various exhibitions, big lines in order to get a signature or a sketch, buying comics. In the middle of the venue, a comic marketplace was open all the time, with most of the Croatian comic shops and publishers present.
Zagreb Comic Con, really stepped it up, from the name changing to improving the festival content. A lot of great artists, critics, talent hunters were in Zagreb for those 3 days. Seeing Risso, Bernet, Font and all the others in actions, original artwork and a lot of comic fans is what comic festivals is all about! Already looking forward to Zagreb Comic Con next year!