Global pop culture icons headline upcoming Lucca Comics & Games

The organization behind Lucca Comics & Games has finalized the structural elements for its 60th anniversary edition, scheduled from October 28 to November 1, 2026, in Tuscany, Italy. Operating under the official theme "Legacy," the event has garnered institutional backing through the formal patronage of the European Commission. The comprehensive programming slate, which connects graphic literature, electronic entertainment, and interactive experiences, was officially introduced during a media briefing at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence.

The interactive entertainment sector features major commercial activations and milestone commemorations. To mark three decades of the Pokémon franchise, the festival grounds will host a specialized "Play Lab" designed inside a physical structural recreation of a Pokémon gym. Concurrently, the event serves as the venue for the European commercial debut of the retail collectible firm POP Mart, alongside the formal Italian product premiere of the Naruto Card Game. The digital side of the event includes the rollout of two dedicated historical items: an interactive 8-bit software experience titled Luke & Clea: A Quest for Legacy and a physical multimedia retrospective cataloged as Legacy – The Exhibition.

The guest lineup brings together an international assembly of creators across multiple pop culture fields. The publishing and graphic novel divisions will feature panels hosted by Go Nagai, Frank Miller, Jonathan Hickman, Tillie Walden, and Tōru Fujisawa. The software development and musical scores sectors will be represented by key creators including Yoshinori Kitase, Hideki Kamiya, and composer Yōko Kanno.

The visual identity of this diamond jubilee is centered around an archival meta-poster illustrated by veteran artist Claudio Castellini, whose career spans historic work for Sergio Bonelli Editore, Marvel, and DC Comics. The artwork incorporates characters from previous festival campaigns, depicting an adult hand passing a pencil to a younger generation. This concept was physically enacted at the launch event, where Castellini presented his tools to ten-year-old French artist Louise Stéphant, a consecutive winner of the Petit Fauve at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. Stéphant is commissioned to illustrate a variant edition of the 2026 poster, to be revealed at the Teatro del Giglio Giacomo Puccini. Additionally, the Fondazione Banca del Monte will host Masterstrokes, an exhibition analyzing Castellini’s historical original pages and chiaroscuro techniques.

LC