Lake Como Comic Art Festival Fans Converge April 24-26

Italian comics have left a lasting impact on global pop culture. ComicConnect.com will be there.

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, April 6, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ --


When Italy beckons, Vincent Zurzolo listens. He grew up in Queens as the son of Italian immigrants from the Calabria region and was taught from an early age to appreciate Italians’ rich contributions to culture, art, fashion and food, among other arenas.

When Italy calls to him with a major comic book art expo, Zurzolo – president of New York-based ComicConnect, the premier online marketplace for comic book and pop culture collectibles – is there!

ComicConnect will be one of the exhibitors at the seventh Lake Como Comic Art Festival, being held April 24-26 at the stunning Villa Erba on the shores of Lake Como. (To give you an idea of its grandeur, it served as the home of Baron Francois Toulour, one of the antagonists in the George Clooney film “Ocean’s 12.”)

“I have very strong connections to Italy with family all over the country. When this con was announced, I couldn’t pass it up,” Zurzolo said.

Comic books are associated in many Americans’ minds with home-grown superheroes, from Superman and Batman to Captain America and Wonder Woman. But they’ve long been a favorite of Italian readers, and the country has spawned many famous comic book writers and artists. Around the country there are 10 locations of the Scuola Internazionale di Comics, keeping the tradition going and growing

Comic books even have their own Italian word: fumetti. “It means little clouds or little puffs of smoke,” Zurzolo explains. “It refers to the word balloons used in comic book storytelling.”

Italian comics span many genres, including horror, Westerns, adventure and sci-fi. “Unlike American superhero comics, Italian comics often focus on deeper narratives, intricate characters and unique artistic styles,” he says.

Also unlike their American counterparts, Italian comics tend to feature anti-heroes and vigilantes. That’s a good description of the protagonist in Zurzolo’s own 2023 comic book series, The Addiction.

Niki Tino is an Italian-American New York doctor, daughter of a drug addict, who dedicates herself to fighting addiction in all its forms. In keeping with darker narratives and sci-fi, Niki is overdosed by drug lords with a chemical that gives her blood the power to synthesize any drug, from morphine to truth serum, the effects of which she transmits to others with a touch. Zurzolo and his co-writer, David Quinn, collaborated with an award-winning Italian comic book artist, Claudia Balboni, to bring Niki Tino to life.

Other Italian artists of note include the late Hugo Pratt, Guido Crepax and Sergio Bonelli, as well as modern day greats like Milo Manara, Simone Bianchi, Gabrielle Dell'Otto, Ellena Casagrande and Sarah Pichelli.

The Lake Como Comic Art Festival is the world’s most exclusive original comic art-focused show, presented by many of the same people who created Big Wow Comic Fest in California and the Paris Comic Expo. “They limit the number of attendees to 1,000, which makes the whole show more of an event than your average comic convention, with over 100 guests and exhibitors,” Zurzolo says.

Several contemporary Italian artists are expected to attend, including Bianchi, Pichelli and Dell’Otto, along with Francesco Tomaselli, Enrico Marini, Laura Braga, Matteo Scalera, Riccardo Federici and others.

After the expo, Zurzolo hopes to connect with relatives and friends. “My parents lived the American Dream after they immigrated, with my dad becoming a chef and restaurateur,” he said. “Still, returning to Italy is like coming home for me.”

Joanne Levine
Lekas & Levine PR
+1 847-327-9530
joannepr@aol.com

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