The world’s largest pop culture festival, Lucca Comics & Games wrapped up last week—with numerous amazing guests and sets next year’s dates.
With the numer of attendees, it is no wonder many consider Lucca, Italy, as one of the capitals of comics and community. The world’s largest pop culture festival, Lucca Comics & Games wrapped up last week—with numerous amazing guests and sets next year’s dates. This year, the massive event hosted over 900 guests, 730 exhibitors, 30,000 official cosplayers, and featured 1,500 events and 12 exhibitions. The event team was also proud that they had over 90,000 active users on the LuccaCG Assistant app to help provide guests with a virtual guide. The team is already excited to celebrate the 60th anniversary in 2026, where Lucca Comics & Games will be held from October 28th to November 1st, 2026.
This year, the event paid tribute to France, the country that best represents European pop culture diversity, with the theme ‘French Kiss and a poster’ by renowned illustrator Rébecca Dautremer, who transformed freedom of expression into the guiding principle of an unforgettable edition. For a week, Palazzo Guinigi became the French artist’s studio, reconstructed with the entire furnishings of her Breton residence. Here, Lucca Comics & Games visitors were able to participate in Dautremer’s creative process: an experience that reflects her way of experiencing art.
In 2025, you cannot mention comics without mentioning Japanese comics aka manga. Both organizers and visitors were ecstatic to see Tetsuo Hara-sensei grace Lucca Comics & Games 2025, the man who contributed to the classic manga craft—which also led to one of the biggest memes in manga/anime history. Hara-sensei is the creator of iconic works such as Fist of the North Star (Hakuto no Ken).
To date, Hara-sensei is known for investing his time in the public, and he was excited for attendees to see his original works and new paintings. This marked the first time he brought his work outside of Japan for a major exhibition. Tetsuo Hara was awarded the Yellow Kid Maestro del Fumetto prize by Lucca Comics & Games, and thanks to this recognition, his self-portrait will be exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery: for the first time in history, a mangaka has become part of the Florentine museum’s gallery.
Two of the biggest faces behind the biggest recorded Dungeons & Dragons show, Critical Role, American voice actor, actor, and game master Matthew Mercer and American actress, producer, and voice actress Marisha Ray were among the list of incredible guests. The festival also hosted fantasy powerhouse authors Rick Riordan, Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, and Glenn Cooper—solidifying Lucca Comics & Games as a primary stop for genre literature.
The two biggest highlights of Lucca Comics & Games 2025, depending on who you ask, were Hideo Kojima and the Duffer Brothers—including a bunch of Netflix’s Stranger Things cast! Kojima graced Lucca for the Death Stranding 2 World Strand Tour, where he discussed how much he has wanted to connect the world since the COVID-19 pandemic isolated so many people around the globe. As for the Stranger Things cast members, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, and the Duffer Brothers (Matt and Ross) share some memories and shooting the final season of Netflix’s biggest franchise series to date.
Be sure to check out CGMagazine’s content covering Lucca Comics & Games 2025 across all our socials and the official festival website! Hope to see you next year at the 60th anniversary, running between October 28th to November 1st, 2026.
