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| Salón del Cómic de Barcelona | |
|---|---|
| Name | Salón del Cómic de Barcelona |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Comic convention |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Venue | Fira de Barcelona |
| Location | Barcelona |
| Country | Spain |
| First | 1981 |
| Organizer | FICOMIC |
| Attendance | Variable |
Salón del Cómic de Barcelona is an annual comics convention held in Barcelona, Spain, organized by FICOMIC and hosted at venues such as the Fira de Barcelona and Palau de Congressos. The event brings together creators, publishers, retailers, academics, institutions and fans with exhibitions, signings, panels, and awards, attracting figures from European, American and Latin American comics communities. Over decades it has featured international guests from sectors including editorial houses, cultural institutions, and media outlets.
The festival traces roots to early Spanish comic gatherings influenced by events like Lucca Comics & Games, Angoulême International Comics Festival, Salon du livre de Paris, Comiket, and San Diego Comic-Con International. Founding years involved local entities such as Ajuntament de Barcelona, Generalitat de Catalunya, Instituto Nacional de Juventud, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, and private publishers including Editorial Bruguera, Planeta DeAgostini, Glénat, Norma Editorial, Ediciones B, Astiberri Ediciones, La Cúpula, Random House Mondadori, and Panini Comics. Influential creators and critics connected to the festival have included figures associated with Quino, Francisco Ibáñez, Carlos Giménez, Ana Miralles, Paco Roca, Max (Francesc Capdevila), and María Luisa Paredes. International outreach grew through collaborations with institutions such as Casa América, Instituto Cervantes, British Council, Institut Français, and Goethe-Institut.
Organization is led by FICOMIC, with partnerships from entities like Ajuntament de Barcelona, Diputació de Barcelona, Generalitat de Catalunya, Fira de Barcelona, Palau de Congressos de Barcelona, CCCB (Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona), and cultural foundations including Fundació Joan Miró, Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Fundación Telefónica, Fundació MACBA. Industry stakeholders present include publishers DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Edizioni BD, Vertigo Comics, Kodansha, Shueisha, Shogakukan, Viz Media, and retailers such as Comics Avenue and distribution partners like Diamond Comic Distributors. Programming committees have drawn advisors from Universitat de Barcelona, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Escola Joso, Escola Massana, and archival projects with Biblioteca de Catalunya.
Editions have varied in scale from small salons to large conventions paralleling Festival Internacional de Jazz de Barcelona, Mobile World Congress, and Primavera Sound in venue usage. Notable editions have coincided with anniversaries for creators like Hergé, Moebius, Will Eisner, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Osamu Tezuka, Hajime Isayama, Katsuhiro Otomo, Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, and commemorations tied to publishers Marvel Entertainment, DC Entertainment, Dark Horse, Image Comics, and Spanish publishers Bruguera, Grijalbo, Tusquets. Attendance figures have been reported alongside events such as Barcelona International Comic Fair and tracked by organizations like ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones and tourism boards including Turisme de Barcelona.
The convention hosts awards and recognitions that have honored creators and works comparable to prizes like the Premios Eisner, Prix de la critique, Angoulême Grand Prix, Harvey Awards, Japan Media Arts Festival accolades, and Spanish distinctions such as Premio Nacional de Cómic, Premios del Salón, Premio a la trayectoria. Award ceremonies have recognized authors connected to Milo Manara, Jordi Bernet, Enrique Sánchez Abulí, Manuel Vázquez Gallego, Francisco Ibáñez Talavera, Pere Joan, Sergio Toppi, and institutions like Museo del Prado for cross-disciplinary exhibitions.
Programming includes curated exhibitions, masterclasses, retrospectives, and thematic shows collaborating with museums and archives such as Museu Picasso, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona, Biblioteca Nacional de España, and galleries including Galería Sònia Igual. Exhibits have showcased original art by creators like Hergé, Moebius, François Schuiten, Peyo, Burne Hogarth, Alex Raymond, Corto Maltese (Hugo Pratt), La Patrouille des Castors, Asterix (René Goscinny), and themed displays on works such as Tintin, Astérix, Maus, Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi), V for Vendetta (Alan Moore), Watchmen (Alan Moore), Dragon Ball (Akira Toriyama), One Piece (Eiichiro Oda), and Naruto (Masashi Kishimoto). Workshops and panels have featured representatives from Netflix, HBO, Amazon Studios, TV3, RTVE, El País, La Vanguardia, Icon Comics, Vertigo, and academic symposia with Universitat de València.
Guests have included a wide roster of creators, editors, critics, and performers: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Will Eisner, Moebius, Hergé, Katsuhiro Otomo, Junji Ito, Katsuhiro Otomo, Naoki Urasawa, Rumiko Takahashi, Hayao Miyazaki, Quentin Tarantino (as guest speaker contexts), Pedro Almodóvar (cultural collaborations), Spanish figures such as Fermín Solís, Sergio Bleda, Ferran Adrià (cross-cultural events), Paco Roca, Max, Carlos Giménez, Miguelanxo Prado, Manel Fontdevila, and industry leaders from Panini Comics, Norma Editorial, Planeta DeAgostini Comics, Ediciones La Cúpula, Astiberri, Glénat España, ECC Ediciones, Manga Barcelona participants, and scholars from CUNY Graduate Center and University of Southern California.
The convention influenced Spanish and international comics culture, contributing to careers linked to publishers like BRB Internacional, Televisa, Grupo Zeta, Hachette, Abril and to media coverage in outlets such as El Mundo, ABC (newspaper), El Periódico de Catalunya, Metrópoli, Rolling Stone España, Cinemanía. Legacy effects include exhibition loans to Museu Picasso, curricular inclusion at Escola Joso, strengthened ties with festivals like Angoulême International Comics Festival, Lucca Comics & Games, Comiket, San Diego Comic-Con International, and fostering Spanish recognition exemplified by Premio Nacional de Cómic laureates. The salon remains a node connecting creators, publishers, cultural institutions, broadcasters, and academic networks across Europe and the Americas.
Category:Comics conventions Category:Culture in Barcelona Category:Recurring events established in 1981