2017 Italian Comics: New Publishers, Classic Reprints, and Record Festival Attendance

The year 2017 saw major shifts in Italian comics publishing. Igort ended his editorial directorship at Coconino, while Ratigher took over with a fresh manifesto focused on new authors and formats. Igort also launched his own publishing house, Oblomov Edizioni, which quickly produced several curated releases. Eris Edizioni of Turin, active in comics since 2013, gained prominence by publishing excellent Italian authors and translating foreign works, notably recovering the works of Prof. Bad Trip. In classic comics and manga, Hikari Edizioni and J-Pop stood out: Hikari released Kazuo Umezu's three-volume "Aula alla deriva," while J-Pop introduced previously untranslated works by Kazuo Kamimura. Reprints of significant Italian works included "Psycho," Prof. Bad Trip's collection, Guido Buzzelli's "Trilogia," and "Jacovitti. Il teatrino perpetuo," a volume of essays on the artist. Festivals thrived: BilBOlBul focused on quality over quantity, Treviso Comic Book Festival attracted over 36,000 visitors, and Lucca Comics & Games remained Italy's largest comics event with 700 exhibitors, 90 venues, and over 240,000 tickets sold in five days. These numbers, combined with sales in general bookstores, confirmed comics' growing market presence and cultural legitimacy.