Among crowded pavilions, always animated stages and many events including shows, concerts from Giorgio Vanni to Cristina D’avena, and contests, the XXVII edition of Torino Comics 2023, organized by Just for fun in joint venture with GL events Italia, was a record edition, with over 62,500 visitors who invaded the Lingotto Fiere for three consecutive days. We are facing the most attended edition ever, which even surpassed the 60,000 admissions of the 2022 edition.
There was an excellent turnout in the meeting rooms, which this year were 5, all dedicated to important cultural events and editorial presentations. Among the guests present, Bruno Bozzetto, Gabriele Dell’Otto, Antonio Lapone and Moreno Burattini. Very good, also for the workshops dedicated to schools, which saw the participation of over seventy classes and 1500 students who came to the fair between Friday and Saturday. Among the activities in which the pupils tried their hand were those of comics, scenographic make-up, cosplay, inclusion and sustainability. Also not to be forgotten are the film screenings, organized in collaboration with the Sardinia Film Festival.
The presence of the brand new Family Area, dedicated to moments of play for the little ones and created thanks to the collaboration between Carioca, Quercetti and Masters of Magic, was very successful, here the children were able to find magic shows, free drawing sessions and games . In short, a good demonstration that Torino Comics is increasingly becoming an event for all ages.
The novelty of the 2023 edition of Torino Comics was the focus on inclusiveness. In fact, the spaces of the fair this year have also become more usable by people with disabilities. In particular, the Pavilion 2 area was very successful, putting visitors to the test with activities, games and paths to put themselves in the shoes of others.
Among the new areas set up this year, which received an excellent response from visitors, we have the Red Zone, an area dedicated to erotic comics for the first time in the history of Italian fairs. Various international and also Italian artists are on display inside, such as Milo Manara, but the gallery on “Disability and sexuality” curated by Sensuabilitywhich also brought a short film on the subject.
The other area partner was Mysecretcasewhich in addition to proposing information and awareness-raising activities on sexuality and affectivity education, has also set up a “wall of confessions” for anyone wishing to reveal a secret, let off steam or simply leave their signature at this Torino Comics.
However, the protagonists of the fair, like every year, were the cosplayers. In fact, for three days, the stage in Pavilion 1 was the scene of exhibitions, competitive fashion shows, karaoke and moments of entertainment.
On Saturday 15th, the competition included in the ICL (International Cosplay League) circuit took place, the final of which will take place in Madrid next September during the Japan Weekend. The qualifiers included a single Cosplayer and a couple. The organization of the Cosplay competitions, like every year, was handled by Cospa Family. For the single, Linda Guarise won first place, who took the stage in the role of Queen Ippolita, a character taken from Wonder Woman, for the couple instead the Piece of cake cosplay couple composed by Alberta Avanzi and Lorenzo Nicolosi impersonating Vax and Matron of Ravens , two characters from The Legend of Vox Machina. The only flaw was a bad behavior slip by someone on the jury, who in a Torino Comics, like this year’s one focused on inclusion, tolerance and not bullying, expressed discriminatory personal opinions during the prejudging. A qualification for an international competition is a serious matter and the jurors should judge the costume and not comment on the personal character of any participant. The biggest mistake you can make is failing to maintain the role you cover in impartiality. Rules and regulations should also include rules on the behavior of the jury, as happens instead in the regulations of other major Italian events with international qualifications where they specify that the jury must undertake to always behave seriously and respectfully towards the participants under penalty of expulsion from the role they play.
On Sunday 16, however, the classic competitive fashion show took place, there were 54 entries, for a total of 84 on stage. Furthermore, during Sunday’s competition, the Italian selections of the Europa Cosplay Cup also took place, a new competition in which qualified cosplayers from all over Europe will participate. The finals will take place in Toulouse, France in November this year.
Here are all the winners:
1st place ECC Qualification: Lilit Cosplay as the Huntress of Monster Hunter;
2nd place and winner of the travel super prize at the German ComicCon in Dortmund: Carlo Visentin with Zinogre from Monster Hunter;
Cospa Family Award: Kat Von Rouge with Satine from Moulin Rouge;
Best Group: Aurora, Alessia, Giulia e Arianna per League of Legends;
Best Performance: Sinta Riti with Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame;
Best Accessory: Aurora con Crimson Witch da Genshin Impact;
Physics of the role: Tokyo Revengers group
Sympathy Award: Federico and Andrea with Thor from MCCU-Thor Love and Thunder;
Video Game Award: Denise Santoro con NNilou da Genshin Impact;
Special mention: Maria Rosa De Marchi with Amethyst by Sakizou;
Choreography Special Mention: Viking warrior group from Vikings.
Upcoming appointments for all fans of comics and cosplay will be the FunCon at the Piacenza Expo on 27 and 28 May 2023 and, returning to Turin, the Xmas Comics which will take place on 16 and 17 December 2023 at the Lingotto Fiere.
