Organizers of the Lake Como and Hawaiian Islands Comic Art Festivals are teaming up to celebrate artists with the ICON Festival of Comics & Narrative Art, a two-day event being held in Los Angeles this November. The event, founded by Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz‘s agent Sal Abbinanti, and his partner Steve Morger, will be held in the city’s Biltmore Hotel on the weekend of November 7-8, and include a gallery of Ross’s portraits of Marvel and DC characters. Ross also painted the ICON Angel who’ll be the festival’s mascot, and a signed print will be given away to those who purchase a VIP pass.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Abbinanti and Morger said they were motivated to recreate the Lake Como festival in the States because they felt conventions there had become too focused on “cosplay and celebrities,” and that ICON will offer a place “where you could meet the artist one-to-one and not be surrounded by thousands of people in a huge hall of commercialism and advertising, like you’re in Las Vegas or something.”
Abbinanti says in Europe, “[We] found that there was a reverence for comics artists. They weren’t seen as comic artists, they were just seen as artists.” Referencing the Biltmore’s history, he adds, “We wanted to put it into an amazing setting and go, ‘No, this is real art and this should be taken seriously.’ This is not your usual comic book event. This is a luxury event, being held where the Academy Awards were first conceived.”
Other artists currently listed for the event are Sienkiewicz, Ace Continuado, Alex Nino, Bill Stout, Cat Staggs, Dan Panosian, Daniel Warren Johnson, Dave Johnson, David Mack, Dean Yeagle, Dustin Nguyen, Eric Basaldua, Frank Cho, Jim Cheung, Megan Huang, Nick Dragotta, Ryan Ottley, and Sanford Greene. Art dealers will also be in attendance.
Passes are available to purchase now from the official website. In line with the festival’s prestigious and quiet approach, VIP passes will cost $375, and offer access to a Friday night opening reception, a special event on Saturday night, both days of the festival, Ross’s lithographs, a poster, and swag bag. A weekend pass, offering just the poster and swag bag, will cost $225. A Sunday pass, only offering admission on that day, is also for $75.
For more information, you can contact the organizers or hotel here. In the meantime, check out Ross’s ICON Angel artwork below:
