LUCCA COMICS & GAMES 2024 UNVEILS: THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

USPA NEWS - Rome, Wednesday 26th June 2024: Lucca Comics & Games has always aimed to be a crossroads of different arts, a place where comics, games, cinema, literature, and music converge into a multisensory experience. On the occasion of the Puccini centenary, it is only natural to think that Lucca Comics & Games represents the contemporary version of that synesthetic ideal which, a century ago, was represented by opera, a combination of literary invention, scenographic wonder, and musical magic. This year Lucca Comics & Games is presented as a real operatic composition titled THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT. In addition to a clear reference to Puccini's masterpiece, the title refers to the well-known "Butterfly Effect", a corollary of Chaos Theory which studies the way in which small changes can lead to large consequences. It is a theme that resonates perfectly with the spirit of Lucca Comics & Games, and to visually represent the three acts of this unique Opera, we have called a great Sensei who embodies a melting pot of cultures and media: Yoshitaka Amano.

Yoshitaka Amano is a world-renowned Japanese artist, known for his groundbreaking work in animation, video games and contemporary art. He began his career in the 1970s with Tatsunoko Productions, contributing to iconic series such as Gatchaman and Time Bokan . In the 1980s and 1990s, he became famous for his illustrations for the Final Fantasy video game series , which earned him international recognition. Amano is also an esteemed painter and sculptor, with works exhibited around the world.

For "The Butterfly Effect", Amano created not just one image, but three, each representing an act of this extraordinary work.

Today we present OUVERTURE represented by the work that Amano dedicated to Puccini's Tosca. An embrace between two characters, between physicality and imagination, which captures all the exuberant energy of the festival and the thousand colors of its audience of butterflies . The image dedicated to Madama Butterfly will arrive in September and on 30 October the festival will present a third work by maestro Amano, this time linked to his immortal princess Turandot, to reflect the apotheosis of creativity and passion that is Lucca Comics & Games.

Lucca Comics & Games will this year literally leave the urban walls of Lucca and land at the Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan with the exhibition AMANO CORPUS ANIMÆ, dedicated precisely to Yoshitaka Amano. This exhibition will offer a complete overview of his work, highlighting his extraordinary ability to merge Anime, Video Games and contemporary art into a single, inimitable artistic vision. More than 100 original works to tell the history of animation and world entertainment; the epic images that have consecrated the "boy from Shizuoka" in the Olympus of contemporary artists will range from Tatsunoko to Final Fantasy , passing through Vogue. The exhibition will happen after the festival. From November 13, 2024 to March 1, 2025 , “Amano Corpus Animae ” will be the first retrospective to celebrate the 50-year career of the visionary Maestro . The largest and most complete exhibition ever dedicated to the Japanese artist in the West. Curated for Lucca Comics & Games by Fabio Viola , with the exhibition design and itinerary created in collaboration with POLI.design of Milan.

Lucca Comics & Games 2024, with the theme THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT , promises to be a memorable edition, an event that celebrates the transformative power of art and creativity, in perfect harmony with the spirit of innovation that has always characterized this extraordinary festival .

And in the wake of the enthusiasm and news that leave their mark, Netflix returns to Lucca Comics & Games with an unmissable event: SQUID GAME 2 . On Thursday 31 October the creator, writer and director Hwang Dong- hyuk and the protagonists Lee Jung- jae and Wi Ha- Jun will be in Lucca to meet fans and to reveal to the whole world some news from the highly anticipated second season. The second chapter of Squid Game , which still remains the most popular series on Netflix more than two years after its release, will only be available on Netflix by the end of 2024.
The event in Lucca promises to be an event not to be missed.

25th anniversary of One Piece started simultaneously from Milan, Berlin, London, Madrid and Paris, on the occasion of the birthday of Monkey D. Luffy , the famous straw hat pirate, but it will be in Lucca on most important moment to close the celebrations in style and with all the numerous fans. In fact, two great guests from Japan will participate in Lucca Comics & Games: Tatsuya Nagamine (director of the last years of One Piece and previously of many other TOEI titles, including Dragon Ball Super: Broly ) and Kenji Yokoyama (historical animator from the first episodes to today). But not only that: the celebrations will also continue at the TOEI Animation stand and during the many surprises in progress. Many new features will be announced in the coming weeks!

GOLDEN WEDDING FOR DUNGEONS & DRAGONS AND THE COMMUNITY OF PLAYERS IN THE WORLD

To celebrate 50 years of D&D Lucca Comics & Games has decided to dedicate not one but two unique tributes in the world to Dungeons & Dragons , to transform this anniversary into a gigantic collective party.
For the first time the Koder Collection will be exhibited , with original masterpieces by Larry Elmore, Jeff Easley, Clyde Caldwell, Keith Parkinson, Brom , Todd Lockwood , in a unique exhibition in the world: " Gateway to Adventure: 50 Years of D&D Art" . It will be curated by Jon Peterson , one of the most important historians of the game, author among other things of Dungeons and Dragons - Art & Arcana and the extraordinary collection of rare documents The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons 1970-1977 , recently published by Wizards of the Coast , and by Jessica Lee Patterson , an art historian who has been working on cataloging the collection since 2022. The exhibition will be hosted by the extraordinary and sacred Church of the Servi , already used in the past for the display of original tables, but redesigned to accommodate an editorial and artistic path that also leaves great space for experience and the games played.

But it doesn't end here, it's time for the role-playing game to leave a permanent trace in the city of gaming par excellence: the municipal administration of Lucca will name the basement of the San Paolino bastion , definitively, after Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson , creators of Dungeons & Dragons. This is the culmination of a journey started 15 years ago, with Larry Elmore, Tracy and Laura Hickman, which has finally found its definitive approval by the city.

Jeremy Crawford , lead rules designer of Dungeons & Dragons and lead designer of the new 2024, will be present in Lucca to investigate the present and future of the first and longest-running role-playing game. Player's Handbook.

Additionally, Tetris will celebrate its 40th anniversary at Lucca Comics & Games with the participation of the game's creator and the co-founder of The Tetris Company. In 1984, Alexey L. Pajitnov, a programmer at the Moscow Academy of Sciences and a great lover of puzzle games, presented the world with what would become a universal phenomenon: Tetris. One of the most iconic and beloved video games of all time, with hundreds of millions of copies sold on over 50 platforms, Tetris continues to captivate fans of all ages around the world. Alexey L. Pajitnov, the creator of Tetris, and Henk B. Rogers, co-founder of The Tetris Company, will talk about the game's history, its impact on pop culture, and share their thoughts on the brand's future direction with the participants of Lucca Comics & Games.

At Lucca Comics & Games, Star Wars™: Unlimited, the fast-paced and easy-to-learn collectible card game where players explore a galaxy of endless possibilities, engaging in thrilling head-to-head battles featuring the most famous characters from the Star Wars universe, will be featured in a world premiere! Worldwide pre-release events for Set 3, The Twilight of the Republic, will take place on Friday, November 1, but at Lucca Comics & Games, they will start on Wednesday, October 30. Two days of exclusive pre-release, where all Italian players and Star Wars fans can see, touch, and experience the new Star Wars™: Unlimited set before anyone else in the world.