The Firenze Comics Odyssey - when a comic convention decides to abandon its artists.

The introduction of Artist Alleys within Italian comic conventions is a recent phenomenon that seems to be gaining momentum in recent years; gradually, albeit rather slowly, the organisations of the major events in the country are approaching the art-creative sector. The implementation of this area in comic conventions has suffered several setbacks and no common ground seems to have been found on the most suitable management for artists. Quite a certain lack of interest and sensitivity on the part of the organising bodies is now obvious, they are now too used to managing their events only keeping the economic return in mind, often obtained thanks to the stallholders in the commercial zones. The young public and members of the cosplay community, however, now go to conventions to meet their friends, to experience a different day and, above all, to see their favourite artists' new products. The vast majority of those who experience the event are growing tired of seeing the same commercial booths again and again, as well as discovering that their dear friends in the artist alleys are being treated horribly every single time. 

Every event, however, has the possibility of turning out to be a victory for the artists: people try and try again, they make sacrifices and put themselves forward as participants, in the hope that, this time, the artist alley will turn out to be different. Some conventions circuits keep their word and offer events whose participation is a more than positive experience, others, however, disappoint to the point of alienating the artists themselves (and visitors) from the possibility of participation in future editions.

On the weekend of 7/8 September 2024, the Firenze Comics took place. Located in the park of Villa Montalvo, the event hosted more than 100 booths: commercial exhibitors, associations and artists of all kinds. From 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., visitors were able to explore the fair, participate in the various activities on offer and enjoy their time at the fair - however, Sunday afternoon turned out to be rather different than expected. 

The park of Villa Montalvo does not boast any structurally sheltered area. For the event, therefore, upper marquees were positioned to protect visitors and exhibitors from possible bad weather, perimetered by temporary plasterboard walls. In front of the latter were positioned the artists belonging to the Artist Alley of Firenze Comics, an area dedicated to the exhibition and sale of works and merchandise produced by the participating artists. It had been rumoured for some time now that the weather would not be particularly clement during the event weekend: Saturday was uneventful, Sunday, however, proved disastrous. Considering the weather warning issued in the days leading up to the event, a certain level of organisation to avoid inconvenience would have expected, however, the result was quite different.

Around 11:30 on Sunday morning, the artists in the artist alley received word that the organisation wanted them to dismantle their booths by 5pm on the day due to an orange weather warning for thunderstorms and hydro-geological risk. A few hours later, the wind began to blow with such intensity that it caused trouble for the exhibitors, the products on display on the tables were flying everywhere, thus forcing the artists to physically position themselves in front of the booths to ensure the safety of their merch. Shortly afterwards, the rain began to increase and flood the floor of the pavilion, intensifying into a cloudburst. Around 3 p.m., due to the strong wind and torrential rain, those present in the artist alley saw the pavilion crumble, the perimeter plasterboard walls (already unsafe, not up to standard) fall directly on top of the booths with their products on display, completely flooding the area and destroying the merchandise on sale. According to some testimonies, people seem to have had the misfortune to be under the collapsed walls due to the bad weather - fortunately there were no casualties of any kind, but this does not detract from the seriousness of the incident.

During an accident of this calibre, most would expect the organisation to be the first to move to make sure that its own booth holders were safe, perhaps offering support and help to dismantle more quickly, or to check the solidity of the structure under which all the visitors and workers of its event were standing. The organisation and staff of Firenze Comics, on the other hand, did not move a finger: no one approached to offer support, no help was called - those in charge seem not to have set foot in the vicinity of the area, almost as if to avoid any possibility of being called out. Total disregard for the artists seems to have been the favourite choice of the convention: it must be convenient to pocket 100€ per booth, ignore any request for communication from the artists and leave them to their own devices, right?

Understandably, those involved in the incident turned to the world of the Internet in the day after the incident: several artists recounted their experiences on Instagram, Facebook and Telegram, attaching photographs and videos to support their testimonies. Once word of Firenze Comics' incompetence had spread, artists and supporters shared their indignation in the comments on the last post on the con's profile, demanding an apology post and the taking of accountability for the incident. Some artists approached the fair directly by e-mail, politely requesting partial compensation for what they had lost due to the incident. The organisation, in response, deleted the comments under the post, blocked several accounts and is currently in a press silence.

The matter is still ongoing, in case of updates we will notify you as soon as possible. The hope is that the organisation will show respect to those it has ignored so far, give them the apology they deserve and provide a proper refund. Knowing the Italian fair scene, however, this possibility seems rather unlikely.

We thank you for your attention and hope that today's article may have clarified the matter. We would also like to thank @fededeko and the various artists involved in this unpleasant experience - their testimonies have made it possible to write this article with a greater level of understanding. We would also like to remind you that the protagonists of this incident are not mere usernames that you may come across on Instagram from time to time, but flesh and blood people whose work, commitment and sacrifice were destroyed due to the incompetence of the organisational body behind the convention at hand.

If you have a chance, please support those involved through shares, emergency commissions and donations - any help is invaluable.

Yako.