Comic-Con Málaga will replicate the 'soul' of San Diego with iconic 'Artists' Alley'

San Diego Comic-Con Málaga 2025 has already started to announce some big names from the list of special guests. The first two stars that will attend the event in September this year are current creative director at DC Comics Jim Lee and Marvel Japanese illustrator Peach Momoko.

The person responsible for offering fans the opportunity to meet these creators is Óscar Giménez - curator of illustration and comics at Comic-Con Málaga. As Giménez said, comics will be the "heart" of this event that will replicate the "soul" of San Diego. The key to the success of this event is the same as the one at the American convention: fans meeting their favourite creators. For this reason, the Palacio de Ferias in Malaga will feature one of the great hallmarks of the Comic-Con - the 'Artists' Alley', where readers will have direct access to cartoonists and scriptwriters.

"This is not a typical festival, so it is important not to lose the soul of San Diego Comic-Con or forget that the origin of this convention was a group of fans who decided to hold a festival and meetings with authors more than half a century ago," Giménez told SUR, adding that, like the Californian original, the Malaga edition has been conceived "for the public and the authors, for the fans and the artists".

In San Diego, the 'Artists' Alley' is located precisely at the end of the exhibition pavilion, meaning that the public has to pass through all the exhibitors before reaching this main space. The excitement of getting the opportunity to chat to your idols is what makes this area so special. "Not all the authors are going to do it, but we are going to promote this interaction in this first edition with the idea that it will grow in the following years," said Giménez.

The Comic-Con Málaga curator said that they have invited American, European and Andalusian artists, bringing the international to the local and looking to "satisfy as many people as possible". According to Giménez, their aim is to achieve "internal coherence" and "balance" by having " a very strong national presence", not just "big names". However, he is still keeping local names a secret, so we will have to wait to learn more.

One thing he did reveal is that Malaga was not randomly chosen as a destination and this will be reflected in the programme, through local talent. As Giménez said, Malaga "has many qualities that fit in well with the very spirit of San Diego, one of those American cities that feels European because of the way of life and culture".

Tickets for 26, 27 and 28 September (Friday-Sunday) are fully sold out and there are spots left only for the inauguration on Thursday. Saturday seems to be the most popular day among the crowds, but there are points of interest every day of the programme.

Giménez stated that comics, graphic novels and all their variants will be the backbone of the eagerly awaited event. "Comic books are the heart of Comic-Con," Giménez said, highlighting the links this art has with the rest of the event's categories: cinema, television, series, videogames, board games, animation, cosplay, etc. "In reality, everything forms part of the same universe, because the comic fan is also a film buff and a videogame lover, so it's all related. Linking all this content is the biggest challenge of this first edition," concluded the artist.