May 18, 2020 - Italian art genius, Marco Mastrazzo, is the new confirmed guest of the fourteenth edition of the Herceg Novi Strip Festival (HSF), which takes place from September 4 to 9. Mastrazzo, one of the biggest names in Italian comics at the moment, has been in the creative drive of the ninth art since 2006.
Practically from the beginning, his professional engagement was related to drawing covers for Dylan Dog's annual specials and American editions of the same hero, which are published under the label Epicenter Comics. He also works for the publisher Editoriale Cosmo as a cover artist for the comic book Caput Mundi. His complete opus also recommends him to American publishers, so today, his covers are adorned by Zenescope Entertainment. At the same time, in Italy, he joins the prestigious publisher Edizioni Inchiostro as the exclusive cover designer for the series "Brothers in Blood." However, Mastrazzo is also engaged in another dream job. In the last three years, he has been a member of an elite team of artists who make unique art posters for Ferrari for Formula 1 races. Due to his incredible talent and relaxed lifestyle, Mastrazzo was a logical choice for a special guest HSF, and if you ask him and HSF was the logical choice of the festival, he wanted to come.
The Herceg Novi Strip Festival has been in the focus of the European comic scene for several years due to the reputation and image of the cool festival. Still, this year it attracts special attention to the ninth art public. Given the fact that the most significant spring festivals in Europe as well as in the region are canceled, it is logical that the attention of comic book lovers turned to Montenegro as a potential corona-free destination, and Herceg Novi as its capital of the ninth art.
"The traditional start date of HSF, the first Friday in September, is once again confirmed by chance as the perfect choice of the festival's founder Nikola Ćurčin. It gives us enough time to thoroughly monitor the development of the situation regarding easing measures and opening European countries. In addition to the increasingly resounding names of artists who confirm their arrival in Herceg Novi as special guests of the festival, this year, our event will be attended by many organizers of the most famous European comics festivals and their fans. The arrival in Herceg Novi has been announced by the directors of the cult festivals, British NICE, and Russian Boom Fest. It is a unique opportunity to promote Herceg Novi as a cultural and tourist destination to a broad audience that visits these major European festivals, "said HSF organizers.
They are aware that the only Montenegrin event dedicated to the ninth art is considered a small cultural miracle in the world of comics. That is an additional motive, but also an obligation to present Herceg Novi and Montenegro in the best possible light this year and justify that epithet. The HSF reminds that so far, in addition to Mastrazzo, the guests are the British PJ Holden, the Slovenian Izar Lunaček, Sedat Oezgen from Germany, and Artyom Trakhanov from Russia.
