Unicómic marks its 25th anniversary with a three‑day conference dedicated to emerging comics and graphic storytelling. The event, a gathering for cartoon enthusiasts, celebrates a quarter of a century by exploring the possibilities of this visual and literary medium at the University of Alicante. The program runs from 23 to 25 March, with about 20 authors and experts slated to participate. The opening day focuses on the academic side at the Faculty of Education, followed by sessions at the university venue in Alicante for presentations and author meetings on Friday and Saturday.
Unicómic originated from the collaboration of five young students from Universitarios Progresistas and Club Star Trek Alicante: Daniel Simón, Pablo Durá, Javier García-Conde Maestre, Jaime Albero, and Joan Miquel Rovira. “We were a small group, and the conversations about comics—from independent zines to American titles—kept growing. None of us expected to keep it going for 25 years,” notes Rovira, the organizer and co‑founder of the workshops featured in this anniversary edition. On the 24th, a retrospective on Unicómic’s journey will be presented along with a summer course on comics, publications, and an international congress. A new logo and a special 25th‑anniversary emblem will be unveiled for some of the founders during the events.
Andrés Guinaldo will present “Blade Runner 2029.”
Joan Miquel Rovira recalls that many authors who arrived with early works or fanzines are now established names. For example, Alicante’s Roman Lopez Cabrera debuted in 2016 with Secret Family, a self‑published study funded through crowdfunding, which later found a wider audience with Panini or Cascaborra. This year, Marina Armengol will present We have to fix Denmark, and Crazy Sunday will be showcased (25 days, at 6 p.m.). Carlos Esquembre, a Valencian resident of Alicante who published Body in 2014, released a new work last year with Planeta Comic, and his Three Wounds of Miguel Hernández was highlighted in a previous edition of the meeting.
Additionally, this year’s poster is created by one of Unicómic’s founders, Garcia-Conde Maestre, who will present the content on the 24th at 5:30 p.m., bringing together some of the writers who attended the sessions. The gathering will pay homage to American cartoonist George Pérez, the artist behind the cover of two hundred issues in a major collection, who passed away in 2022. His influence on the world of comics remains a touchstone for attendees.
The full poster for the event emphasizes the collaboration and history of the festival.
The meeting begins on Thursday with a focus on the most academic portion of the program. There will be an opening session and presentations from Working Groups and the Management Committee of the iCON-MICS European project (COST Act 19119), of which Unicómic is a participant.
The complete program can be consulted online, highlighting Friday’s sessions. A monograph session will explore the relationship between cinema and comics, coordinated by Fran J Ortiz. The discussion aims to explore how film and graphic storytelling intersect, with ideas ranging from expanded universes to adaptations of Blade Runner, Dune, Star Wars, and other cinematic works. The talk will also touch on how cinema can influence storytelling in comics and vice versa. Ortiz will reflect on Federico Fellini’s connection to cartoons, noting his early work and later projects that he adapted into graphic form, including themes from his youth and films he revisited as he explored the art form.
Cover art for Fermin Muguruza’s comic “Black is Beltza II” is highlighted on a separate poster entry.
The Friday afternoon program continues with discussions and demonstrations, including talks by Carlos Sampler and Vincent Cifuentes and a presentation by Andrés Guinaldo. The weekend will also feature a screening of the animated film Black is Beltza II: Ainhoa, which received recent nominations at major awards. The session will discuss the collaboration between cinema and manga and how Basque creators contribute to the broader comic landscape, with producers and writers weighing in on the collaborative process that began in Alicante and expanded into international projects.