AMADORA is currently “the international meeting point” for fans of comic stories, according to the organisers of the fifteenth International Amadora Comic Festival (Festival Internacional de Banda Desenhada de Amadora).
The festival started on October 22 and will run until Sunday, November 7. Some 30,000 people are expected to visit the event, described as “one of the most acclaimed of its kind in Europe”. The main attraction is an exhibition entitled The 100 Best Comic Books of the 20th Century, which will be held in the corridor of the shopping area at Amadora’s Falagueira metro station. It is the first time that part of the festival is being staged in the unusual, 2,500sqm venue, which was chosen mainly for its easy accessibility by public transport.
Other events to be held there include exhibitions of Argentinean and Flemish comics, with several of the authors present, showcases of the work of artists such as Portuguese cartoonist André Carrilho and a special exhibition on Marsupilami, the comic book creature conceived by Belgian author André Fréquin.
Another highlight is the ‘top 100’ 20th century comic strips – the result of a worldwide poll held by the organisers among comic book critics, directors of festivals and museums and others involved in the ‘ninth art’, as it is known among fans.
We can reveal that the top 10 is made up of the following comic strip characters: Tintin, Batman, Corto Maltese, Asterix, Little Nemo, Maus, Blueberry, The Spirit, Peanuts and Krazy Kat. Other comic heroes mentioned in the top 100 include Donald Duck, Blake and Mortimer, Tarzan, Flash Gordon, Calvin & Hobbes, Spiderman and Dick Tracy.
The main exhibition at Falagueira metro station is open daily from 10am to 10pm. Entrance is three euros, with discounts available for children, students and groups. Look out for other events being held at venues around Amadora, including the Artur Bual Municipal Gallery, the Casa Roque Gameiro and the Centro Nacional de Banda Desenhada e Imagem (CNBDI).
