Lucca Comics and Games has entered the heart of this 2021 edition and, preparing for the nerdiest weekend of the year among the pavilions of the fair, we discover the winners of the Lucca Comics & Games Awards, the Italian “Oscars” of comics and games.
Last night, in fact, the names of the winners were presented during a special episode of Wonderland broadcast on Rai 4 and visible on demand on RaiPlay from today.
Let’s find out the winners of the Lucca Comics & Games Awards
Selected selected by the Jury formed by Giovanni Russo, the author Manuele Fior, the author Vittoria Macioci, the journalists and critics Alessandro Di Nocera and Ettore Gabrielli, once again this year the best comic books and their authors, the best, were awarded board games and role-playing games.
Gran Guinigi (comics)
Best Short Comic: LOVE anthology written by Amanda Vähämäki, Martina Sarritzu, Alice Socal, Roberta Scomparsa, Eliana Albertini edited by Liliana Cupido and Roberta Colombo (Canicola).
- Best Series: Asadora !, by Naoki Urasawa (Panini Comics).
- Best Drawing: Werther Of The Ivy for Something Is Killing The Children (BD editions).
- Best Screenplay: Lee Lai for Stone Fruit (Coconino Press – Fandango).
- Editorial initiative: The Humorous Comic Magazines edited by Sio (Shockdom).
- Best Newcomer: Miguel Vila for Padovaland (Heat wave).
- Special Jury Prize: Penss and the Folds of the World by Jérémie Moreau (Tunué).
Yellow Kid
Comic of the Year: Rusty Brown from Chris Ware (Coconino Press – Fandango).
Author of the year: Marco Galli for “Inside a tin box” (Eris Edizioni).
As part of the Lucca Comics Awards, the main recognition is that dedicated to the Master of Comics who from this year will have the opportunity to create a self-portrait that will be exhibited in the permanent collection of the Uffizi Galleries, in the exhibition “Comics in museums | The self-portraits of the Uffizi ”by Mattia Morandi and Chiara Palmieri. This year the prestigious award was awarded to Lorenzo Mattotti and his work will soon enrich one of the most important museum spaces in the world.
Game of the Year
Never before has the Game of the Year revealed its importance as this year. Also thanks to the pandemic, in fact more and more Italians have discovered board games as leisure companions in the family, among friends and with the little ones.
The annual Lucca Comics & Games recognition that rewards “gateway” board games – easy but compelling titles that can also involve all those who have never played at the table or have not played for a long time – was awarded to My City, a production of game designers Reiner Knizia published by Kosmos Verlag, distributed by Giochi Uniti.
Furthermore, for the first time in its history, the jury awarded a Special Mention to MicroMacro: Crime City from Johannes Sich (MS Editions). Not being able to be considered a board game in the traditional sense of the term, it excites and amuses, managing, only with an illustrated map and a pack of cards, to entertain beginners and experts for a good quarter of an hour.
Role-playing Game of the Year
To triumph as RPG of the Year is Broken Compass, an Italian production by game designers Riccardo Sirignano and Simone Formicola, published by Two Little Mice and distributed by Raven Distribution, thanks to its simple, complete, consistent and immediately engaging game system, suitable for beginners as well as veteran players.
The jury also decided to give a special mention to Kids & Legends, published by Spritzgnack and distributed by Asmodee Italia, for the research and commitment made to introduce the youngest to the RPG, the ability to involve the whole family in the game and the attention to inclusiveness, which allows players with different levels of experience, with particular attention to children and teenagers who love video games.
Joe Dever Award
Dedicated to the author of the legendary Lone Wolf saga, the Joe Dever Award is the award for the best cross-media operation of the year. The cinematic event signed by Denis Villeneuve expands into the playful medium thanks to a board game, which will also be followed by a role-playing game. As Herbert would like, the board game thus opens the “doors of perception” on Arrakis and its spice. The prize was in fact awarded to Dune: Imperium by Paul Dennen, published by Asmodee.
2021 Lifetime Achievement Award
Passionate divulger, convinced advocate of playful culture and tireless talent scout of Italian and foreign authors, Gianfranco Fioretta is the winner of the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award. Publisher and distributor of many and important titles that have animated the tables and evenings of tens of thousands of players in our country, Gianfranco began his journey in the first half of the 70s, and he was one of the first to approach good games with good books, sensing their cultural and social value. Since then, he has participated with constant and scrupulous systematicity in all the trade fairs, from the smallest to the most important, contributing to an increasingly widespread diffusion of the passion for (good) play, to which he has dedicated most of his professional life.