During the just-concluded Qingming Festival, the first large-scale Comic Con of the year in Guangzhou, the COMIC UP Spring Special, was held grandly in the D Zone of the Canton Fair Complex. From April 4^th to 5^th, approximately 150,000 anime enthusiasts attended this spring anime extravaganza.

COMIC UP is the largest Comic Con in China and the second largest in the globe. This time, it joined hands with the newly opened D Zone venue of the Canton Fair Complex, bringing together over 3,000 fan booths, over 120 special zones and streets, while holding the special exhibition of the fan-made art collection "I Am What I Am",and the joint exhibition of COMIC UP comic books. Leading IPs in the industry, such as "Honor of Kings,""For All Time," and "Persona," were also presented, creating a splendid anime feast.

Multiple innovative works created by participating Chinese artists were also showcased in the exhibition. Additionally, the special exhibition of the fan-made art collection "I Am What I Am" was grandly held. It is a collection of fan-made artwork for the animated film "I Am What I Am" featuring dozens of high-quality art pieces, which has received favorable reviews from both the official team of the movie and hundreds of fans, instilling the lively charm of the lion dance, a cultural symbol of Lingnan area, into the hearts of young people.

The Comic Con was highly valued by anime enthusiasts, who have made prior arrangements with their "comrades" to visit the exhibition with a series of plans: visiting the official website to create a "wishlist," identifying the booths of their desired artists, and splitting up upon entry to queue up at different booths, discuss their love and thoughts about the works with the artists in person, and gain a sense of fulfillment through these interactions.

Why did COMIC UP choose to settle in Guangzhou? Xianggu, the planner of the COMIC UP Exhibition, explained that Guangzhou had an early initiation in anime culture as one of the birthplaces of the domestic anime industry. Today, a large number of original comic artists are based in Guangzhou. As the largest fan-made exhibition brand in the country, COMIC UP hopes to establish Guangzhou as a cultivation base for creative culture, providing an environment for artists to exchange ideas and publish their works, and a path for the development of Guangzhou creators.

Since 2021, COMIC UP has hosted six events in Guangzhou, with the number of participants and artist booths gradually increasing. This time, the exhibition area reached 80,000 square meters, with around 3,000 artist booths per day and over 120 fan zones/streets, setting a new record for the previous editions in Guangzhou.

"Our Con features creative exchange, primarily focusing on paintings and comics. We aim to discover emerging creative talents, helping them to integrate with the cultural industry, so as to support the development of cultural IPs, telling good Chinese stories to the world," Xianggu told the reporter. In the future, in addition to hosting exhibitions in Guangzhou, the organizers will also support outstanding artists to publish their works, while opening authorized merchandise stores and comic bookstores in Guangzhou, creating more spaces for cultural exchange.

Source :Yangcheng Evening News

广交会展馆D区迎来动漫首秀

在刚刚结束的清明节假期，广州今年首个大型漫展——COMIC UP春季特别场在广交会展馆D区盛大举办。4月4日-5日的两天展期内，约有15万人次动漫爱好者入场参与这场春季动漫盛会。

COMIC UP展是国内最大、全球第二大的创作交流展。本届展会携手广交会展馆新开设的D区场馆，汇聚了3000+同人摊位、120+同人专区与街道，并有《雄狮少年》同人画集特展、漫画向上图书联展等多个重磅展览；企业展商则汇聚王者荣耀、时空中的绘旅人、物华弥新、BILIBILI、女神异闻录等头部IP，形成一场琳琅满目的动漫盛宴。

本届展区中带来《灯神》《过去·未来·连接》《大理寺日志》等多个作品，均为从参展作者中发现与培养的国创新作。此外，《雄狮少年》同人画集特展也重磅亮相。该书为动画电影《雄狮少年》的二次创作大画集，收录数十幅高质量的“雄狮少年”同人画作，更收获了官方和数百位爱好者的祝福和留言，让醒狮这一岭南文化以生动活泼的创作植入到年轻人的心中。

该展在动漫爱好者中颇有分量。不少观众都提早约好逛展的“战友”，做好一系列攻略：上官方网站点“心愿单”，锁定心仪的作者摊位，一入场后就与“战友”分头去不同摊位排队抢购，同时也不忘与作者现场交流对作品的喜爱与感想，收获交流的满足感。

COMIC UP展为何要落户广州？COMIC UP展主策划香菇介绍，广州受动漫文化启蒙早，是国内动漫产业的起源地之一，至今仍有大批原创漫画作者扎根广州。COMIC UP展作为全国最大的同人创作展会品牌，希望将广州作为创作文化的培养基地，为作者提供作品发表与交流的环境，为广州创作者群体打造成长发展的路径。

从2021年起至今，COMIC UP展在广州已经举办了6次活动，参展人数、创作者摊位数量均在逐步增长。本届展出面积达到8万平方米，创作者摊位单日约3000个，专区/街道超过120个，均为广州历届最高纪录。

“我们这个展会以创作交流为特色，主要以绘画、漫画作品交流为主，挖掘新兴创作力量，助力其与文化产业接轨，助力文化IP发展，讲述中国故事。”香菇告诉羊城晚报记者，未来，主办方除坚持在广州持续展开展会活动外，还将扶持优秀作者与作品出版图书，并在广州开设正版授权周边店与漫画书店，创造更多的文化交流空间。

文 | 记者 黄宙辉
图 | 主办方提供
译 | 洪婷