Kraków – The Kraków Comics Festival, scheduled for June 27–28 at the Muzeum Komiksu, returns this year with a significantly revamped format aimed at highlighting comics as an artistic and academic discipline rather than solely a commercial medium. Presented by the Italian Cultural Institute in Kraków and organized by the Kraków Comics Association, the festival will place greater emphasis on scholarly discussion, curatorial perspectives and international collaboration. Alongside traditional meetings with artists, the program will feature academic roundtables, presentations of research publications and partnerships with universities, including diploma projects developed at UKEN. A key feature of the 2026 edition will be the new Kraków–Nuremberg artist residency program, as well as a strong international lineup of guests. Italy will be represented by a prominent delegation that includes illustrator Maria Chiara Tonti, a graduate of the Acca Academy in Jesi; writer, screenwriter and illustrator Giorgio Albertini; and comics writer, editor and educator Davide Morando. Among the festival’s highlights, on June 28 from 11 a.m. to noon, Morando and Tonti will take part in the discussion Manga from Europe: The Manga Issho Magazine, moderated by Concetta Grazia Colandrea. Later, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., Giorgio Albertini will present his comic book Chronosquad: Honeymoon in the Bronze Age in conversation with Artur Wabik. One of the most anticipated moments of the festival will be a tribute to celebrated Polish artist Marek Szyszko on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his career. The event will include a major retrospective exhibition featuring works from across his artistic output, as well as the presentation of a new color edition of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. (9colonne)