MAD Magazine meets Gorillaz in the artist's reference-packed poster design
The poster design has been released for the annual COMICON festival in Naples, and the key art is by none other than the British illustrator Jamie Hewlett, the artist behind the band Gorillaz and co-founder of Tank Girl.
The illustration for the poster blends the style of Hewlett's illustrations for Gorillaz with the style of MAD magazine to show a diehard comic fan attending the festival wearing a jacked emblazoned with tons of references to classic comics, literature, gaming and film. How many can you spot? (for more inspiration see our pick of the best poster designs).
(Image credit: Jamie Hewlett / COMICON)
“Mini Murphy has a missing tooth and a black eye, the trophies of a fun weekend in the woods on her BMX bike. However painful, these injuries are not enough to prevent her from attending her favourite gathering, COMICON !” Jamie said about the poster's concept.
And the references? We spotted Noodle from Gorillaz and nods to Akira, Doom, RFI, Dodgers, Snoopy, Alfred E. Neuman from MAD Magazine, The Phantom, Spider-Man, Calvin and Hobbes, Fritz the cat – even Plug from Beano. There's also the Atari logo, the Stop Wars logo and many more.
(Image credit: Jamie Hewlett / COMICON)
COMICON has been held in Naples for 25 years. This year's edition will take place from 1 to 4 May. Guests will include Thomas Taylor the award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books along with Darick Robertson, Jon J. Muth, Arthur de Pins, Paskim, Boichi and Álvaro Martínez Bueno.
A place of honour in this edition has been reserved for the esteemed Italian satirical cartoonist Altan, who will be awarded the COMICON 2025 Special Award for Lifetime Achievement. Meanwhile, the "magister" artist will be Tanino Liberatore a celebrated master of modern Italian comics, and an artist who helped define the post-punk aesthetic of the 1980s in Italy and Europe.
You can find out more and buy tickets at the website.
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
