Comics in bottles sail across the Adriatic

From Risan mosaics and hanging out with world-class comic stars to messages the sea carries to an unknown inventor — the penultimate day of the 20th anniversary Herceg Novi Comic Festival brought together tradition, art, friendship and music.

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Photo: Vuk Ilić
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.News culture
09.09.2026. 14:44h

The Herceg Novi Comic Strip Festival is pushing its boundaries this year — literally. For the first time in its 20 editions, the HSF caravan arrived in Risan, where comics found the perfect setting for a few hours: the shade of a park, a direct meeting between authors and the audience, and a view of one of the oldest towns in Boka Kotorska.

Fans of the ninth art socialized with authors from the region and the world, received free drawings and dedications, and also searched for new releases at the festival comic book exchange. The program was implemented with the support of the Municipality of Kotor and the Risan Local Community.

The stay in Risan did not end with the comic strip. Festival guests visited the famous Risan mosaics, learning about the history of the place which, like the comic strip, has preserved stories from other times.

And then came the moment that has almost become a trademark of HSF.

Messages for the unknown finder

During the traditional cruise through the Bay of Kotor, artists this year once again took paper, pencils and paints and created their own versions of “Comics in a Bottle.” The original illustrations and short comics were then sealed in glass bottles and set adrift across the Adriatic.

Who will find them and where the sea will carry these little artistic messages — no one knows. That is precisely the charm of this HSF tradition: a part of the Boka comic magic goes out into the world without a known address.

Among the authors who arrived in Herceg Novi this year is Darick Robertson, an American cartoonist, screenwriter and executive producer known for his work on the cult series “Transmetropolitan” and “The Boys”, as well as titles such as “Batman”, “Justice League”, “Wolverine”, “Spider-Man” and “Deadpool”.

For Robertson, HSF is much more than a meeting of authors and audiences.

“I’m meeting international authors, completely new people with whom I’m currently getting closer and we’re becoming good friends,” said Robertson, emphasizing that he is particularly pleased that comic book fans from different countries share the same passion for the ninth art.

“Art and love for the ninth art are the main unifier here,” he said.

For the first time, a Portuguese multidisciplinary artist is at HSF Philip Andrade, who works for Marvel on famous titles such as “The Immortal Hulk”, “Fantastic Four” and “Jessica Jones”.

He says that the atmosphere of the festival itself left a particularly strong impression on him.

“The setting literally looks like a dream,” says Andrade, describing the combination of sea and mountains as a scene reminiscent of tropical Switzerland or scenes from Miyazaki’s “Porco Rosso.”

“Yesterday we were in the mountains, today we are at sea — it’s a paradoxical combination that connects here in an incredibly poetic way,” he adds.

A similar impression is also Josephine Tomarchio, a representative of the new wave of Italian illustration. For her, HSF has that rare, relaxed energy in which art naturally continues into summer, the sea, and music.

Among the guests is Aleksa Gajić, one of the most prominent Serbian comic authors and visual artists, who first appeared at HSF in 2010. Today, he says, the festival has so much content that it is almost impossible to follow all its segments.

Socializing, Gajić believes, is one of the reasons why festivals like this are important. Comic book authors often work in isolation, so gatherings like this are a rare opportunity to get to know each other, exchange experiences, and simply — be together.

Music for the end of the day

The penultimate day of the jubilee HSF also had its musical finale.

In the packed amphitheater of the Herceg Novi Theater, the band Seagulls performed first, and their members, dressed as comic book characters, gave the audience an attractive overture to the final evening.

Then the festival’s resident band, Boka All Stars, took the stage — Marko Vlahovic, Dragan Ivanovic, Martin Djordjevic iMiodrag Sule Jovovic. He joined them as a special guest Rambo amadeus, who sang again in front of the HSF audience after his performance at Forte Mare.

Music, improvisations, applause and ovations rounded off one of the liveliest festival evenings of the anniversary edition.

And HSF is not over yet. Today, the festival caravan moves to the beach bar “People’s”, where the authors will draw for fans until 18 pm. “School Day” will also be held in parallel, with the promo program “Ecology and the Ninth Art”.

The 20th HSF thus welcomes the last festival day just as it arrived at its anniversary — with a comic book in its hands, people around it, and stories that continue to travel even when the festival stages are closed.

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Strip festival Herceg NoviRiceDarick RobertsonPhilip Andrade