Exactly forty years after its inception, the ‘Targa Oesterheld for Dialogue and Understanding between Peoples’ returns to mark the 60th anniversary of Lucca Comics & Games, an award that is now more significant than ever in a world torn apart by war, intolerance and oppression. This award already had a history of its own when, in 1986, the then International Comics Fair posthumously dedicated the award to Héctor Germán Oesterheld, creator of the masterpiece L’Eternauta (detail shown in the image), who vanished into the fog of the Argentine military dictatorship along with his four daughters and the other 30,000 ‘desaparecidos’. Following the exhibition ‘The Eternaut. Beyond Space and Time’, dedicated in 2025 to the unforgettable Argentine comic artist and staged in the halls of Palazzo Guinigi with an exhibition of more than 100 original artboards, Lucca Comics & Games is now reviving the Targa Oesterheld, redesigned in collaboration with Martín Miguel Oesterheld and Laura Bruno, heirs of the great Argentine comic artist, and Emergency, the event’s charity partner.
Whilst the award has for years represented the meeting point between comics and human rights and was aimed at authors, publishers and illustrators who, through the ninth art, built bridges to overcome cultural and political divisions, it aims today to all forms of expression represented by Lucca Comics & Games, also recognising those who have distinguished themselves in fostering ‘dialogue and understanding between peoples’ across the various media celebrated by the event.
The winner will be selected by a special jury comprising the Italian maestro Igort; Martín Miguel Oesterheld, heir to the great Héctor; Simonetta Gola, communications director at Emergency; the Argentine master José Muñoz; the hugely popular fantasy writer Licia Troisi; and a representative from the Lucca Comics & Games working group.
The award will be presented during the Awards Ceremony to be held at the Teatro del Giglio Giacomo Puccini on 29 October, during the festival.
