One of the perks of moving to Malmö is that I now live just a short train ride from Copenhagen, which means I can finally go to all those cool cultural events that used to feel far away. Yesterday, I attended Copenhagen Comics, my very first comics festival.

I’ve been a fan of comics and graphic novels for few years now, but I have never been to a festival like this before. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect, aside from what I saw online. 

According to their website, the festival is run entirely by volunteers and happens once a year. The venue was at Valby-hallen, which wasn’t exactly easy to find once we got off the train. It seemed we weren’t the only ones confused. We kept spotting others who were clearly headed to the same event, also unsure of which way to go. Thankfully, there was eventually a sign pointing which way to walk to the venue.

When we arrived, there was already a line of people waiting to get in, but it moved very quickly. As we waited, I started noticing more and more people in cosplay – some of them fully dressed up as characters I recognized, and some that I didn’t know at all. It was my first time seeing cosplay in real life, and it felt surreal. There’s something beautiful about watching people unapologetically embrace what they love and expressing themselves freely.
For my husband (a hardcore programmer with zero previous exposure to this world), it was like landing on a different planet. He looked around wide-eyed, completely fascinated. Honestly, watching his reaction was almost more fun than looking at the cosplayers. 😀 

Inside, the festival was already packed – so much for our “let’s go early to avoid the crowds” plan. The entrance opened up into an artist alley lined with independent creators: illustrators, comic artists, crafters, printmakers, even people selling handmade dolls and clothes. It was overwhelming in the best way. You could find anything from super cute stylized art prints to a horror zombie finger keychain.

One thing that struck me while walking from booth to booth was how vulnerable it must feel to be an artist at one of these events. As someone who creates too, I kept feeling a quiet anxiety – like I wasn’t appreciating people’s work enough just by passing from one booth to another. I know how much effort it takes to make something, and how hard it is to get anyone to even stop and look. I felt this quiet urge to tell every artist how amazing their work was – like they deserved to hear it, even from a stranger. 

As we moved on, there were two stages with live talks – one was in Danish, the other in English. We sat down at the English one and listened to a panel of artists talk about how to monetize your comic art, build an audience, and stay true to your voice. One artist said something along these lines that really stuck with me:

I really needed to hear that.

When we reached the book section, I noticed that most of the titles were in Danish. I assumed it would be more international, especially given the number of foreign guests, but it felt like a very local scene. I struggled to find English-language books, but managed to get some that caught my attention:

• A cold place between the shores – a collection of short stories that seemed interesting at first glance. 
• The Cult of Dreams: A Fantastical Journal — a fantasy RPG-style book told through the journal of the main character. At least that’s what I understood it’s about. It looked completely unique, and I can’t wait to read it (and see if it’s as good as I imagine).
• Saga, Volume 12 — I love Saga! I’ve been waiting to get a new volume that came out recently, but it was out of stock on Amazon with 6-7 months waiting time. So when I saw it here, I grabbed it… even though the price was nearly double what it is on Amazon. That part felt a bit off. You already pay for the ticket to enter the festival, and then have to pay more for books that are cheaper elsewhere? That left a bad taste.

So was it worth it? 

Still, the festival overall was a good experience. It was exciting to discover new artists and just be surrounded by people who love this world. For me, one day was more than enough to see everything. We did two full rounds of the booths in just a couple of hours. It was not a really big festival, which affirms that it is more of a local event. I wish there was more English content and that prices were a bit lower. 

Would I go again? Probably not to this same festival. For someone who is looking for more international crowd and English books, I don’t think I would come here specifically again. But I’m really glad I went. And now I’m definitely keeping my eyes open for other upcoming comic and art festivals in the region.