The Comics Department held its first auction in February 2024 under the direction of Jonathan Giustini – writer and journalist with thirty years of experience across print, radio, and television. The author of numerous books on music, cinema, and contemporary art, Giustini has brought his deep knowledge of comics and drawn art to an innovative department – designed not only for the sale and exchange of works, but also as a journey of research and exploration within an art form that today represents both a cultural stronghold and a dynamic space for creative experimentation. Under his leadership, the department has established itself as a key player in the market and a window onto new artistic perspectives.
The department has welcomed a diverse range of works connected to the comics world—including graphic novels, illustrated boards, mixed media, small and large-format pieces, collages, photographs, scraps, and sketchbooks. The common thread throughout has been a drive to explore and promote what might be described as the “avant-garde” in drawn art.
This artistic language – combining image and text in a conceptual and serial interplay – offers a singular visual and intellectual pleasure. The history of comics, with its interwoven plots and shifting destinies, has been revisited through the lens of thinkers such as Umberto Eco and Roland Barthes, and even in relation to Italo Calvino, underscoring its ability to communicate through powerful symbols and iconic imagery. In the world of comics, anything is possible – from imagined meetings between Picasso and Dick Tracy to the ongoing evolution of an art form that erases the boundaries of space and time, finding its strength in the active cooperation between artist and viewer.
The Comics Department has opened new horizons, presenting not only works of significant artistic and collectible value, but also a deeper reflection on how comics have become a vehicle for cultural dialogue and visual experimentation.
