Los Angeles is getting a comic show that wants to feel more like a gallery weekend than a convention floor.
The inaugural ICON Festival of Comic & Narrative Art is set for Saturday–Sunday, November 7–8, 2026, at the historic Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, with a VIP opening reception on Friday, November 6. Per ICv2 (Milton Griepp, Sep 15) and The Hollywood Reporter (Borys Kit, Sep 10), artist representatives Sal Abbinanti and Steve Morger—who represent Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz—are importing a premium, limited-ticket, artist-first model they previously ran in Italy into the U.S. market.
A different convention math
ICv2 frames ICON as a new U.S. model: premium pricing, an unspecified limited ticket pool, and a promise of real one-to-one access to buy and talk with superstar comic artistspushing back against sprawling halls dominated by cosplay, celebrity photo ops, and commercial noise. THR quotes Abbinanti on that pivot: comics artists, in his view, deserve the same cultural seriousness Europe already affords them, and the Biltmore setting is meant to signal that original comic art is “real art” taken seriously.
Official ticket tiers on [iconartfestival.com](https://iconartfestival.com/) match the ICv2 rundown:
| Pass | Price | What’s included (per official site / ICv2) |
| Sunday | $75 | Sunday-only admission (Nov 8) |
| Weekend | $225 | Sat–Sun admission, festival poster, collector’s swag bag |
| VIP | $375 | Nov 6–8 access: Friday VIP opening reception, Saturday night special event, signed ICON Angel lithograph by Alex Ross, plus weekend pass elements |
Ross painted the festivals ICON Angel in gouache for year one—channeling the Biltmore’s angel symbol and Old Hollywood energy (official site; THR). VIP buyers take home the signed fine-art lithograph; ICv2 describes the VIP art piece as a signed giclée of Ross’s event illustration.
Who’s on the floor
The headliner draw is an exhibition of more than 100 original works by Alex Ross, curated for the inaugural show (official site; THR). Attending / featured artists named across the official roster, THR, and ICv2 include Nick Dragotta, Daniel Warren Johnson, Ryan Ottley, Bill Sienkiewicz, Frank Cho, Alex Niño, David Mack, William Stout, Jim Cheung, Eric Basaldua, Dan Panosian, Dave Johnson, Dustin Nguyen, Megan Huang, Cat Staggs, Dean Yeagle, Ace Continuado, and others, plus select art dealers. THR also flags names such as Sanford Greene and Jason Palmer among the broader guest list as of mid-September coverage.
Ross, in a statement carried by THR, put the positioning bluntly: this is “not your usual comic book event” but a “luxury event” in the hotel where the Academy Awards were first conceived.
Why it matters for RCG readers
ICON is an early, concrete bet that the booming original-art market—and the fan communities around top living cartoonists—can support a small, expensive, art-forward U.S. festival instead of another mega-con. Tickets are on sale via the official site; more guests are still being announced. For collectors who want elbow room, original pages, and artist time more than hall cosplay, November’s Biltmore weekend is the test case to watch.
As-of: Tuesday, September 15, 2026 (~5:15 PM CDT, America/Chicago). Dates, ticket tiers, VIP Nov 6 framing, co-founders, and Ross exhibition scale verified against ICv2 (Sep 15), The Hollywood Reporter (Sep 10), and iconartfestival.com. No attendance caps or sell-through figures published in those sources at write time.
Sources: ICv2 — Milton Griepp, Sep 15, 2026: https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/63371/a-new-model-comic-convention — premium limited-ticket model; Biltmore LA Nov 7–8; VIP with Friday reception + Saturday special event; ticket tiers $75 / $225 / $375; Ross Angel gicle; named artists; Abbinanti & partner as reps for Ross/Sienkiewicz; The Hollywood Reporter Borys Kit, Sep 10, 2026: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/superstar-artists-high-end-comic-book-art-fest-1236695937/ — inaugural ICON Festival of Comic & Narrative Art; co-founders Sal Abbinanti and Steve Morger; limited tickets; VIP opening reception; 100+ Alex Ross originals; artist roster; Italy precedent; Abbinanti/Ross quotes; ICON Art Festival (official): https://iconartfestival.com/ — Nov 7–8, 2026, Biltmore Los Angeles; VIP $375 (Nov 6–8) / Weekend $225 / Sunday $75; VIP includes Ross-signed ICON Angel lithograph; artist list; Ross exhibition of 100+ originals
