The Pittsburgh Comicon, later known as Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh and since succeeded by Steel-City Con, was a comic book convention held in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1994 by Michael and Renee George. It was traditionally a three-day event (Friday through Sunday) and featured a fan-friendly experience that allowed the fans to interact with comic professionals at all levels.
Though it primarily focused on comic books, the convention featured a large range of pop culture elements, such as professional wrestling, science fiction/fantasy, film/television, animation, anime, manga, toys, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels. Given Pittsburgh's connection to George A. Romero's zombie apocalypse films (with Romero's Dawn of the Dead being filmed in the Monroeville Mall), horror fans were also welcomed at the convention to meet and greet with the film's actors that regularly attended.
The show also made a concerted effort to promote local-area talent and publishers. The show raised money for various charities; over the years the show had supported local literacy organizations, the Comic book Legal Defense Fund, local Food Banks, and had raised more than $250,000 for the Pittsburgh chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.Levin, Steve. "Charity Bombarded With E-Mails Over Fund-Raiser," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (09 May 2003), p. B-21.Machosky, Michael. "Pittsburgh Comicon brings fans, heroes together," Pittsburgh Tribune (24 Apr 2008).
History
Windber, Pennsylvania-based comics retailers Michael and Renée George (proprietors of Comics World) staged the first Pittsburgh Comicon in April 1994Contino, Jennifer. "Conventioneers," Sequential Tart (June 2000). at the Radisson Hotel Pittsburgh ExpoMart in Monroeville. It was the first major show staged in Pittsburgh for the comic community since the 1970s. From the beginning, a major focus for the show has been giving to charity, the Make-A-Wish Foundation in particular, which is the primary beneficiary of the Annual Comicon Auction.
The Pittsburgh Comicon hosted the Harvey Award ceremonies from 2000–2002,Mervis, Scott. "Heroic comeback," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (27 Apr 2001), p. 22. with Evan Dorkin serving as master of ceremonies. Jeff Smith was the keynote speaker of the 2000 awards. Superstar creator Frank Miller gave the keynote speech at the 2001 award ceremony in which he vilified the comic book speculating industry, in particular Wizard magazine. He ended his speech by tearing up a copy of Wizard.Silvie, Matt. "Wizard Ripped as Pittsburgh Comicon Gains Prominence," The Comics Journal #234 (June 2001), pp. 16-17.Brady, Matt. "Baltimore Comic Con '08: 2008 Harvey Awards Announced," Newsarama (Sept. 27, 2008). Tony Millionaire gave the keynote speech at the 2002 awards ceremony. In 2003, due to a cancellation from scheduled keynote speaker Neil Gaiman, funding shortages forced a cancellation of that year's Harvey Awards ceremony and banquet (which had also been scheduled for the Pittsburgh Comicon), although award-winners were still named.Press release. "2003 Harvey Awards Banquet Cancelled, Awards Unaffected, Comic Book Resources (Jan. 24, 2003).
The 2000 edition of the show raised $26,000 for the Pittsburgh chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The 2003 show raised $27,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The 2007 show raised $30,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and $5,000 for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.Gold, Mike. "Michael George and the Pittsburgh Comicon," ComicMix (Mar. 18, 2008).
In 2006, Comic Geek Speak was named the Official Comics Podcast for the Pittsburgh Comicon and has held that title ever since.
In 2009, the show moved from the defunct Pittsburgh ExpoMart to the new Monroeville Convention Center, welcoming Stan Lee as their guest of honor to inaugurate their first show in the new venue.
In 2015, Pittsburgh Comicon was acquired by Wizard World, becoming Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh. In addition, the convention moved to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. Wizard World held the convention there for two years, but did not hold one in 2017 or 2018. The convention returned to Pittsburgh in 2019.
After the 2019 show, the official website URL, PittsburghComicon.com, redirected to the Steel City Con, held at the Monroeville Convention Center, leading to the assumption that the Pittsburgh Comicon was defunct.
Dates and locations