A comic book convention or comic con is a fan convention emphasizing comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels, or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels, with a larger number of attendees participating with cosplay than for most other types of fan conventions. Comic book conventions are also used as a method by which publishers, distributors, and retailers represent their comic-related releases. Comic book conventions may be considered derivatives of science-fiction conventions, which began during the late 1930s.
Comic-cons were traditionally organized by fans on a not-for-profit basis,Siegel, Howard P. "Made in America," BEM #16 (Dec. 1977): "These early conventions were run by purists for panelologists, and not meant to be commercially overbearing or expensive to go to." although nowadays most events catering to fans are managed by commercial interests for profit. Many conventions have award presentations relating to comics (such as the Eisner Awards, which have been presented at San Diego Comic-Con since 1988; or the Harvey Awards, which have been presented at a variety of venues also since 1988). At commercial events, comic book creators often sign autographs for the fans, sometimes in exchange for a fixed appearance fee, and may sometimes draw illustrations for a per-item fee. Commercial conventions are usually quite expensive and are hosted in hotels. This represents a change for comic book conventions, which were traditionally more oriented toward comic books as a mode of literature, and maintained less differentiation between professional and fan.
The first official comic book convention was held in 1964 in New York City and was named New York Comicon.Ballman, "The 1964 New York Comicon: The True Story Behind the World's First Comic Book Convention (The 1960s: The Silver Age of Comic Conventions) (Volume 1)"History Channel, "Superheroes Decoded: Comic-Con | History" Early conventions were small affairs, usually organized by local enthusiasts (such as Jerry Bails, known later as the "Father of Comic Fandom", and Dave Kaler of the Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors), and featuring a few industry guests. The first recurring conventions were the Detroit Triple Fan Fair, which ran from 1965 to 1978, and Academy Con, which ran from 1965 to 1967. Many recurring conventions begin as single-day events in small venues, which as they grow more popular expand to two days, or even three or more every year. Many comic-cons which had their start in church basements or union halls now fill convention centers in major cities.Babka, Allison. "Wizard World Inc.: A roving comic con looks to corner the geek market," The Riverfront Times (April 3, 2014). Nowadays, comic conventions are big business, with recurring shows in every major American city. Comic book conventions in name only, the biggest shows include a large range of popular culture and entertainment elements of virtually all genres, including horror, animation, anime, manga, toys, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels.
San Diego Comic-Con, a multigenre entertainment and comic convention held annually in San Diego since 1970, is the best known of American comic-cons. According to Forbes, the convention is the "largest convention of its kind in the world"; and is also the largest convention held in San Diego. According to the San Diego Convention and Visitor's Bureau, the convention has an annual regional economic effect of $162.8 million, with a $180 million economic impact in 2011. However, in 2017, SDCC lost its record of the largest annual multigenre convention to São Paulo's Comic Con Experience (first held in 2014). Internationally, the world's largest comic book convention, in terms of attendees, is Japan's Comiket (first held in 1975), which boasts an annual attendance of more than half a million people. Italy's Lucca Comics & Games (first held in 1965) and France's Angoulême International Comics Festival (first staged in 1974) are the world's second and third largest comic festivals, respectively.
History
Origins In 1961 or 1962, Jerry Bails was vital for the formation of the Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors (ACBFC), the first official organization of comic book enthusiasts and historians. The ACBFC brought fans of the medium together, administered the first industry awards, and assisted with the establishment of the first comic book conventions.
The academy's first order of business was to administer the Alley Awards, which traced their origin to "a letter to Jerry dated October 25, 1961", by fellow enthusiast (and future comics professional) Roy Thomas, in which he suggested to Bails that his fanzine Alter-Ego create its own awards to reward fandom's "favorite comic books in a number of categories" in a manner similar to the Oscars.Schelly, Bill. "Jerry Bails' Ten Building Blocks of Fandom," Alter Ego vol. 3, No. 25 (June 2003), pp. 5–8. The first Alley Awards, given for the calendar year 1961, were reported in Alter Ego No. 4 (Oct. 1962).
Alley Talley and other gatherings of 1964 On March 21–22, 1964, the first annual "Alley Tally" by ACBFC members was organized by Bails at his house in Detroit, with the purpose of counting "the Alley Award ballots for 1963". This became notable in retrospect as the first major gathering of comics fans, predating the earliest comic book conventions, which were held later in the year.Skinn, Dez. "Early days of UK comics conventions and marts," DezSkinn.com. Accessed March 3, 2013. Attendees included Ronn Foss, Don Glut, Don and Maggie Thompson, Mike Vosburg, and Grass Green. Comics historian Bill Schelly notes that the Alley Tally and "even larger fan meetings in Chicago... helped build momentum" for these earliest conventions. (The Chicago gathering occurred May 9–10, 1964; it featured "several dozen" attendees, a dealer room, and film showings.)
In addition, an unnamed convention held May 24, 1964, in the Hotel Tuller in Detroit, was organized by teenagers Robert Brusch and Dave Szurek, with assistance from Bails and members of the Michigan Science Fiction Society.Cooke, Jon B. "Rich Buckler Breaks Out! The Artist on Deathlok, T'Challa, and Other Marvel Tales," Comic Book Artist Collection, Volume 3 (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2005). This gathering featured about 80 fans of the comic book medium."Historian Collects Comics: They Are Works of Art," Detroit News (1965).
New York Comicon The first recorded "official" comic book convention occurred in 1964 in New York City. Known as the "New York Comicon",Schelly, Bill. "1966: The Year of THREE* New York Comicons!," Alter-Ego No. 53 (Oct. 2005). it was held July 24, 1964, at the Workman's Circle Building in Manhattan. A one-day convention organized by 16-year-old Bernie Bubnis and fellow enthusiast Ron Fradkin, official guests of the Tri-State Con included Steve Ditko, Flo Steinberg, and Tom Gill. Reports were of over 100 attendees.Q, Shathley. "The History of Comic Conventions," PopMatters (June 17, 2009). A 16-year-old George R. R. Martin attended the convention and claimed to be the first person who signed up for the event.
1965: The first recurring conventions Continuing the momentum from the previous year, Bails, Shel Dorf, and the members of the Michigan Science Fiction Society formed the "organizing committee" of the multigenre convention Detroit Triple Fan Fair (DTFF),"Fantasy literature, fantasy films, and comic art,": Detroit Triple Fan Fair program book (Detroit Triple Fan Fair, 1972). which was held July 24–25, 1965 at the Embassy Hotel, in Detroit. The DTFF was held annually in Detroit until 1978.
Meanwhile, in New York City, teacher/comics enthusiast Dave KalerNewsday (November 4, 1965). had taken over as ACBFC Executive Secretary; the organization produced Academy Con I (officially known as "Comi Con: Second Annual Convention of Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors"), held July 31 – August 1, 1965, at the Broadway Central Hotel in Manhattan, New York.Thomas, Roy. "Splitting the Atom: More Than You Could Possibly Want to Know About the Creation of the Silver Age Mighty Mite!" The Alter Ego Collection, Volume 1 (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2006), p. 99. With Kaler's management, the academy produced three successful "Academy Con" shows in New York during the summers of 1965–1967,Schelly, Bill. "The Kaler Con: Two Views: Bigger And Better Than The Benson Con Just Three Weeks Before?? (Part VIII of '1966: The Year Of (Nearly) Three New York Comics Conventions')," Alter-Ego #64 (Jan. 2007).RBCC Rocket's Blast Comicollector #52 (1967). attracting industry professionals such as Otto Binder, Bill Finger, Gardner Fox, Mort Weisinger, James Warren, Roy Thomas, Gil Kane, Stan Lee, Bill Everett, Carmine Infantino, and Julius Schwartz. As befitting a convention run by the Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors, the Alley Awards were presented at all three Academy Cons. The 1965 Academy Con also featured one of the first recorded "superhero masquerades", or costume contests.
1965 also saw the genesis of what became the annual Italian comic book convention Lucca Comics & Games. Rinaldo Traini and Romano Calisi (forming the International Congress of Cartoonists and Animators) held the Salone Internazionale dei Comics ("International Congress of Comics") in Bordighera. In 1966, it was relocated to a small piazza in the center of Lucca, and grew in size and importance over the years, eventually evolving into its present form.
Expansion and growth In 1966, comic book conventions continued to evolve and expand, The July 23–24 New York Comicon (not to be confused with the later New York Comic Con) was held at the Park Sheraton Hotel, in Manhattan. Produced by John Benson, guests included Jack Kirby, Jim Steranko, Otto Binder, Len Brown, Larry Ivie, Jack Binder, Roy Thomas, Gil Kane, Archie Goodwin, Bhob Stewart, Klaus Nordling, Sal Trapani, Rocke Mastroserio, and Ted White. (There were four women in attendance: Pat Lupoff, Lee Hoffman, Flo Steinberg, and Maggie Thompson.) Featured events included a keynote speech by Kirby, a discussion about censorship between Don Thompson and Comics Code Authority acting administrator Leonard Darvin, a panel about the Golden Age of Comics, and one on the "so-called 'Forgotten '50s", particularly EC Comics. Bhob Stewart, on a panel with Archie Goodwin and Ted White, predicted that there would soon be "underground comics" just as there were already "underground films".
In the same summer (August 12–14) in New York, Dave Kaler produced Academy Con II at the City Squire Inn in Midtown Manhattan.
Meanwhile, also in 1966, the first Southwesterncon was held in Dallas. Organized by Larry Herndon (of the fanzine Star Studded Comics), the official guest was Dave Kaler; about 70 attendees participated. Later Southwesterncons rotated between Houston ("Houstoncon") and Dallas ("D-Con"), adding Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ("Multicon") to the mix in 1970. The Southwesterncon partnership lasted roughly until 1971, with Houstoncon, D-Con, and Multicon continuing separately until 1982.