San Diego Comic-Con International (as given in its logo), also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego (as given on its Web site), and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con , was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans. It is traditionally a four-day event (Thursday through Sunday—though a four-hour preview night on Wednesday is open to guests pre-registered for all four days) held during the summer in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Comic-Con is both the name of the annual event and the common name of the organization.
Comic-Con International also produces two other conventions, WonderCon and the Alternative Press Expo (APE), both held in San Francisco, California. Since 1974, Comic-Con has bestowed its annual Inkpot Award to guests and persons of interest in the industries of popular arts as well as to members of Comic-Con's Board of Directors and convention committee. It is also the home of the Will Eisner Awards.
Originally showcasing comic books, science fiction/fantasy and film/television (as was evident by the three circled figures appearing in Comic-Con's original logo), and related popular arts, the convention has expanded over the years to include a larger range of pop culture elements, such as horror, anime, manga, animation, toys, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels. The convention is the largest in the Western Hemisphere, and second largest in the World after Angoulême International Comics Festival in France, filling to capacity the San Diego Convention Center with over 125,000 attendees in 2007. Although Comiket in Tokyo, Japan is four times larger in terms of attendance than Comic-Con, its focus is as a gathering for buying, selling, and trading dōjinshi (self-published comic books and fanzines).
History and organization
The convention was founded by Detroit, Michigan-born comics fan Shel Dorf, who in the mid-1960s had mounted the Detroit Triple-Fan Fairs, one of the first commercial comics-fan conventions. In 1970, the year he moved to San Diego, California, he organized a one-day convention "as a kind of 'dry run' for the larger convention he hoped to stage." Dorf went on to be associated with the convention as president or manager, variously, for many years until becoming estranged from the organization.
Following this March 21, 1970, gathering, Dorf's first three-day San Diego comics convention, the Golden State Comic-Con, drew 300 people and was held at the U. S. Grant Hotel from August 1-3, 1970. Other locations in the convention's early years included the El Cortez Hotel, the University of California, San Diego, and Golden Hall, before being moved to the San Diego Convention center in 1991.
The convention is organized by a panel of 13 board members, 16 to 20 full-time and part-time workers, and 80 volunteers who assist via committees. Comic Con International is a non-profit organization, and proceeds of the event go to funding it, as well as the Alternative Press Expo (APE) and WonderCon. The convention is scheduled to remain in San Diego until 2012.
Events
Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, there are previews of upcoming feature films, portfolio review sessions with top comic book and video game companies, and such evening events as awards ceremonies and the Masquerade; a costume contest, and the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival, which showcases shorts and feature length movies that do not have distribution or distribution deals.
Traditional events include an eclectic film program, screening rooms devoted to Japanese animation, gaming, programs such as cartoonist Scott Shaw!'s "Oddball Comics" slide show and animation expert Jerry Beck's program featuring TV's "worst cartoons ever", as well as over 350 hours of other programming on all aspects of comic books and pop culture.
Like most comic book conventions, Comic-Con features a large floorspace for exhibitors. These include media companies such as movie studios and TV networks, as well as comic-book dealers and collectibles merchants. Like most comics conventions, Comic-Con includes an autograph area, as well as the Artists' Alley where comics artists can sign autographs and sell or do free sketches. Despite the name, artists' alleys can include writers and even models.
Academicians and comic industry professionals annually hold the Comics Arts Conference at Comic-Con, presenting scholarly studies on comics as a medium. Educational forums such as the Comics Arts Conference help Comic-Con maintain its non-profit status.
Exclusive collectibles
In the 21st century, the convention has drawn toy and collectibles designers who sell "Comic Con Exclusive" products. Such companies have included Hasbro, Mattel, and Sideshow Collectibles. Most such exclusives are licensed properties of movie, comic book, and animation characters.
In the media
Comic-Con International has served as the setting for Mark Hamill's Comic Book: The Movie , and for an episode of the HBO television series Entourage , the latter of which, while set at the event, was not filmed there. Comic-Con also served as an excuse for the fictional characters Seth Cohen and Ryan Atwood's trip to Tijuana, Mexico in the first season of TV series The O.C. The convention also featured prominently as a setting for the Numb3rs episode "Graphic". In Season 4 of Beauty and the Geek , an episode was featured where the contestants travelled to Comic-Con 07 and were given a challenge to create their own superheroes. In an episode of Punk'd , Hilary Swank gets Punk'd after an "attack from talking robot." In season five episode six of the Showtime show Weeds , attendees from Comic Con 2009 are seen in Silas and Doug's medicinal marijuana club. It has been reported that a mock up of the external area near Hall D of the Convention Center depicting Comic Con will be shown in the movie Paul which will be starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
Quotations
Mark Evanier on the first Comic-Con venue:
Evanier on an early spillover venue:
Issues and criticism
Crowding
Capacity attendance at Comic-Con in 2006 and 2007 has caused crowding issues. Concerns have been that the event is possibly too massive for the San Diego Convention Center, Comic-Con's home through at least 2012. In 2006, Comic-Con for the first time, had to close registration for a few hours on Saturday to accommodate crowds. In response, for 2007, Comic-Con introduced a new three-day membership that did not include Saturday. Nevertheless, the 2007 show went on to sell out Saturday, as well as Friday and Sunday for the first time. Additionally, both the four-day and three-day memberships sold out for the first time. For 2008, the three-day memberships were abandoned and the convention decided to sell memberships only in advance, with no on-site registration.
In 2008, all memberships were sold out before the convention for the first time ever. This sellout has given rise to the new phenomenon of Comic-Con memberships being scalped for exorbitant prices on websites such as eBay.
In April 2008, David Glanzer, Comic-Con's director of marketing and public relations, commented on the organization's desire to remain in San Diego:
Heidi McDonald reported on her blog The Beat as of Oct. 7, 2009 Preview Night for the 2010 show has already sold out. Glazner explained the early sell-out:
Mark Evanier on his blog News from ME noted as of Nov. 9, 2009 all 4 days passes for the 2010 show had already been sold out.
Commercialization
In the 2000s, the increasing prevalence of video games and major-studio movies has drawn criticism from those who believe that Comic-Con is losing its focus on comic books, movies, and fantasy literature. The event has instead become a showcase for large entertainment corporations. Some comic-book retailers have said that the large corporate presence had driven booth prices up significantly. While those factors certainly exist, it is more likely the increase in the rental of the convention center, security, and the rising costs of doing business with the City of San Diego that is the real culprit. Comic-Con is still one of the few, if only, comic book conventions to feature a program where the organization pays the move in labor expenses for exhibitors who take part in the targeted move in program. Also the emergence during the past decade of online selling of high-end comics such as on eBay facilitated by the standardizing of grading via companies such as CGC has diverted much of the selling of classic comic books that formerly took place at conventions to this nationwide marketplace.
Locations and dates
Comic-Con Magazine
Comic-Con Magazine , formerly known as Update , is the official magazine of San Diego Comic-Con International, WonderCon, and Alternative Press Expo, published free by San Diego Comic-Con International in the United States. The origins of the Comic-Con Magazine come from a short one-shot issue of The Spirit , based on Comic-Con, and sold exclusively in 1976 at th
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