Comic-Con International

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Comic-Con International, commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, is an annual multigenre fan convention founded as the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf. It is traditionally a four-day event (Thursday through Sunday) held during the summer in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center.

Originally showcasing comic books and film, the convention has expanded over the years with exhibits on other popular arts, including science fiction, fantasy, animation, collectible card games and video games. The convention is the largest of its kind in the United States, with an estimated 104,000 individual attendees in 2005. In 2006, the convention will take place from July 20 to July 23, with a preview night on July 19th for pre-registered members.

Since 1974, Comic-Con International has bestowed its annual Inkpot Award to guests as well as to members of Comic-Con's Board of Directors and convention committee. It is also the home of the comic-book industry's Will Eisner Awards.

Contents

1 History
2 Events
3 Quotes
4 Locations and dates
5 See also
6 References

History

Comic-Con originated in the basement of the U.S. Grant hotel in 1970, with an estimated attendance of 300 people, according to the 2005 souvenir book. It later was held at the El Cortez hotel before eventually moving to the convention center.

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.

Ad for the San Diego Comic-Con, showing the San Diego Convention Center.

Traditional events include an eclectic film program, screening rooms devoted to Japanese animation, gaming, and the Comic-Con International: Independent Film Festival, as well as cartoonist Scott Shaw!'s "Oddball Comics" slideshow and animation expert Jerry Beck's Friday-night program featuring TV's "worst cartoons ever".

Like most comic book conventions, Comic-Con features a large floorspace for exhibitors. These include comic-book dealers (both local and otherwise), media companies (the largest of which were, in 2005, DC Comics and Lucasfilm) and other merchants.

Like most large comics conventions, Comic-Con includes an autograph area where fans can meet media stars, and an "artists' alley" where comics artists can sign autographs and sell or do free sketches for fans. Despite the name, artists' alleys can include writers and even models.

The San Diego Comic-Con is the name of the non-profit organization that organizes and puts on the convention. Comic-Con International also puts on two other conventions, WonderCon and the Alternative Press Expo (APE), both held in San Francisco, California.

Quotes

Mark Evanier on the first Comic-Con venue [link]: "I never stayed in the old U.S. Grant [hotel] but it was the scene of the first San Diego Con, which I attended way back in 1970, back when we thought it was mobbed to have 500 comic fans in the same place at the same time. The hotel was undergoing a massive renovation then as well, but was merely upgrading from Extremely Shabby to merely Somewhat Shabby. The place I still miss is the El Cortez Hotel, where the con was held for several years in the seventies. I'd say the place was a dump but that would be demeaning to dumps. Still, it was a fun dump, run by a management that didn't seem to care all that much what we did to it."

Evanier on an early spillover venue [link]: "In the seventies, when we all started going to San Diego Comic Book Conventions, back when they called them that, [the Hotel San Diego] was a frequent venue for con events. Some years, before it outgrew any available hotel ballroom, the Inkpot Awards presentation was held there. There were many memorable parties and gatherings, such as in 1982 when a group of Jack Kirby's friends staged a memorable surprise birthday party for him in one of its halls. Perhaps some year, you were either so hard up for money or so desperate for an available room (or both) that you even booked into its sadly deteriorating accommodations. It was one of the cheaper places to sleep and con-goers took advantage of that up until June of 2001 when the building was declared structurally unsafe and was closed down."

Locations and dates

March 21, 1970, U.S. Grant Hotel (as Minicon)
Aug. 1-3, 1970, U.S. Grant Hotel
Aug. 6-8, 1971, Muir College, University of California, San Diego Campus, La Jolla, California
Aug. 18-21, 1972, El Cortez Hotel
Aug. 16-19, 1973, Sheraton Hotel, Harbor Island, California
July 31 - Aug. 5, 1974, El Cortez Hotel
July 30 - Aug. 3, 1975, El Cortez Hotel
Nov. 7-9, 1975, El Cortez Hotel
July 21-25, 1976, El Cortez Hotel
July 20-24, 1977, El Cortez Hotel
July 26-30, 1978, El Cortez Hotel
Aug. 1-5, 1979, Convention and Performing Arts Center [and] U.S. Grant Hotel
July 30 - Aug. 3, 1980, Convention and Performing Arts Center [and] U.S. Grant Hotel
July 23-26, 1981, El Cortez Hotel
July 8-11, 1982, Convention and Performing Arts Center [and] Hotel San Diego
Aug. 4-7, 1983, Convention and Performing Arts Center [and] Hotel San Diego
June 28 - July 1, 1984, Convention and Performing Arts Center [and] Hotel San Diego
Aug. 1-4, 1985, Convention and Performing Arts Center [and] Hotel San Diego
July 31 - Aug. 3, 1986, Convention and Performing Arts Center [and] Hotel San Diego
Aug. 6-9, 1987, Convention and Performing Arts Center [and] Holiday Inn on the Bay
Aug. 4-7, 1988, Convention and Performing Arts Center [and] Omni Hotel at Horton Plaza
Aug. 2-5, 1990, Convention and Performing Arts Center [and] Holiday Inn on the Bay
July 4-7, 1991, San Diego Convention Center [and] Pan Pacific Hotel
Aug. 13-16, 1992, San Diego Convention Center [and] Doubletree Hotel
Aug. 19-22, 1993, San Diego Convention Center [and] Doubletree Hotel at Horton Plaza

References

[Comic-Con International Homepage]
[Scott Shaw]
[Jerry Beck]
[DConU]
San Diego Comic Convention Souvenir Book 1994 (offline)
[The "Secret Origin" of San Diego's Comic-Con International]