Comic-Con International

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Comic-Con International
ComicConInternationalLogo.png
Other names San Diego Comic-Con International, San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), San Diego Con, Diego Con, Comic-Con
Location
Website
Status Ongoing
First iteration March 21, 1970[1]
Subject Comic, multi-fandom/multigenre convention
Resources Photos, videos, reports: Comic-Con International resources
Golden State Comic Book Convention's old logo

Comic-Con International, originally known as the Golden State Comic Book Convention, then San Diego Comic Book Convention until its now current name (more commonly known as the San Diego Comic-Con), is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, since 1970.

History[edit]

The convention was founded in 1970 by a group of San Diegans that included Shel Dorf, Richard Alf, Ken Krueger, Ron Graf, and Mike Towry as a venue originally concentrating primarily on comic books and science fiction/fantasy related film, television, and similar popular arts.

Originally, Dorf said during an interview that he "hoped the first Con would bring in 500 attendees".[2]

Overview[edit]

Comic-Con It is a four-day event (Thursday–Sunday) held during the summer (in July since 2003) at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego. On the Wednesday evening before the official opening, professionals, exhibitors, and pre-registered guests for all four days can attend a pre-event "Preview Night" to allow attendees to walk the exhibit hall and see what will be available during the convention.

It also produces WonderCon, held in Anaheim, California, and SAM: Storytelling Across Media, a conference held in 2016 in San Francisco, California, and beginning in 2018 annually at the Comic-Con Museum in San Diego.

Since 1974, Comic-Con has bestowed its annual Inkpot Award on guests and persons of interest in the popular arts industries, as well as on members of Comic-Con's board of directors and the Convention committee, and it is also the home of the Will Eisner Awards.

Comic-Con International and furry[edit]

Until the advent of Anthrocon, Comic-Con was the mecca for almost all known furry artists in the US of the time, initially almost taking over SDCC's Artist Alley completely in the early years of the venue (with its consequences: Disney's legal, SDCC's art auction and furry's adult art, the Post-it/sticky notes' incident (see "Post-it notes"' main article).

1980s[edit]

The early days of the furry fandom in the area relied on room parties during this convention to meet, socialize, and exchange artwork.

In August 1985, at the San Diego Comic Convention, Judy Niver (one of the founders of the C/FO), hosted a party in her room at the (now demolished) Hotel San Diego. The Rowrbrazzle APA group was also having a party in the same hotel, and there was much overlap in attendance (the Prancing Skiltaire party was held a month earlier at Sacramento, California's Westercon).

In the years afterward, the furry party was formally institutionalized as a get-together for fans of furry artwork at this and several other conventions until 1989, when the first furry convention, Confurence 0, was held.

2000s[edit]

From 2000 to 2002, an attempt was made by the ConFurence Group to organize these events into a mini furry con in the form of CritterConDiego at the Holiday Inn on the Bay. After the demise of ConFurence in 2003, the furry gathering Califur Diego, created by the furry organization FENEC Adventures at a nearby San Diego hotel, was conceived as a venue alongside Comic-Con after hours where furry dealers, artists, and fans were welcome to set up and sell their wares.

It was held in 2006, 2007, and 2009 until it was canceled in 2010, with no back-up event, meet, or any party to replace it.

2011[edit]

Fandom organizer Mark Merlino announced in 2011 that any furry presence at Comic-Con was canceled, and there was no inkling of future ones (excluding people's room parties).

2024[edit]

Modern traffic congestion and venue overcrowding, along with Comic-Con expanding past comic books of any genre into a larger swath of pop culture and entertainment elements across virtually all genres and mediums (anime, manga, collectible toys [Lego, Hasbro, Funko], collectible card games, non-comic realted video games, major mega TV and film releases [HBO, Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros.], screenings and panels of various actors/writers/producers not related to comics... and even an episode of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks/Nexstar Media Group's Food Network), have caused a large swath of non-fur comic purists, stores (i.e. Bud Plant), and companies to drop out.[3][4]

This also affected many professional and fan furry artists, which, with a few exceptions of those who could afford Comic-Con's expensive dealer's tables (i.e. Sofawolf Press), were forced to the (rapidly sold) Artist Alley, becoming a con less attended by furry sellers for the last few years.

This has not particularly affected fursuiters, which has seen a slow rise of them at the con, especially if connected to a known franchise (i.e. Disney Animation's Zootopia).

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. San Diego Comic-Con article on Wikipedia. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  2. COMIC-CON BEGINS: Origin Stories of the San Diego Comic-Con and the Rise of Modern Fandom article on Simplecast.com. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  3. Comic-Con returns this weekend to San Diego. But where are the comic book sellers? article on the Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  4. Comic-Con Pioneer Vendor Bud Plant Calls it Quits After 48 Years article on Times of San Diego. Retrieved February 22, 2024.

External links[edit]

Media[edit]

Apps[edit]

Commerce[edit]

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