This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2021) |
Big Apple Comic Con | |
---|---|
Status | Active |
Genre | Comics Popular culture |
Venue | New Yorker Hotel (2019–present) Penn Plaza Pavilion (2004–2019) Metropolitan Pavilion (2000–2003) St. Paul the Apostle Church (1996–2003) |
Location(s) | New York City, New York |
Country | United States |
Inaugurated | March 2, 1996 |
Most recent | Dec 13, 2023 [1] |
Next event | December 2024 [2] |
Attendance | 10,000 (2018) [3] |
Organized by | Michael "Carbo" Carbonaro (1996–2009, 2014-present) Wizard Entertainment (2009–2013) |
Website | Official website |
The Big Apple Comic Con is a New York City comic book convention, the longest-running comic book/speculative fiction/pop culture convention in New York City. It was started by retailer Michael "Mike Carbo" Carbonaro in March 1996 in the basement of the St. Paul the Apostle Church. [4] During its heyday from 2001 to 2008, the Big Apple Comic Con often featured multiple shows per year, with a large three-day "national" convention held in November, usually held at the Penn Plaza Pavilion. The show was owned by Wizard Entertainment from 2009 to 2013, but was reacquired by Carbonaro in 2014.
Over the course of its history, the convention has been known as the Big Apple Convention, the Big Apple Comic Book Art, and Toy Show, and the Big Apple Comic Book, Art, Toy & Sci-Fi Expo; with the larger three-day November shows known as the National Comic Book, Art, Toy, and Sci-Fi Expo, the National Comic Book, Art, and Sci-Fi Expo, and the National Comic Book, Comic Art, and Fantasy Convention. In 2014, the name "Big Apple Convention" was revived by Carbonaro for its March 2015 show.
Though it primarily focuses on comic books, the convention features a large range of pop culture elements, such as books, cinema, science fiction/fantasy, television, animation, anime, manga, toys, horror, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels. Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, the Big Apple Comic Con often features previews of upcoming films, and such evening events as the costume contest overseen by "Captain Zorikh" Lequidre. [5]
The convention regularly hosts hundreds of artists, exhibitors, and film and television personalities in a huge floorspace for exhibitors. The show includes autograph and photo op opportunities with all of the guests, as well as the Artists' Alley where comics artists can sign autographs and sell or do free sketches.
Major comic book conventions in New York City prior to the Big Apple Comic Con included Dave Kaler's Academy Con, which ran annually from 1965 to 1967; Phil Seuling's Comic Art Convention, which ran annually from 1968 to 1983 (Seuling died in 1984); and the large annual Creation conventions, usually taking place over the weekend following Thanksgiving from 1971 to 1987. (Creation sometimes put on as many as a half-dozen smaller New York City shows per year). [6] From 1993 to 1995, promoter Frederic Greenberg [7] began hosting Great Eastern Conventions shows annually at venues including the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. (Great Eastern also ran shows in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.) Other companies, including Dynamic Forces, held New York City conventions, but all were on a smaller scale than the Seuling shows. Changes in the industry, popular culture, and the resurgent city itself since the troubled 1960s and '70s made large-scale comic-book conventions difficult to hold profitably. Jonah Weiland of ComicBookResources.com also noted that "... dealing with the various convention unions made it difficult for most groups to get a show off the ground." [8]
On February 29, 1996, just two days before it was to start, Fred Greenberg cancelled [9] what had been advertised as a larger-than-usual Great Eastern show, scheduled for March 2–3 at the New York Coliseum, which the fan press had suggested [10] might herald a successor to the 1968–1983 Comic Art Convention. [11]
On the spur of the moment, comic book retailers Michael Carbonaro, Vince Gulla, [11] and Vincent Zurzuolo, [12] all of whom had planned to sell their wares at the Great Eastern show, [9] mounted a substitute convention in the basement of the Church of St. Paul the Apostle. [12] The gathering — dubbed "ChurchCon," [9] "Hallelujah Con," or "The Show Must Go On" [13] Con — attracted over 4,000 attendees, most of whom had been planning to attend the scheduled Great Eastern Show. [10] Thus was born the Big Apple Comic Con, [9] thereafter produced exclusively by Carbnonaro. [11]
After the success of the initial 1996 show, Big Apple scheduled six separate conventions in 1997. [14]
In 1998, Big Apple held three conventions, in March, April, and October.[ citation needed ]
In November 1999, (after a typical March show held at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle), Big Apple inaugurated the three-day "National Expo", [15] held at the Metropolitan Pavilion on West 18th Street in Manhattan. [16] The National Expo brought "together the National Comic Book, Comic Art and Fantasy Convention and the New York Toy, Sci-Fi and Collectible Show;" [17] the larger annual National shows were held every year from 1999 until 2008; other shows (until 2004) continued to be held at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle.
Over the years, the Big Apple con attracted many comics creators and pop culture figures. [4]
By 2004 (which saw four separate shows), the convention had moved to the Penn Plaza Pavilion at the Hotel Pennsylvania. [18] [19] [20]
Big Apple Comic Con was characterized as being in "growth mode" in 2005–2006, with five shows per year [21] and an average attendance of about 8,000 guests per show. [22]
In 2009, the Big Apple Comic Con was purchased by Gareb Shamus of Wizard Entertainment; Michael Carbonaro was retained as a senior adviser. [23] The first show under Wizard was held October 2009 at Pier 94 in Manhattan. [24] [25]
The acquisition of Big Apple was part of a concerted push by Wizard's CEO Gareb Shamus to dominate the North American convention circuit, including acquiring the Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon. [26] [27] As part of that strategy, Wizard initially scheduled the 2010 Big Apple Comic Con for October 7–10, the exact same dates as the previously scheduled 2010 New York Comic Con, run by Reed Exhibitions. [28] [29] After a public outcry, Wizard later moved the dates of its 2010 New York convention to October 1–3. [30]
Wizard held a new "Wizard World New York City Experience" show on June 28–30, 2013. [31]
In 2009, Michael Carbonaro established his own independent one-day convention known as the New York Comic Book Marketplace which ran annually through 2014. [12]
Though not branded as a "Big Apple Convention" and not affiliated with Wizard World, some might consider the next iteration of the Big Apple Comic Con to have been held on March 31, 2012, at the Penn Plaza Pavilion. It was Michael Carbonaro's third New York Comic Book Marketplace, and (prematurely) announced as Carbonaro's final convention. [12] [32] The guest of honor was Stan Lee; other guests included George Pérez, Joe Sinnott, Dick Ayers, Carmine Infantino, Jim Steranko, Irwin Hasen, Mike Royer, Arthur Suydam, Bob McLeod, Rich Buckler, and Johnny Brennan, and Captain Zorikh's costume contest. [33]
Carbonaro held another NYCBM at the Hotel Pennsylvania on April 13, 2013. [34]
Carbonaro reacquired the convention from Wizard in 2014. His first show after regaining the BACC name, dubbed the "20th Anniversary Return of the Big Apple Convention," was held March 7, 2015, at the Penn Plaza Pavilion. [35] The December 2015 edition of Carbonaro's convention, titled the New York Winter Comic & Sci-Fi Expo, was held at the Resorts World Casino New York in Jamaica, New York, and was co-produced by Carbonaro and Frank Patz. [36] [lower-alpha 1]
With the holiday-themed December 2019 iteration of the show, the Big Apple Comic Con moved locations to the New Yorker Hotel. [4] [38] The 2020 show, scheduled for April 4–5, was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. [39] The 2021 show, held September 25–26, was the Big Apple Comic Con's Silver Anniversary show; it was also the first in-person comics convention held in New York City since the pandemic. [40] [41]
In 2022, Carbonaro hosted another iteration of the Big Apple Comic Con (on March 26, 2022); he also hosted (along with promoter Laz Rivero) the first Big Apple Trading Card Show, held on January 29, 2022, at the New Yorker Hotel. The trading card show featured baseball, football, basketball, Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering cards, and more. [42]
Comics creator Evan Dorkin was a critic of the Big Apple Con. [16] He singled out the November 2008 show in particular as "the worst convention I've ever had the displeasure to sit through", for the lackluster celebrity guests, the lack of floor plan guides for attendees, inconsistently-functioning restrooms, elevator, and escalators, the poorly performing volunteer staff, and an overall seedy, flea market atmosphere of rude dealers, creators inattentive to fans, and attendees who were disproportionately male. Dorkin, who vowed never to return to the venue, also singled out the cramped space of the venue, in particular Artist's Alley, which he speculated may have constituted a fire hazard. [43]
Similarly, journalist Heidi MacDonald criticized the Penn Plaza Pavilion location as "eight pounds of sh-t in a five-pound bag." Journalist Rich Johnston said the conventions held there were "a little cramped and hot, but I still thoroughly enjoyed [them]." [4]
This section is missing information about dates, venues, and guests.(February 2013) |
The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued in 1987.
Wizard Entertainment Inc., formerly known as Wizard World, was a producer of multi-genre fan conventions across North America.
The Friends of Lulu (FoL) were a non-profit, national charitable organization located in the United States, designed to promote readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry. FoL operated from 1994 to 2011.
The Comic Art Convention (CAC) was an American comic book fan convention held annually New York City, New York, over Independence Day weekend from 1968 through 1983, except for 1977, when it was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 1978 to 1979, when editions of the convention were held in both New York and Philadelphia. The first large-scale comics convention, and one of the largest gatherings of its kind until the Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, it grew into a major trade and fan convention. It was founded by Phil Seuling, a Brooklyn, New York City, teacher, who later developed the concept of comic-book direct marketing, which led to the rise to the modern comic book store.
The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. With an attendance of 200,000 in 2022, it is North America's most attended fan convention. The New York Comic Con is a for-profit event produced and managed by ReedPop, a division of RX and Reed Elsevier, and is not affiliated with the long running non-profit San Diego Comic-Con, nor the Big Apple Convention, later known as the Big Apple Comic-Con, owned by Wizard Entertainment.
The Toronto Comic Con was an annual comic book convention held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It started in 2003 and was sold in 2009 to Wizard Entertainment owner Gareb Shamus. It was subsequently relaunched as a Wizard event in 2010. The event has been on hiatus since spring 2012.
Notable events of 2007 in comics.
Notable events of 2008 in comics.
Notable events of 2002 in comics.
Midtown Comics is a New York City comic book retailer with three shops in Manhattan and an e-commerce website. The largest comic book store in the United States, the company opened its first store in the Times Square area in 1997. Its second was opened on Lexington Avenue in 2004, and is known as the Grand Central store for its proximity to Grand Central Terminal. Its downtown store was opened on Fulton Street in the Financial District in November 2010, and its Astoria, Queens outlet store opened in March 2020. It also used to operate a boutique inside Manhattan's Times Square Toys R Us.
Fan Expo Chicago, is a comic book convention held during the summer in Rosemont, Illinois, United States, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. It was traditionally a three-day event, but in 2006, it expanded to four days. It was founded in 1972 as Nostalgia '72, Chicago Comic Con and later as the Chicago Comic and Nostalgia Convention by a local dealer named Nancy Warner.
The Wizard World Columbus Comic Con, formerly known as Mid-Ohio Con and then the Wizard World Ohio Comic Con, was a comic book convention held during the fall in Columbus, Ohio, United States, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Initially held in early November, from 1994–2007 the Mid-Ohio Con took place on the first weekend after Thanksgiving. Normally a two-day event, in 2012 it expanded to three days.
Great Eastern Conventions, Inc. was an entertainment company that produced comic book conventions, most actively during the years 1987-1996. In New York City, the Great Eastern shows filled the gap between the mid-1980s demise of the annual Comic Art Convention and Creation Conventions, and the establishment of promoter Michael Carbonaro's annual Big Apple Comic Con in 1996. From 1993 to 1995, Great Eastern hosted two New York City shows annually at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. In addition to running shows in the Northeastern United States, Great Eastern also ran shows in Georgia, Florida, California, Oregon, Minnesota, and Texas.
The East Coast Comicon is an annual comic book fan convention that takes place in New Jersey. It began in 2011 as the Asbury Park Comicon, and took place in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Due to its expansion and the need for a larger venue, it was renamed the East Coast Comicon in 2015, and moved to the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Fan Expo Denver is a speculative fiction fan convention held annually in Denver, Colorado, in the United States. The event is a celebration of comics, books, movies, TV, gaming, and other pop culture.
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 Arts Brooklyn (CAB) was a comic book festival and art book fair organized by the comic book store Desert Island, held annually in Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 2013 as a successor to the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival (BCGF), CAB focused on self-published, independent, and alternative comics.
Notable events of 2020 in comics. It includes any relevant comics-related events, deaths of notable comics-related people, conventions and first issues by title.
The Chicago Alternative Comics Expo is a comic book festival usually held each June in Chicago.
SEE YOU IN 2024.