Locations and dates
 | This section is missing information about venues and guests.(March 2013) |
| Dallas Fantasy Fair | |
|---|---|
| Status | Defunct |
| Genre | Comic books, movies, pop culture |
| Venue | Sheraton Park Central (1983–1989) Marriott Park Central (1986–1988) Market Hall Convention Center (1992–1995) Harvey Hotel (1995) |
| Location(s) | Dallas, Texas |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 1982 |
| Most recent | 1995 |
| Attendance | 9,000 (1995) [1] |
| Organized by | Larry Lankford d/b/a Bulldog Productions |
The Dallas Fantasy Fair was an annual multi-genre fan convention held between 1982 and 1995 in Dallas, Texas. From 1989 until the show's demise in 1996, it was the home of the Harvey Award ceremonies. During its heyday, the show was one of the largest comics conventions in the country, third in attendance behind the San Diego Comic-Con and the Chicago Comicon. [2]
Most Dallas Fantasy Fairs took place over three days, from Friday to Sunday. The convention featured a large range of pop culture elements, primarily comic books but also science fiction/fantasy, film/television, animation, anime, manga, toys, horror, and collectible card games. Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, the Dallas Fantasy Fair often featured previews of upcoming films, and such evening events as a costume contest. The convention featured a large floorspace for exhibitors, including comic book dealers and collectibles merchants.
The show included an autograph area, as well as the Artists' Alley where comics artists signed autographs and sold or produced free sketches. (Despite the name, Artists' Alley could include writers and even glamour models.) Organizer Lankford was known for his generosity in regards to Artists' Alley, often giving even marginal creators free tables at the convention. [2]
Antecedents to the Dallas Fantasy Fair included the Southwesterncon, held alternately in Dallas (where it was known as "D-Con") and Houston (where it was known as "Houstoncon") in the late 1960s and 1970s. [3] D-Con '79 was produced by Larry Lankford[ citation needed ] (born June 10, 1960–died Dec. 25, 2013) [2] who went on three years later to found the Dallas Fantasy Fair.
The first Dallas Fantasy Fair was held over four days from June 10–13, 1982, by Lankford's [4] Bulldog Productions, the business name. The Fantasy Fair programming coordinator was Paul McSpadden. [5] (McSpadden later went on to become coordinator of the Harvey Awards.) [6]
In the early years of the show, from 1984–1986, the convention was held over Independence Day weekend. In 1986, an additional show was added to the fall season, over Thanksgiving weekend.
In 1988, Bulldog Productions held three iterations of the Fantasy Fair, in the spring, summer, and fall. Throughout the summer of 1988, in addition to the Dallas-based conventions, Lankford put on two-day conventions in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. [7] The Austin event (also known as the Austin Fanfair) became an annual affair in the late 1980s, [8] typically attracting 500–600 attendees (the Dallas convention, meanwhile, averaged about 2,500 visitors). [9]
Mark Walters, promoter of the later Dallas-area convention the "Dallas Comic & Toy Fest" aka "Dallas Comic Show" (est. 2000), and co-promoter of the "Dallas Comic Con" (est. 2002), attended his first convention at the 1990 Fantasy Fair; he soon went to work for Lankford and eventually rose to be his second-in-command. [4]
In 1989–1993, Bulldog Productions put on monthly one-day "Dallas Minicons" in the area which generally attracted about 500 attendees per show.
The March 1993 presentation of the Harvey Awards at the Fantasy Fair occurred shortly after the death of the award's namesake Harvey Kurtzman; much of the show was in the form of a fund-raiser to help pay for the continuance of the awards. [10] (That year there was also a Dallas Fantasy Fair held from June 18–20.)
The 1994 summer edition of the Dallas Fantasy Fair was held at Dallas Market Hall, and saw record attendance for the show, hitting 9,500 attendees.[ citation needed ] At the time it was the third-largest show in the United States behind San Diego Comic-Con and Chicago Comic Con. [2]
In 1995, Bulldog put on three iterations of the show, in April, August (when the Harvey Awards were presented), and November. The summer show featured such guests as Rob Liefeld, Jaime Hernandez, Al Williamson, Alex Ross, James O'Barr, and Jim Steranko.
The 1996 show, scheduled for July 27–28 at Market Hall, in Dallas, was cancelled on short notice due to money management issues. [4] (The Harvey Awards which were scheduled to be presented there were never publicly presented, instead being mailed to the winners.) [11] [6] The Dallas Collectors Con was put together as a substitute event at the Plano Centre in suburban Plano, Texas, coordinated by Bobby Briggs and Bruce Spiegelman and then joined by John Fairless, J. David Spurlock, and James Mayfield, with official guests Bernie Wrightson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Howard Cruse, Rob Liefeld, and Kurt Busiek. [1]
| | This section is missing information about venues and guests.(March 2013) |
The Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards were a set of awards for achievement in comic books, presented from 1985-1987. Voted on by comic-book professionals, the Kirby awards were the first such awards since the Shazam Awards ceased in 1975. Sponsored by Amazing Heroes magazine, and managed by Amazing Heroes managing editor Dave Olbrich, the Kirby Awards were named after the pioneering writer and artist Jack Kirby.
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 that were discontinued in 1987.
Notable events of 1996 in comics. See also list of years in comics.
The United Kingdom Comic Art Convention (UKCAC) was a British comic book convention which was held between 1985 and 1998. As a complement to UKCAC, from 1990 to 1995 the organizers put on the Glasgow-based Glasgow Comic Art Convention (GlasCAC), generally held in the spring.
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. 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.
Notable events of 1993 in comics. See also List of years in comics.
Notable events of 1992 in comics. See also List of years in comics.
Notable events of 1995 in comics. See also List of years in comics.
The Baltimore Comic-Con is a comic book-oriented fan convention held annually in Baltimore since 2000.
Fan Expo Dallas, previously known as Dallas Comic Con, is a three-day speculative fiction, fan convention held annually in the Dallas, Texas area. Larger in scale than the Dallas Fan Days events under the same management, Fan Expo Dallas focuses on comic book artists, writers, and publishers. These events usually also feature question and answer sessions, a large dealers room, and autograph-signing with a number of famous comic and media guests. The event is produced by Informa doing business as Fan Expo HQ.
Notable events of 2003 in comics. See also List of years in comics.
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.
Houstoncon was an annual multi-genre fan convention which was held between 1967 and 1982 in Houston, Texas. Houstoncon started out as a member of the Southwesterncon series of regional conventions, but eventually became an independent con. The founders of Houstoncon were Roy Bonario and Marc Schooley; Houston area entrepreneur Ed Blair, Jr. was also a key member of the organizing committee.
OrlandoCon, also known as O'Con, was a long-running comic book fan convention which was held annually between 1974 and 1996 in Orlando, Florida. The first comic book convention held in the Orlando area, OrlandoCon billed itself as a "Central Florida comic art convention and early TV/film festival." Captain Marvel-creator C. C. Beck was a regular guest of the show; as were many other Golden Age of Comic Books creators who lived in the Orlando area.
The Atlanta Fantasy Fair (AFF) was a multigenre convention which took place once each summer in Atlanta, Georgia from 1975 to 1995. Organized by A.C.F.F., Ltd., the convention was a nonprofit entity designed to promote the fantasy genre in the American Southeast. Over its two-decade run, the AFF featured hundreds of guests, encompassed hotels in downtown Atlanta and ran thousands of hours of programming for fans of science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and other elements of fandom.
A comic book convention or comic-con is a fan convention with a primary focus on 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 in cosplay than most other types of fan conventions. Comic book conventions are also used as a vehicle for industry, in which publishers, distributors, and retailers represent their comic-related releases. Comic book conventions may be considered derivatives of science-fiction conventions, which began in the late 1930s.
Southwesterncon was a series of regional multi-genre fan conventions held annually in Texas and Oklahoma between 1966 and 1971. On a rotating basis, conventions were held in Dallas ("D-Con"), Houston ("Houstoncon"), and Oklahoma City ("Multicon"). Southwesterncon is credited with being one of the earliest ongoing comic book conventions in the United States.