As we reported the other day, in 2015 Wizard’s convention schedule is expanding even more, and they are adding nine new territories in 2015, including
San Jose, Calif.;
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.;
Cleveland, OH
Raleigh, N.C.;
Indianapolis, IN
Las Vegas, NV
Des Moines, Iowa;
Madison, Wis.;
Greenville, S.C.

Additional cities (new and returning) may also be added in the coming weeks.

According to the PR, at least 12 of the 16 events from 2014, plus the “Bruce Campbell’s Horror Fest” will return, including long running Comic Cons in Chicago (Rosemont, Ill.); Philadelphia; New Orleans; Columbus, Ohio; and Austin, Texas and newer events in Portland, Ore.; Minneapolis; St. Louis; Sacramento, Calif.; Nashville, Tenn; Richmond, Va.; and Tulsa, Okla.

And here’s the line-up:

(*denotes new show) (all dates and venues subject to change):

Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con, January 9-11, Ernest N.Morial Convention Center
Wizard World Portland Comic Con, January 23-25, Oregon Convention Center
*Wizard World Wisconsin Comic Con, February 6-8, Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wis.
*Wizard World Indianapolis Comic Con, February 13-15, Indianapolis Convention Center
*Wizard World Cleveland Comic Con, February 20-22, Cleveland Convention Center
*Wizard World Presents Bruce Campbell’s Horror Fest, March 6-8, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Ill.
*Wizard World Raleigh Comic Con, March 13-15, Raleigh Convention Center
*Wizard World Las Vegas Comic Con, April 24-26, Las Vegas Convention Center
Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Con, May 1-3, Minneapolis Convention Center
Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con, May 7-10, Pennsylvania Convention Center
Wizard World St. Louis Comic Con, May 22-24, America’s Center
*Wizard World Greenville Comic Con, May 28-30, TD Convention Center, Greenville, S.C.
*Wizard World Des Moines Comic Con, June 12-14, Iowa Events Center
Wizard World Sacramento Comic Con, June 19-21, Sacramento Convention Center
Wizard World Richmond Comic Con, July 31-August 2, Greater Richmond Convention Center
Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, August 20-23, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Ill.
*Wizard World San Jose Comic Con, September 4-6, San Jose Convention Center
Wizard World Columbus Comic Con, September 18-20, Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio
Wizard World Nashville Comic Con, September 25-27, Music City Center
*Wizard World Fort Lauderdale Comic Con, October 2-4, Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center
Wizard World Tulsa Comic Con, October 23-25, Cox Business Center
Wizard World Austin Comic Con, October 29-31, Austin Convention Center

Most of the new events will be held in the Feb-Mar time frame. The schedule avoids July altogether and stops for November, December.

Many of these shows are in cities with existing shows, and I know of several instances where Wizard tried to originally schedule their new show right against an existing show but backed down after negotiation. And how many of these shows are up against other local events? The mineeapolis con seems to be right up against Spring Con once again.

Like we said, that Golden Goose is looking a little woozy whee comic-cons are concerned.

12 COMMENTS

  1. Apparently the Atlanta show wasn’t successful? It is missing from the list. Too bad. I enjoyed the one they did a few years ago, but wasn’t in town for this year’s show. It was nice to have an alternative to DragonCon.

  2. It’s also interesting that there’s no NYC show on the list. They made at least two attempts to get one started in the city. Perhaps NYCC was just too tough of competition?

  3. So glad that Ohio Comic Con is splitting into separate cons for Columbus and Cleveland. I’ve never understood why Cleveland has never been able to have a major yearly comic convention.

  4. look, i hate the Wizard Worlds as much as any self respecting comic book fan, but every single person i’ve talked to with a passing interest with “geek culture” had a blast at the Philadelphia one last week end.

  5. Most major nerd convention organizers seem to turn a blind eye to anything that’s not the extreme northeast or extreme southwest (i.e. New York, LA, Boston, San Diego, etc).

    If Wizard World sets up shows in underserved geographic regions then they’ve got a very real chance of success. That’s pretty basic Blue Ocean Strategy.

  6. Didn’t they do this same thing a few years ago? They announced a ton of shows and them canceled most of them not long after.

    I remember an L.A. Show that I was planning on going to that they cancelled just a few weeks before it was supposed to happen. Is was a bummer for the folks that had non-refundable airline and hotel reservations.

  7. I’m amused by people talking about a con bubble as though there weren’t hundreds of large and moderate-sized cons in the eighties. Cleveland had 2 major cons each year for several years; but I won’t believe Wizard World Cleveland until it’s over — Wizard has been scheduling Cleveland for years, and it has never happened.

  8. Yup… the con bubble will burst. Right after the auto show bubble bursts.

    Oh, wait… auto shows have been running for decades, in every major city in the United States. Some are massive (Chicago, Detroit, New York), some don’t even register a mention in the local newspaper.

    Wizard World runs pop-cons on the auto show model. Bring in some headliners, sell space to dealers, appeal to the general populace, while offering something special for the hardcore fans.

    Somewhere, I still have my autographed photo of Adam West with the Batmobile from a late 70s auto show in Omaha. Now, he’s doing comic cons instead.

    And somewhere, I have an Uncle Scrooge Fanta bottle cap purchased from a dealer show held in an Omaha shopping center during the late 80s.

    Is anyone suggesting that those dealer shows held once a month are a bubble and will collapse> They didn’t after the card collecting hobby imploded. So why should a dealer show on steroids like Wizard World fail?

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