Conventions

In five years we'll be sunning ourselves outside on the San Diego convention center roof park while we complain about douchebags. Plans were unveiled today for the planned expansion of the San Diego Convention Center. Denver-based architect Curt Fentress won a design competition for upgrade, with a plan that includes an additional 780,000 sq. ft of meeting, exhibit and ballroom space. Budgeted at $710 million dollars, the expansion is a key element in keeping Comic-Con International in San Diego beyond the 2015 currently contracted -- the expansion could possibly open in time for the 2015 Con.

In the runup to King Con, the Brooklyn-based comics show held at the Lyceum in Park Slope this weekend, it was asked many times, "Do we NEED another New York comics show?" Starting with the Big Apple Con back on October 1, running through New York Comic Con the next week and on to the Brooklyn Comics and Graphic Fest on December 4, King Con made a total of four cons in three months, not really a heavy workload for a comics town as huge as NYC, but definitely a strain on the wallets of attendees, especially after the NYCC epic. (New York's fifth show is MoCCA Fest in April.) So from the outset you have a show with big questions hanging over it. Friends had asked me to come out for various events and I was slotted for the Kids Comics panel on Sunday morning so I ended up going out on three out of four days. What I saw was a scene with enough energy to overcome a lot of logistical mistakes and misconceptions to still create a fun and informative afternoon activity. But it didn't answer the fundamental question of what King Con's mission should be.

San Diego Comic-Con is trying again. Registration for four-day passes and one-day passes go on sale Monday, November 22nd at 6 am Pacific Standard Time. This is three hours earlier than the last, abortive attempt, perhaps curtailing the onslaught of locals with an earlier starting time.

According to numerous reports, the "acquisition' of the Mid-Ohio Con by the Wizard convention group was a hot gossip topic at this weekend's Mid-Ohio Con, and several message boards as well. The page we linked to has been taken down but, oddly, this ticket price list has been left up -- Johanna has more and reactions, as does the comment thread at our original story (which for some reason we can't edit.) We asked Wizard spokesman Jerry Milani for comment and replied "We don't have any formal announcement yet."

Every week there are seemingly dozens of comics conventions, signings, art shows and so on around the world. Covering them all is impossible for...

Looks like Wizard is adding another show to its tour, with this listing for the Mid-Ohio Con on the Wizard site: Mid-Ohio Comic...

Thursday, November 4, 7pm Artist and SVA alumnus Dash Shaw (BFA 2005 Illustration) will deliver the fall Distinguished Alumnus Lecture. With the publication of...

People who have recovered from New York Comic Con are gearing up for King Con, Brooklyn's home show. Tonight King Con kicks off at the Brooklyn Lyceum. Guests include Chris Claremont, Kyle Baker, Sarah Glidden, and more. The four-day schedule this year allows for two panels tonight, a party tomorrow, and two days of exhibits and panels Saturday and Sunday. We'll be moderating the Kids panel Sunday at 12:30.

Along with the announcement of Wizard's new Winnipeg show, the press release contained a list of all 16 Wizard shows, and although we had previously announced that the most violent conflict of Con Wars was over, based on this schedule, maybe it isn't.

Well it seems Wizard is on an acquisition spree this week, as they have just announced annexing the Central Canada Comic Con, a mid-size show held in Winnipeg that just wrapped up this weekend. It already had a guest mix of random Jedi, Star Trek crew members and local creators, so it's a natural fit for Wizard's show brand. It's Wizard's second foray into Canada, after the Toronto Comic-Con. For those not versed in Canadian geography, Winnipeg is in the Manitoba province, about halfway between Toronto and Vancouver. We're not enough of an expert to know whether this is a competitor for the Calgary Entertainment Expo, a well-established show that is moving to June from April next year.

Just last week it was announced that Wizard was bringing its Wizard World tour of pop culture-themed autograph shows to New Orleans -- at the exact same venue as the existing NOLA Comic Con. Now it turns out that Wizard has acquired the NOLA con, and is moving it to their earlier, January date. Many of Wizard's convention acquisitions have been more of an organizational shift than an actual purchase—the two entities share leads and resources and the original show runners get to broker exhibit space. New Orleans is a notoriously difficult locale for vendor conventions, so in this case, teaming up makes a lot of sense.

The combination of Halloween and the MCM Expo in London this past weekend has left me incredibly drained. About 46,500 people attended the three...