founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in
by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans. It is traditionally a four-day event (Thursday through Sunday—though a four hour preview night on Wednesday is open to guests pre-registered for all four days) held during the summer in
. Comic-Con is both the name of the annual event and the common name of the organization.
in 1970. Other locations in the convention's early years included the El Cortez Hotel,
, and Golden Hall, before being moved to the San Diego Convention center in 1991. The convention is organized by a panel of thirteen board members, sixteen to twenty full-time and part-time workers, and eighty volunteers that assist with different committees. Comic Con International is a not-for-profit organization, and proceeds of the event go to funding
. The convention is currently scheduled to remain in San Diego until 2012.
Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, there are previews of upcoming feature films, portfolio review sessions with top comic book and video game companies, and such evening events as awards ceremonies and The Masquerade; a costume contest, and the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival which showcases shorts and feature length movies that do not have distribution or distribution deals.
Like most comic book conventions, Comic-Con features a large floorspace for exhibitors. These include media companies such as movie studios and TV networks, as well as comic-book dealers and collectibles merchants. Like most comics conventions, Comic-Con includes an autograph area, as well as the Artists' Alley where comics artists can sign autographs and sell or do free sketches. Despite the name, artists' alleys can include writers and even models.
In recent years Comic Con has become a large draw for major toy and collectibles designers. As a result of this, the practice of selling "Comic Con Exclusive" products to attendees is now common-place among the larger designers such as
. The vast majority of the exclusives offered at Comic Con International are licensed properties of popular movie, comic book and animation characters.
, the latter of which, while set at the event, was not filmed there. Comic-Con also served as an excuse for the fictional characters
". In Season 4 of
, an episode was featured where the contestants travelled to Comic-Con 07 and were given a challenge to create their own superheroes.
Capacity attendance at Comic-Con in 2006 and 2007 has caused crowding issues. Concerns have been that the event is possibly too massive for the
, Comic-Con's home through at least 2012. In 2006, Comic-Con for the first time was sold out on Saturday and potential attendees were denied entry. In response, for 2007, Comic-Con introduced a new three-day membership that did not include Saturday. Nevertheless, the 2007 show went on to sell out Saturday, as well as Friday and Sunday for the first time. Additionally, both the four-day and three-day memberships sold out for the first time. For 2008, the three-day memberships were abandoned and the convention decided to sell memberships only in advance, with no on-site registration.
In 2008, all memberships were sold out before the convention for the first time ever. This sellout has given rise to the new phenomenon of Comic-Con memberships being scalped for exorbitant prices on websites such as eBay.
In April 2008, David Glanzer, Comic-Con's director of marketing and public relations, commented on the organization's desire to remain in San Diego:
In recent years the prevalence of video games and big-studio movies has drawn criticism from those who believe that Comic-Con is losing its focus on comic books and instead has become a showcase for large entertainment corporations with deep pockets. Also, many smaller comic retailers feel that the presence of big entertainment companies has driven the booth prices up beyond what they are able to pay.
| Dates
| Location
| Attendees
| Notable guests
| Notes |
| March 21, 1970
| U.S. Grant Hotel
| 145
| Forrest Ackerman, Mike Royer
| Minicon staged to raise funding for August convention |
| August 1–3, 1970
| U.S. Grant Hotel
| 300
| Ray Bradbury, Jack Kirby, A.E. Van Vogt
| Known as Golden State Comic Con |
| August 6–8, 1971
| Muir College, University of California, San Diego Campus, La Jolla, California
| 800
| Kirk Alyn, Leigh Brackett, Ray Bradbury, Edmund Hamilton, Jack Kirby |
| August 18–21, 1972
| El Cortez Hotel
| 900+
| Bob Clampett, Harry Harrison, Jack Kirby, Katherine Kurtz, Mel Lazarus
| Known as San Diego's West Coast Comic Convention |
| August 16–19 1973
| Sheraton Hotel, Harbor Island, California
| 1,000+
| Neal Adams, Ray Bradbury, D.C. Fontana, June Foray, Mike Friedrich, Carmine Infantino, Jack Kirby
| Officially called San Diego Comic-Con; first five-day Comic-Con; first celebrity brunch |
| July 31–August 5, 1974
| El Cortez Hotel
| 2,000
| Majel Barrett, Ray Bradbury, Milton Caniff, Frank Capra, Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones, Jack Kirby, Walter Koenig, Russ Manning, Russell Myers, Charles Schulz, Larry "Seymour" Vincent
| First Masquerade Ball, emceed by June Foray |
| July 30–August 3, 1975
| El Cortez Hotel
| 2,500+
| Robert Bloch, Will Eisner, Mark Evanier, Gil Kane, Jack Katz, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Dick Moores, Chuck Norris, Don Rico, Jerry Siegel, Jim Starlin, Jim Steranko, Theodore Sturgeon
| Gabriel Wisdom (dressed as Thor) emcees Maquerade Ball, with Charlene Brinkman (later known as Brinke Stevens), as dancer |
| November 7–9, 1975
| El Cortez Hotel
| 1,100
| Jock Mahoney, George Pal
| Three-day follow-up to summer Con. Comic-Con incorporates as nonprofit. |
| July 21–25, 1976
| El Cortez Hotel
| 3,000+
| Sergio Aragonés, Mel Blanc, Milton Caniff, Rick Griffin, Jack Kirby, Dale Messick, Joe Shuster, Noel Sickles, Don Thompson, Maggie Thompson
| Vaughn Bodé, scheduled to appear, dies just before Con. |
| July 20–24, 1977
| El Cortez Hotel
| 4,000+
| Carl Barks, C. C. Beck, Walter Gibson, Robert A. Heinlein, George Clayton Johnson, Michael Kaluta, Jack Kirby, B. Kliban, Joe Kubert, Harvey Kurtzman, Timothy Leary, Stan Lynde, Alex Niño, Trina Robbins, Bill Scott, Theodore Sturgeon
| |
| July 26–30, 1978
| El Cortez Hotel
| 5,000
| Neal Adams, Alfredo Alcala, John Buscema, Ernie Chan, Howard Chaykin, Shary Flenniken, Alan Dean Foster, Gardner Fox, Melinda Gebbie, Steve Gerber, Russ Heath, Burne Hogarth, Greg Jein, Bob Kane, Jack Kirby, Lee Marrs, Paul Mavrides, George Metzger, Gray Morrow, Stanley Mouse, Clarence "Ducky" Nash, Grim Natwick, Dan O'Neil, Wendy Pini, Ted Richards, Spain Rodriguez, Gilbert Shelton, Dave Sheridan, Alex Toth, Frank Thorne,Boris Vallejo, S. Clay Wilson |
| August 1–5, 1979
| Convention and Performing Arts Center and U.S. Grant Hotel
| 6,000
| Kelly Freas, Milos Jittlov, Jack Kirby, Harvey Kurtzman, Victor Moncoso, Nestor Redondo, Marshall Rogers, John Romita Sr., Mort Walker, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman
| US$12,000 in receipts stolen from the home of Con's Treasurer |
| July 30–August 3, 1980
| Convention and Performing Arts Center and U.S. Grant Hotel
| 5,000
| John Byrne, Chris Claremont, Mike Grell, Paul Gulacy, Jack Kirby, Larry Niven, Joe Orlando, Richard Pini, Wendy Pini, Jerry Pournelle, Osamu Tezuka, Adam West, Wally Wood |
| July 23-26, 1981
| El Cortez Hotel
| 5,000
| Jerry Bails, Dave Berg, L. B. Cole, Jim Fitzpatrick, Harlan Ellison, Dick Giordano, Bil Keane, Julius Schwartz, Bill Sienkiewicz, Dave Sim, Jim Shooter
| Gary Owens emcees Masquerade Ball |
| July 8–11, 1982
| Convention and Performing Arts Center and Hotel San Diego
| 5,000
| Carl Barks, Terry Beatty, Brian Bolland, Max Allan Collins, Will Eisner, Mike Grell, Chuck Jones, Hank Ketcham, Jack Kirby, Walter Koenig, Frank Miller, Arn Saba, Leonard Starr, Ken Steacy, Robert Williams, Bill Woggon |
| August 4–7, 1983
| Convention and Performing Arts Center and Hotel San Diego
| 5,000
| Douglas Adams, Ray Bradbury, Bob Clampett, Floyd Gottfredson, Jack Kirby, Harvey Kurtzman, Norman Maurer, Grim Natwick, George Pérez, Trina Robbins
| First year the Con tried a theme for the souvenir programs. Arn Saba MC'd the Masquerade Ball. |
| June 28–July 1, 1984
| Convention and Performing Arts Center and Hotel San Diego
| 5,500
| Greg Bear, Howard Chaykin, Stan Drake, Burne Hogarth, Greg Jein, Ollie Johnston, Jack Kirby, Bob Layton, Brant Parker, Marshall Rogers, Mike Royer, Robert Shayne, Dave Stevens, Curt Swan, Frank Thomas, Al Williamson, Bill Woggon
| The Con was held earlier than usual due to the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Sergio Aragonés hosted the Masquerade Ball. |
| August 1–4, 1985
| Convention and Performing Arts Center and Hotel San Diego
| 6,000
| Ben Bova, Jack Cummings, Jack Davis, Gil Kane, Jack Kirby, Harvey Kurtzman, Alan Moore (in his only U.S. convention appearance), Dan O'Bannon, Jerry Ordway, Alex Schomburg, Julius Schwartz, Jerry Siegel, Louise Simonson, Walt Simonson
| The Con moved a step further towards professionalism, and adopted Rick Geary's toucan design as the official logo, and hired a general manager, Fae Desmond |
| July 31–August 3, 1986
| Convention and Performing Arts Center and Hotel San Diego
| 6,500
| Poul Anderson, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Greg Evans, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Dale Messick, Frank Miller, Moebius, Mart Nodell, Harvey Pekar, Lynn Varley, Jim Valentino, Doug Wildey |
| August 6–9, 1987
| Convention and Performing Arts Center and Holiday Inn
| 7,000
| Harlan Ellison, Miguel Ferrer, Ward Kimball, Jack Kirby, B. Kliban, Françoise Mouly, Bill Mumy, Mike Peters, Robert Silverberg, Art Spiegelman, Bernie Wrightson
| Debut, Convention Events Guide. Country Joe of Country Joe & The Fish performs. |
| August 4–7, 1988
| Convention and Performing Arts Center and Omni Hotel
| 8,000
| Robert Asprin, Art Adams, Jules Feiffer, Ray Feist, David Gerrold, Matt Groening, Jack Kirby, George R.R. Martin, Matt Wagner
| "Supergroup" Seduction Of The Innocent debuted - featuring Bill Mumy, Steve Leialoha, Miguel Ferrer, Chris Christensen, and Max Allan Collins. The Japanese animation department debuted. |
| August 3–6, 1989
| Convention and Performing Arts Center and Omni Hotel
| 11,000
| Paul Chadwick, Howard Cruse, Neil Gaiman, Ron Goulart, Mark Hamill, Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez, Ollie Johnston, Selby Kelly, Jack Kirby, Syd Mead, Fred Rhoads, Jerry Robinson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Frank Thomas, Gahan Wilson
| |
| August 2–5, 1990
| Convention and Performing Arts Center and Holiday Inn
| 13,000
| Peter David, Will Eisner, Kelly Freas, Michael Kaluta, Jack Kirby, Harvey Kurtzman, Mel Lazarus, Carl Macek, Grant Morrison, John Romita Jr., Mark Schultz, Van Williams
| Final year at Convention and Performing Arts Center |
| July 4–7, 1991
| San Diego Convention Center and Pan Pacific Hotel
| 15,000+
| Clive Barker, Dan DeCarlo, Harlan Ellison, Neil Gaiman, Keith Giffen, Joe Haldeman, Jack Kirby, Joe Kubert, Lynn Johnston, Jim Lee, Don Maitz, Sheldon Moldoff, Rick Sternbach, Jannie Wurts |
| August 13–16, 1992
| San Diego Convention Center and Double Tree Hotel
| 22,000
| Clive Barker, Francis Ford Coppola, Creig Flessel, Bill Griffith, Ray Harryhausen, Jack Kirby, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Frank Miller, Diane Noomin, Rowena, William Shatner, Gilbert Shelton, Lewis Shiner, Mr. T, Gary Trousdale, Vernor Vinge, Kirk Wise
| Con hosts Jack Kirby's 75th birthday party. Phil Foglio begins long run as Masquerade Ball emcee. |
| August 19–22, 1993
| San Diego Convention Center and Doubletree Hotel
| 28,000
| Murphy Anderson, Jim Aparo, Peter Bagge, Dan Clowes, Nancy Collins, Paul Dini, Garth Ennis, Neil Gaiman, Ferd Johnson, Jack Kirby, Rick Kirkman, Don Martin, Frank Miller, Olivia, Jerry Scott, Marc Silvestri, Dave Sim, Vin Sullivan, Michael Whelan, Robert Williams, Roger Zelazny |
| August 4–7, 1994
| San Diego Convention Center and Hyatt Regency
| 31,000
| Mike Allred, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, Greg Bear, David Brin, Dave Dorfman, Evan Dorkin, Al Feldstein, Rick Geary, Stan Goldberg, Robert Gregory, Matt Groening, Chad Grothkopf, Dan Jurgens, Lurene Haines, Frank Miller, Leonard Nimoy, James O'Barr, John Pound, Lucius Shepard, Mickey Spillane, J. Michael Straczynski, Rumiko Takahashi, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kevin VanHook |
| July 27–30, 1995
| San Diego Convention Center
| 34,000
| Mike Baron, Simon Bisley, Charles Burns, Alan Davis, Ramona Fradon, Frank Frazetta (as a guest of rock singer Glen Danzig's Verotik comic book line), Neil Gaiman, James Gurney, Greg Hildebrandt, Tim Hildebrandt, Ryoichi Ikegami, Gil Kane, Batton Lash, Stan Lee, Terry Moore, Irv Novick, Harvey Pekar, Paul Pope, Stan Sakai, Don Simpson, Joe Sinnott, Tom Sito, Jeff Smith, Andrew Vachss, Charles Vess
| (Comic Con officially changed its name to Comic Con International, and introduced its new "eye" logo designed by Richard Bruning |
| July 4–7, 1996
| San Diego Convention Center
| 36,000
| Donna Barr, Paul Chadwick, Steve Dillon, Evan Dorkin, Mort Drucker, Ben Edlund, Garth Ennis, Dave Gibbons, Joe Giella, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Dave McKean, Jim Mooney, Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson, Kurt Schaffenberger, Francois Schulten, Marie Severin
| The second time that Comic Con falls on July 4th, this time due to the Republican National Convention. |
| July 17–20, 1997
| San Diego Convention Center
| 40,000
| Brent Anderson, Dick Ayers, Reggie Bannister, Steve Bissette, Terry Brooks, Kurt Busiek, Tia Carrera, Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, Lou Ferrigno, David Hasselhoff, Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, James Hong, Steven Hughes, Sammo Hung, Joe Kubert, Peter Kuper, David Lapham, Carol Lay, John Leguizamo, Joseph Michael Linsner, Linda Medley, Todd McFarlane, Ralph McQuarrie, Jason Mewes, Michael Moorcock, George Pérez, Brian Pulido, Alex Ross, R.A. Salvatore, Kevin Smith, George Tuska, Jhonen Vasquez, Paul Verhoeven, Mark Waid, Al Williamson, Michael Jai White |
| August 13–17, 1998
| San Diego Convention Center
| 42,000
| John Broome, Eddie Campbell, Nick Cardy, John Carpenter, Mark Crilley, Colleen Doran, Patrick MacNee, Lorenzo Mattotti, Terry Moore, Paul S. Newman, Richard Pini, Wendy Pini, James Robinson, John Severin, Joe Simon, Paul Smith, Vin Sullivan, Naoko Takeuchi, Chris Ware, Joss Whedon (and most of the cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Robert Williams |
| August 9–11, 1999
|
|
|
| Professional Expo before Comic Con |
| August 12–15, 1999
| San Diego Convention Center
|
| Forrest Ackerman, Sergio Aragonés, Samuel R. Delany, Paul Dini, Arnold Drake, Will Eisner, Mark Evanier, June Foray, Neil Gaiman, Matt Groening, Mike Mignola, Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), Scott Shaw, Art Spiegelman, Jim Starlin, Jim Steranko, Dave Stevens, Jill Thompson, Barry Windsor-Smith
| Seduction Of The Innocent performed |
| July 20–23, 2000
| San Diego Convention Center
|
| Don Hertzfeldt
| |
| July 19–22, 2001
| San Diego Convention Center
|
|
| |
| August 1–4, 2002
| San Diego Convention Center
|
| Ben Affleck, Avi Arad, Asia Argento, James Cameron, Emma Caulfield, Guillermo del Toro, Ang Lee, Jason Lee, Lucy Liu, Mike Mignola, Jamie King, Timothy Olyphant, Ray Park, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Seann William Scott, Bryan Singer
| |
| July 17–20, 2003
| San Diego Convention Center
|
| Avi Arad, Sean Astin, Kate Beckinsale, Sal Buscema, Will Eisner, Neil Gaiman, Paris Hilton, Dave McKean, Alfred Molina, Dominic Monaghan, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood
| |
| July 22–25, 2004
| San Diego Convention Center
| 100,000
| Kevin J. Anderson, Sergio Aragonés, Greg Bear, Claudia Black, Ray Bradbury, Ben Browder, Kurt Busiek, Roger Dean, Eliza Dushku, Will Eisner, Corey Feldman, June Foray, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Donato Giancola, Matt Groening, Sid Haig, Corey Haim, Paris Hilton, Christopher Judge, Jude Law, Mike Mignola, Frank Miller, Bill Plympton, Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping, Tim Thomerson, Marv Wolfman, Rob Zombie
| Comic-Con expands into Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center and now occupies the entire exhibit space. |
| July 14–17, 2005
| San Diego Convention Center
| 113,000
| Forrest Ackerman, Sergio Aragonés, Ralph Bakshi, Ray Bradbury, Beau Bridges, Ben Browder, Bruce Campbell, Shaun Cassidy, Ken Foree, Sid Haig, Ray Harryhausen, Alexandro Jodorowsky, Christopher Judge, Richard Kelly, Stan Lee, Todd McFarlane, Natalie Portman, Joel Silver, Bryan Singer, Kevin Smith, J. Michael Straczynski, Amanda Tapping, Marv Wolfman, Rob Zombie
| |
| July 20–23, 2006
| San Diego Convention Center
| 123,000
| Forrest Ackerman, Avi Arad, Sergio Aragonés, Kristen Bell, Ray Bradbury, Nicolas Cage, Bruce Campbell, Thomas Haden Church, Gabrielle Carteris, Richard Ian Cox, Guillermo del Toro, Snoop Dogg, Kirsten Dunst, Ken Foree, James Franco, Jorge Garcia, Basil Gogos, Topher Grace, Seth Green, Matt Groening, Sid Haig, Ray Harryhausen, Don Hertzfeldt, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Paris Hilton, Bryce Dallas Howard, Hunter Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Judge, Richard Kelly, Kazuo Koike, Ali Larter, Tobey Maguire, Eva Mendes, Frank Miller, Terry Moore, Kenn Navarro, Masi Oka, Edward James Olmos, Diamond Dallas Page, Sam Raimi, Brande Roderick, Takashi Shimizu, Bryan Singer, Kevin Smith, Frank Spotnitz, Jason Statham, J. Michael Straczynski, Hilary Swank, Danny Trejo, Milo Ventimiglia, Nobuhiro Watsuki, Wayans Brothers, Billy Dee Williams
| San Diego Convention Center reached maximum occupancy; potential attendees were denied entry on Saturday. |
| July 26–29, 2007
| San Diego Convention Center
| 125,000+
| J. J. Abrams, Danny Antonucci, Sergio Aragonés, Kate Beckinsale, Tobin Bell, Johnny Yong Bosch, Darren Lynn Bousman, Blair Butler, Nicolas Cage, Steve Carrell, Dane Cook, Carlton Cuse, John DiMaggio,Sammantha- Jolie DiMaggio, Robert Downey, Jr., Warren Ellis, Jon Favreau, Renee French, Neil Gaiman, Jenny Goldberg, Chris Gore, Matt Groening, Laurell K. Hamilton, Allan Heinberg, James Farr, David Hewlett, Adam Hughes, Hunter Jackson, Al Jean, Scarlett Johansson, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Milla Jovovich, Bryan Konietzko, Alex Kurtzman, Maurice LaMarche, Brennan Laughter, Stan Lee, Damon Lindelof, Joseph Michael Linsner, Maddox, Seth MacFarlane, Bill Morrison, Olivia Munn, Kenn Navarro, Michael J. Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Masi Oka, Roberto Orci, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hayden Panettiere, Kevin Pereira, Harold Perrineau, Lily Renee Phillips, Paul Pope, George A. Romero, Rowena, Katey Sagal, Andy Samberg, M. Zachary Sherman, Kevin Smith, Yeardley Smith, Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse, J. Michael Straczynski, Roy Thomas, Liv Tyler, Rob Van Dam, Kevin VanHook, Jhonen Vasquez, Gerard Way, Billy West, Tom Wisdom and more.
| All multi-day and single-day passes for Friday, Saturday and Sunday were sold out, for the first time ever on Friday and Sunday. |
| July 24–27, 2008
| San Diego Convention Center
| Approx. 130,000+
| Tori Amos, Sergio Aragonés, Dan Aykroyd, Mike Barker, John Barrowman, Mike W. Barr, Carlos Bernard, Ed Boon, Ray Bradbury, Kipleigh Brown, Ed Brubaker, Blair Butler, Eddie Campbell, Chris Carter, Jon Cassar, Howard Chaykin, Kristin Chenoweth, Gareth David-Lloyd, Russell T. Davies, Felicia Day, John DiMaggio, Sammantha-Jolie DiMaggio, Cassidy Freeman, Bryan Fuller, Keith Giffen, Howard Gordon, Chris Gore, Burn Gorman, Seth Green, Matt Groening, Greg Grunberg, Justin Hartley, Bryan Hitch, Ernie Hudson, Hugh Jackman, Al Jaffee, Thomas Jane, Al Jean, James Kerwin, Kristin Kreuk, Tite Kubo, Mila Kunis, Maurice Lamarche, Ali Larter, Yuri Lowenthal, Ludacris, Seth MacFarlane, Rachael MacFarlane, Allison Mack, Chase Masterson, Peter Mayhew, Rose McGowan, Derek Mears, Steven Moffat, Naoko Mori, Bill Morrison, Olivia Munn, Noel Neill, John Newton, Masi Oka, Hayden Panettiere, Kevin Pereira, Tara Platt, Keanu Reeves, Robert Rodriguez, Katey Sagal, Wendy Schaal, Ethan Van Sciver, Robert Smigel, Will Smith, Barry Sonnenfeld, Ray Stevenson, Joe Staton, Jessica Mae Stover, Kiefer Sutherland, Mark Wahlberg, Billy West, Joss Whedon, Wil Wheaton , Connie Willis.
| All multi-day and single-day passes sold out weeks ahead of the event for the first time ever. |
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