![]() ![]() 1962).Īlley Talley and other gatherings of 1964 The first Alley Awards, given for the calendar year 1961, were reported in Alter Ego No. The Academy's first order of business was to administer the Alley Awards, which traced their origin to "a letter to Jerry dated October 25, 1961," by fellow enthusiast (and future comics professional) Roy Thomas, in which he suggested to Bails that his fanzine Alter-Ego create its own awards to reward fandom's "favorite comic books in a number of categories" in a manner similar to the Oscars. The ACBFC brought fans of the medium together, administered the first industry awards, and assisted in the establishment of the first comic book conventions. In 1961 or 1962, Jerry Bails was vital in the formation of the Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors (ACBFC), the first official organization of comic book enthusiasts and historians. Italy's Lucca Comics & Games (first held in 1965) and France's Angoulême International Comics Festival (first staged in 1974) are the world's second and third largest comic festivals, respectively. Internationally, the world's largest comic book convention, in terms of attendees, is Japan's Comiket (first held in 1975), which boasts annual attendance of over half a million people. However, in 2017, SDCC lost its record of the largest annual multigenre convention to São Paulo's Comic Con Experience (first held in 2014). According to the San Diego Convention and Visitor's Bureau, the convention has an annual regional economic impact of $162.8 million, with a $180 million economic impact in 2011. According to Forbes, the convention is the "largest convention of its kind in the world " and is also the largest convention held in San Diego. ![]() San Diego Comic-Con International, a multigenre entertainment and comic convention held annually in San Diego since 1970, is the standard bearer for U.S. ![]() Comic book conventions in name only, the biggest shows include a large range of pop culture and entertainment elements across virtually all genres, including horror, animation, anime, manga, toys, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels. Nowadays, comic conventions are big business, with recurring shows in every major American city. Many comic-cons which had their start in church basements or union halls now fill convention centers in major cities. Many recurring conventions begin as single-day events in small venues, which as they grow more popular expand to two days, or even three or more every year. The first recurring conventions were the Detroit Triple Fan Fair, which ran from 1965–1978, and Academy Con, which ran from 1965–1967. Early conventions were small affairs, usually organized by local enthusiasts (such as Jerry Bails, later known as the "Father of Comic Fandom", and Dave Kaler of the Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors), and featuring a handful of industry guests. The first official comic book convention was held in 1964 in New York City and was called New York Comicon. This represents a change in comic book conventions, which traditionally were more oriented toward comic books as a mode of literature, and maintained a less caste-like differentiation between professional and fan. Commercial conventions are usually quite expensive and are hosted in hotels. Many conventions have award presentations relating to comics (such as the Eisner Awards, which have been presented at San Diego Comic-Con International since 1988 or the Harvey Awards, which have been presented at a variety of venues also since 1988).Īt commercial events, comic book creators often give out autographs to the fans, sometimes in exchange for a flat appearance fee, and sometimes may draw illustrations for a per-item fee. Comic book conventions may be considered derivatives of science-fiction conventions, which began in the late 1930s.Ĭomic-cons were traditionally organized by fans on a not-for-profit basis, though nowadays most events catering to fans are run by commercial interests for profit. Comic book conventions are also used as a vehicle for industry, in which publishers, distributors, and retailers represent their comic-related releases. 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. ![]() Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels, or college campuses. A comic book convention (one day event) 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. ![]()
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