What is Comic Con?

A comic book convention or comic con is an event 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.

Comic-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. 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).

The first official comic book convention was held in 1964 in New York City and was called New York Comicon. 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 recurring conventions were the Detroit Triple Fan Fair, which ran from 1965–1978, and Academy Con, which ran from 1965–1967. 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. Many comic-cons which had their start in church basements or union halls now fill convention centers in major cities.

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. 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.

Comic-Con International: San Diego

Comic-Con International: San Diego is a nonprofit educational corporation dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture. It began in 1970 when a group of comics, movie, and science fiction fans — including the late Shel Dorf, Ken Krueger, and Richard Alf — banded together to put on the first comic book convention in southern California. Comic-Con started as a one-day “minicon,” called San Diego’s Golden State Comic-Minicon, on March 21, 1970 at the U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego. The purpose of this single-day event—which included two special guests, Forrest J Ackerman and Mike Royer, and drew about 100 attendees—was to raise funds and generate interest for a larger convention. The success of the minicon led to the first full-fledged, three-day San Diego Comic-Con (called San Diego’s Golden State Comic-Con), held August 1-3, 1970, at the U.S. Grant Hotel, with guests Ray Bradbury, Jack Kirby, and A. E. van Vogt. Over 300 attendees packed into the hotel’s basement for that groundbreaking event, which featured a dealers’ room, programs and panels, film screenings, and more: essentially, the  model for every comic book convention to follow.

From the beginning, the founders of the show set out to include not only the comic books they loved, but also other aspects of the popular arts that they enjoyed and felt deserved wider recognition, including films and science fiction/fantasy literature.  After one more name changes (San Diego’s West Coast Comic Convention, in 1972), the show officially became the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) in 1973 with the fourth annual event. In 1995, the non-profit event changed its name to Comic-Con International: San Diego (CCI). With attendance topping 130,000 in recent years, the event has grown to include satellite locations, including local hotels and outdoor parks. Over it’s four-and-a-half decade-plus history, Comic-Con International has continually presented comic books and comic art to a growing audience. That love of the comics medium continues to be its guiding factor as the event moves toward its second half-century as the premier comic book and popular arts style convention in the world.

Comic-Con Museum

Can't wait for the annual convention? You can visit the Comic-Con Museum anytime located in San Diego.

For the past 50 years, San Diego Comic-Con has created one of the biggest, most popular conventions of its kind in the world. But the organizers of Comic-Con wanted to do even more to recognize fans and spread the magic of Comic-Con. 

They imagined a place where fans could come together to celebrate the things they love, not just for a few days each summer, but all year long. A place where the public could learn about areas of art and pop culture of which they may not even be aware. A space where everyone is included, where old fans and new could enjoy the passion, creativity, and imagination of Comic-Con, while learning about science, technology, art, storytelling and much more. Now, with the help of fans like you, that dream will soon become reality.

With classes and activities during the day, movie screenings and trivia contests at night, and programs available online anytime, the Comic-Con Museum will be an experience unlike any other. Our focus will be on community and not collection by bringing diverse audiences together for shared, vibrant experiences

In addition to the comics, film and science fiction/fantasy genres that started it all, the Museum will showcase TV shows, books, video games, anime, and so much more. Through regularly rotating exhibits, hands-on workshops for kids as well as adults, and interactive experiences to try, you will always find something new and exciting to explore.  

Opening in November 2021, the Comic-Con Museum will be a participatory place where audiences can connect with the magic of Comic-Con year-round.

BAKERSFIELD COMIC CON

November 23rd and 24th, 2024

Kern County Fair Grounds- Buildings 2 & 3

1142 South P st., Bakersfield, CA.

Saturday: 10:00 am - 5:00pm

Sunday: 10:00am - 5:00pm

Admission: 13 and older $15.00 - Saturday or Sunday. $24.00- for both days.

Children 12 and younger - FREE

Tickets may be purchased online or in person during the hours of the convention.

Special Guests and Artists

LEE KOHSE

Lee Kohse was born to a family of chupacabra herders in California and learned to draw in the dirt while mining dust for spaghetti western films. While in the US Marines, he co-founded BloodFire Studios and created the hit indie comic, Kindergoth, which led to one of the oddest collaborations in comics with legendary writer Len Wein. After spending years helping other creators get published, Lee stepped away from comics and began contributing art to projects such as Aliens, Lord of the Rings, Robotech,Star Wars, H.P. Lovecraft, and more. As a freelance illustrator, he has worked for Lucasfilm, Dreamworks, Hasbro, H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, and Columbia Pictures, to name a few. His original art is held in several major private collections and has been sold in galleries around the world. Recently, Lee returned to his comic roots painting covers for several publishers, working on new Kindergoth stories, as well as collaborating on new comics such as Nocturnity.

TONY FLEECS

Tony Fleecs is the writer and artist of In My Lifetime, an autobiographical comic book. First published in 2006, ‘Lifetime was an immediate critical success, featured twice in Wizard Magazine, in the Comic Buyer’s Guide and on the Ain’t-It-Cool-News. Fleecs has since been a contributor to anthologies including; Postcards: True Stories that Never Happened (nominated for the 2008 Eisner and Harvey awards for best anthology), Boom Studios’ Pulp Tales and C.B. Cebulski’s Wonderlost. He and writer, Josh Fialkov, provided the Li’l FireBreather backup stories for Phil Hester’s 2nd FireBreather series at Image Comics.