The D.C. Comic-Con

Over the past several years, there have been a few comic book shows and conventions around the D.C area (i.e., McLean, Bethesda, and of course, Baltimore). But the last one I know of that was actually held in D.C. was one I went to when I was about 13 or 14 years old.

It was in some hotel downtown, and Neil Gaiman was the guest of honor. Sandman was still being published, so this was a really good get for the convention. Now, I only just got around to reading Sandman a couple of years ago, so back then, I had no idea who the hell Gaiman was, other than that he was British, wore sunglasses indoors, and that a lot of his fans seemed to like dressing in all black. But I picked up the latest issue of Sandman and got it signed, and sold it on eBay a few years ago for $10. Good times.

Of course, back in the early 90s, comic books were raking in money hand over fist, thanks mainly to a speculator bubble that would soon go bust and almost wipe out the entire industry. But no one knew that at the time, so on most weekends you were never more than a few hundred miles away from a comic book convention somewhere. I remember a vendor at the one I went to being really excited about the turnout and the prospect of more and bigger conventions in D.C.

Then a couple of years later, the bubble burst and there were no more conventions in D.C.

But yesterday, it was announced that the first-ever D.C. Comic-Con will be held in a couple of weeks! Which means...well, I still won't be attending a comic book convention in D.C. anytime soon.

Official Press Release

Marc Nathan, promoter of the Baltimore Comic-Con, and Brett Carreras, promoter of the VA Comicon, are proud to jointly announce the inaugural DC Comic-Con. The show will be held on Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 (the day after Free Comic Book Day) from 10am-5pm in the Student Union Building II (SUB II) at George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, VA.

Admission to the show is only $5! GMU students, faculty, and staff get in free! All active military personnel with current military IDs get in free!

The show will feature an amazing guest list for an inaugural show, a show exclusive comic, a full room of brick-and-mortar retailers bringing Golden Age, Silver Age, and modern comics inventories, manga and anime products, and toys! There will also be a sanctioned Magic the Gathering tournament!

Guests

Our guests for this premiere event include: Frank Cho (Mighty Avengers), Herb Trimpe (Incredible Hulk), JG Jones (52), the Fillbach Brothers (Clone Wars Adventures) sponsored by Laughing Ogre Comics, the Luna Brothers (The Sword) sponsored by Laughing Ogre Comics, Steve Conley (Star Trek Omnibus: The Original Series), John K. Snyder III (Doctor Mid-Nite) sponsored by the Hero Initiative, and Jo Chen (Runaways) sponsored by the Hero Initiative.

Show Exclusive Comic and Giveaways

Thanks to our friends at Top Cow Productions, the DC Comic-Con will be offering a show-exclusive Witchblade #136 DC Comic-Con Variant by co-headlining guest JG Jones. This exclusive comic will be available in very limited quantities at the Hero Initiative booth, and is selling for only $5, of which $1 goes to the Hero Initiative.

Additionally, the first 500 attendees will receive a copy of the Overstreet Guide to Collecting Comics, Gemstone's 2010 Free Comic Book Day publication.

Sanctioned Magic the Gathering Tournament

A special Magic the Gathering -- Rise of the Eldrazi tournament with a massive prize pool will be held at the show. Each player will receive six unopened boosters from the new Rise of the Eldrazi set, and players will then construct a deck from those boosters (free extra lands provided). The tournament will be played in Swiss Rounds, and will begin promptly at 10am when the doors open.

To participate in this sanctioned event, entry is $19 through May 1st or $22 at the door (participants must also purchase a separate convention admission ticket). The show will be open 2 hours past the scheduled conclusion of the tournament so that players will have plenty of time to check out the main showroom.

Participants may pre-register for the Magic Tournament over the phone with a major credit card (call 703-241-9393) or in person at Victory Comics, 586 S. Washington St., Falls Church, VA 22046-4415.

Directions

The show will be held at the George Mason University campus at 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030 in the Student Union Building II (SUB II). Free Parking is available in Lot A (beside the Patriot Center), which is a short walk from SUB II. A map of the campus can be found at http://parking.gmu.edu/pdf%20files/parkingmap09.pdf, and directions to the show can be found on the show website at http://dccomicon.com/?page_id=63.

About The DC Comic-Con

The DC Comic-Con, launching in 2010 on Sunday, May 2nd from 10am-5pm, is a result of the cooperative work of Marc Nathan, sponsor of the Baltimore Comic-Con (http://www.baltimorecomiccon.com/) and Brett Carreras, sponsor of the VA Comicon (http://www.vacomicon.com/). For more information, please visit http://dccomicon.com/.

Clearly, George Mason's Student Union Building II isn't exactly the Baltimore Convention Center. Or even the Bethesda Marriott. Or even in D.C. But I'm sure it'll be a good show.

Honestly, I'm surprised it's taken this long for it to happen. I think pretty much every other major east coast city has hosted a comic book convention in recent years. Last October, New York had two on the same weekend. And with the success of the Baltimore Comic-Con, you'd think someone would have swooped in by now and attempt to steal some of that thunder.

And in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the reason behind the somewhat hasty launch of the D.C. Comic-Con. Wizard World conventions are spreading, and it was only a matter of time before they decided to put D.C. on their schedule. I'd rather have a real comic book convention than a Wizard show, given Wizard's emphasis on celebrities over comics. (Although, the line-up for Wizard World Philadelphia features Bruce Campbell and Adam West, and I'm not sure it's possible to get any better than that.) But since until now, no one else seemed to be interested in D.C., I wouldn't have turned my nose up at them, either. I still wouldn't, actually. Competition is never not a good thing.

Since this is the first year, and since Marc Nathan has done such a great job with the Baltimore Comic-Con, I'm willing to cut the inaugural D.C. Comic-Con a little slack. Fine, have it in Fairfax. Have a limited (though not unimpressive) guest list. But unless it's absolutely, positively not economically viable, it really needs to be in D.C. next year. It doesn't have to be three days and feature a hundred guests. But it needs to be in D.C.

If not, I'm sure Wizard will oblige.