The Baltimore Comic-Con is a

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

-oriented

fan convention A fan convention (also known as a con or fan meeting) is an event in which Fan (person), fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some also inc ...

held annually in Baltimore since 2000. Each year, the show features marquee-name

comic book creator developed specialized terminology. Several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is under di ...

s past and present,

publishers Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

, charitable organizations, and vendor booths offering genre-related items, including comic book back-issues, limited edition collectible items such as Toon Tumblers and clothing, videos/DVDs, etc. Panel discussions throughout the day feature industry names presenting information on current and upcoming industry events, past hallmarks in comic book history, and information on the industry and how to be a part of it.

History

Founded by Marc Nathan, owner of Cards, Comics, and Collectibles of

Reistertown, Maryland Reisterstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore and Carroll counties, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,968. Founded by German immigrant John Reister in 1758, Reister ...

, the show was originally a one-day show held at the

Sheraton Hotel Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an American international hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Centr ...

in the Chartley Shopping Center,Wood, Carrie (September 5, 2013)
"Need to know: Baltimore Comic-Con 2013"
''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

''. located in the Baltimore suburb of

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...

. The show continued to grow in size, and in 2002, it show moved to the

Baltimore Convention Center The Baltimore Convention Center is a convention and exhibition hall located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The center is a municipal building owned and operated by the City of Baltimore. The facility was constructed in two separate phases: ...

in downtown Baltimore, across from

Camden Yards Oriole Park at Camden Yards, commonly known as Camden Yards, is a ballpark in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the Baseball park#Retro-classic ballparks, "retro" major le ...

and down the street from

Geppi's Entertainment Museum Geppi's Entertainment Museum was a privately owned pop culture museum located at historic Camden Station at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. The museum chronicled the history of pop culture in America from the 17th century to the early 21 ...

, and was extended to a two-day show. In 2014, responding to demand from attendees and exhibitors, the show moved to a three-day event, from September 5 to 7. An annual Yearbook, featuring renderings by attending artists, became a part of the show in 2012, featuring

Frank Cho Frank Cho (born Duk Hyun Cho; 1971) is a Korean-American comic strip and comic book writer and illustrator, known for his series '' Liberty Meadows'', as well as for books such as '' Shanna the She-Devil'', '' Mighty Avengers'' and ''Hulk'' for M ...

's '' Liberty Meadows'' characters, followed by

Stan Sakai is a Japanese Americans, Japanese-born American cartoonist and comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series ''Usagi Yojimbo''. Early life Sakai was born Masahiko Sakai (坂井雅彦) in Kyoto, Japan, to Akio and Ter ...

's ''

Usagi Yojimbo is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai. It is set primarily at the beginning of the Edo period of Japanese history and features anthropomorphic animals replacing humans. The main character is a rabbit '' rōnin'', Miyamoto Usagi, whom ...

'' in 2013 and

Matt Wagner Matt Wagner (born October 9, 1961) is an American comics artist and writer who is best known as the creator of the series ''Mage (comics), Mage'' and ''Grendel (comics), Grendel''. Early life, family and education Matt Wagner's childhood was spe ...

's ''

Grendel Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem ''Beowulf'' (700–1000 AD). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. He is referred to as b ...

'' in 2014. A scavenger hunt is also associated with the Yearbook, where attendees who get a pre-defined number of contributor autographs receive prints that were not part of the book, featuring characters from that year's theme by other attending artists. The 2020 Comic-Con was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and rescheduled for the same dates as a virtual event.Gelman, Samuel
"Baltimore Comic-Con 2020 Goes Digital, Announces 2021 Guests: Baltimore Comic-Con 2020 will move online, but many of the guests that were scheduled to appear this year have already committed to next year's event,"
CBR.com (SEP 10, 2020).

List of convention dates

*October 29, 2000 *October 28, 2001 *October 26 - 27, 2002 *September 20 - 21, 2003 *September 11 - 12, 2004 *September 17 - 18, 2005 *September 9 - 10, 2006 *September 8 - 9, 2007 *September 27 - 28, 2008 *October 10 - 11, 2009 *August 28 - 29, 2010 *August 20 - 21, 2011 *September 8 - 9, 2012 *September 7 - 8, 2013 *September 5 - 7, 2014 *September 25 - 27, 2015 *September 2 - 4, 2016 *September 22 - 24, 2017 *September 28 - 30, 2018 * October 18 - 20, 2019 * October 23 – 25, 2020 — cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic; rescheduled as a virtual event

Comics industry awards venue

In 2006, the 19th Annual

Harvey Awards The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which wer ...

, named for comics creator

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ...

, and developed to honor comic book industry professionals and companies singled out by their peers, moved from the

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) is a not-for-profit arts organization and former museum in New York City devoted to comic books, comic strips and other forms of cartoon art. MoCCA sponsored events ranging from book openings to educa ...

(MoCCA) in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to the Baltimore Comic-Con, with

Kyle Baker Kyle John Baker (born 1965) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series ''Plastic Man''. Baker has won numerous Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards for his wo ...

as Master of Ceremonies. The Harvey Awards were held every year at the Baltimore Comic-Con from 2006 to 2016, when they moved to a new venue. The Harvey Awards were replaced with the creation of the

Mike Wieringo Michael Lance Wieringo (; June 24, 1963 – August 12, 2007), who sometimes signed his work under the name Ringo, was an American comics artist best known for his work on DC Comics' ''The Flash'', Marvel Comics' ''Spider-Man'' and ''Fantastic Fou ...

Comic Book Industry Awards, or Ringo Awards", beginning with the September 2017 convention.Johnston, Rich (June 16, 2017)
"The Ringo Awards – Named After Mike Wieringo – To Replace Harvey Awards At Baltimore Comic Con"
Bleeding Cool.

References

External links

Baltimore Comic-Con Homepage

Harvey Awards Homepage
Conventions in Baltimore Comics conventions in the United States Recurring events established in 2000 2000 establishments in Maryland

History

List of convention dates

Comics industry awards venue

See also

References

External links