If you found yourself in New York City in 1969, you could have probably reached into your back pocket and pulled out at least $1.50 — coincidentally, that would be just the right amount of change to buy yourself a one-day ticket to the first ever comic art convention.
In the 21st century, it’s not so simple — or cheap. The international fan convention Comic-Con takes place in San Diego every year, pumping up to $60 million into the city’s economy, according to KPBS. If you deconstruct that, the numbers will read that the 26,000 Comic-Con attendees who rent rooms, buy food and pay for transportation contribute around $10,000 each day to San Diego’s economy.
So how did we get from point A to point B?
Fan conventions went from being hosted at small-scale venues traditionally organized by fans to being commercialized, massive meet-and-greets where fans of any subculture can meet and participate in panels, cosplays and getting signatures from famous figures within said subculture.
This sudden rise in fan culture (and subsequently: fan conventions) wasn’t much of a rise at all, but a gradual force that came to be for a number of reasons.
Through the 1970s, cult television shows began to flicker across the screen of every household. Science fiction took hold of society, and in 1972 “Trekkies” began asserting a spotlight of their own.
“Star Trek’s” fan base throughout the 1970s resulted in the first and most widely publicized fan convention.
Ironically, this convention was held at the Statler Hilton hotel in New York – where the first fan convention was held a few years prior.
The ‘80s introduced a variety of fan-based revenue as classics with massive followings came into popular culture. Films like George Lucas’ “Star Wars” and new, futuristic comics like Marvel’s “Transformers” inspired a new kind of subculture.
This subculture was completely immersed in the ideas of space travel and robotics, which were met with a variety of conventions to complement every fanatic’s con needs.
But fan conventions didn’t stop there. As an immersion in popular culture through television, radio and film progressed throughout the remainder of the 20th century, conventions began to encompass foreign subcultures – furry, ventriloquist and clown conventions became staple functions for obscure fanbases.
The laws of capitalism dictate that where there is a demand, capitalize on it. The introduction of commercialized conventions becoming prevalent in mainstream society is most notable in massive annual conventions such as San Diego Comic-Con International, Anime Expo in Los Angeles and WonderCon in Anaheim.
These conventions not only offer a place for fanbases to fraternize and partake in geeky greatness — but a place for massive amounts of cash to be spent.
Long Beach boasts its own fan conventions nearly every month.
The conventions range from bridal conventions to comic conventions. The Long Beach Comic Expo, a convention taking place at the Long Beach Convention Center this weekend, will feature prominent figures in the comic book industry such as “Wolverine” creator Len Wein, “Deadpool” co-creator Fabian Nicieza and a whole mess of cosplayers.
Though the fan convention industry has inflated into a massive, cash-flushed industry — one thing remains clear: fanaticism is what keep this industry thriving, and so long as pop culture continues to expand, we can predict a future full of pros (and cons).