Fan Expo Chicago (formerly Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, and commonly known as the Chicago Comicon) is a comic book convention held during the summer in Rosemont, Illinois, United States, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. It was traditionally a three-day event (Friday through Sunday), but in 2006, it expanded to four days (Thursday through Sunday). It was founded in 1972 as Nostalgia '72, Chicago Comic Con and later as the Chicago Comic and Nostalgia Convention by a local dealer (and school teacher) named Nancy Warner.
Acquired by Wizard Entertainment in 1997, and Informa's Fan Expo unit in 2021, Fan Expo Chicago is among the larger comic book conventions in the United States, in third place for overall attendance at a single event.
Originally showcasing comic books and related popular arts, the convention has expanded over the years to include a larger range of pop culture elements, such as professional wrestling, science fiction/fantasy, film and television, horror, animation, anime, manga, toys, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels. From 1995 to 2006, it was also the home of the Wizard World Fan Awards.Wizard Fan Awards. Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
History Nostalgia convention Chicago collectibles dealer Nancy Warner staged the area's first comic and collectibles convention on July 22–23, 1972, calling it Nostalgia '72, Chicago Comic Con. It attracted 2,000 attendees. She ran the show, which featured movie screenings, as well as dealers from as far as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Buffalo, New York, and Oklahoma City. In 1973 an unrelated show, called "Chicago Comic Con", produced by Mark Lully of the Atlantis Bookstore, was planned to take place at the Midland Hotel with announced guests including Stan Lee, Jim Steranko, and Mike Hinge,The Buyer's Guide to Comic Fandom #32 (March 15, 1973). but that show was cancelled.Facebook post from Russ Maheras, artist of the ads
Chicago Comicon
In 1975, Warner approached local comic book store owner Joe Sarno and his associate Mike Gold to produce the show. Their job was to overcome Chicago's reputation of being a sub-par convention city.Sarno, Joe. "Origins of the Chicago Comicon," Joe Sarno's Comic Universe. Accessed May 31, 2012. Early in the process, George Hagenauer and comics retailer Larry Charet were brought in. Although Sarno wanted to name the show the Chicago Comic Art and Nostalgia Convention, he was voted down and the name Chicago Comicon was adopted. The first Chicago Comicon was held in the Playboy Towers Hotel on August 6–8, 1976. Special guests were Marvel Comics figurehead Stan Lee, DC Comics publisher Jenette Kahn, seminal cartoonist/editor Harvey Kurtzman,Sarno, Joe. "The Captain's Veranda by Joe Sarno", C.B. Weekly (Comic Book Collectors Bulletin) vol. 3, #90 (September 19, 2001). Archived at Interfan.org. artist Mike Grell, and illustrator Tim Conrad. The show featured a comic auction benefiting Chicago's Alternative Schools Network (later auctions benefited the Literacy Volunteers of Chicago). The first Chicago Comicon attracted 2,100 attendees.
In 1977, the Chicago Comicon moved back to the Pick-Congress Hotel, on 520 S. Michigan Avenue (the location of the 1973 show), where it remained until 1983. (The Pick-Congress was renamed the Americana-Congress Hotel in 1982.) The producers added Bob Weinberg to help coordinate the 1977 show. Attendance reached 3,000 at an admission charge of $3/day. The 1978 show was dubbed "Sweatcon" because of the extreme heat. The 1979 show was produced by Larry Charet and Bob Weinberg; it was the first year that Joe Sarno was not one of the show's organizers. Admission was $3.50/day.
Show organizers hosted a "Chicago Minicon" on April 26–27, 1980, at the usual location of the Pick-Congress Hotel; guests included John Byrne, Max Allan Collins, Tim Conrad, Mike Grell, Paul Kupperberg, and Marv Wolfman. By 1980, the feature show admission was $4/day, and by 1982, it had gone up to $5/day. Will Eisner was the show's guest of honor for 1981 but was unable to attend due to an accident. He returned in 1982 as the guest of honor, which was the same year that the Chicago Comicon merged with Panopticon West, a Doctor Who convention. Again because of overwhelming heat it was dubbed "Sweatcon II."
The Comicon was expanding, and in 1983 the show moved to the larger venue, the Ramada O'Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, a northern suburb. That location was the show's home until 1993 when it relocated to the Rosemont Convention Center (now known as the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center), where it has remained ever since. During the mid-1980s, the show organizers hosted annual one-day "Minicons" every December.
The 1985 program booklet celebrated Marvel Comics' 25th anniversary, followed by the 1987 program celebrating Chicago-based First Comics' 5th anniversary, 1988's booklet marking Eclipse Comics' 10th anniversary, and the 1989 program noted Kitchen Sink Press' 20th anniversary. The 1988 show featured the inaugural presentation of the Harvey Awards. One-day admission for the 1988 comicon was $6. The 1989 show focused on Batman, due to the popularity of Tim Burton's Batman movie. It also featured a panel on underground comics that included Harvey Pekar, Jay Lynch, Skip Williamson, and S. Clay Wilson. One-day tickets for the 1989 show were $7.
The 1992 Chicago Comicon celebrated the "spirits of independence" which features the popularly selling group of creators behind Image Comics. Rob Liefeld held a 24-hour autograph session from Friday morning to Saturday morning. The 1992 show featured 200 dealers, and attendees were charged $10 per person or $25 for a three-day pass.
The 1994 show featured 50 publishers and 300 dealers; it also hosted the Comics Arts Conference.
By 1995, the comics industry was in a slump, and attendance at the show was decreasing. By then, the convention ownership included Charet, while the main show organizer was Moondog Comics owner Gary Colabuono. The 1995 Comicon featured a Stan Lee roast, and again hosted the Comics Arts Conference.
In 1996, the Chicago Comicon became the new home of the Wizard World Fan Awards, which were presented at the show every year until their discontinuation in 2006.
Wizard World Chicago
Wizard Entertainment bought the Chicago Comicon from Charet and his partners in 1997. By the 1997 show, attendance was topping out at 5,000; Wizard's first order of business was to fire the previous convention organizers.
With the 1998 show —out renamed Wizard World Chicago — attendance jumped to 25,000, at a charge of $20 per day or $40 for three days. The 1999 show featured 750 exhibitors.
The 2001 show featured exhibitors like DC, Marvel, Hasbro, and Bandai, and charged attendees $20/day or $40 for the weekend.
By 2006, Wizard World Chicago had expanded to four days and boasted a weekend attendance of over 58,000 people. The 2009 show attracted 70,000 attendees, but neither DC Comics nor Marvel Comics had an official presence at the show.
Disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich made an appearance at the 2010 Wizard World Chicago, conversing with and taking pictures with attendants. He charged $50 for an autograph and $80 for a photo. He also had a humorous televised meeting with Adam West; Blagojevich remarked that he considered The Joker to be the best Batman foil. Comic fandom website bleedingcool.com reported that Blagojevich was met with a mostly positive reception, while Time Out Chicago described it as mixed.
The 2011 show charged $35 for a one-day pass and $60 for a four-day pass at the door.
The 2020 show, scheduled for August 20–23, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next show was scheduled for June 24–27, 2021. The convention was postponed to October 2021 due to COVID-19.
Fan Expo Chicago Wizard Entertainment's conventions were sold to Informa's Fan Expo unit in August 2021, and rebranded accordingly beginning in 2022.
Dates and locations
Dates Location Attendance Official guests Notes July 22–23, 1972 Pick-Congress Hotel, Chicago Known as Nostalgia '72 August 3–5, 1973 Pick-Congress Hotel August 6–8, 1976 Playboy Towers Hotel 2,100 Stan Lee, Jenette Kahn, Harvey Kurtzman, Mike Grell, and Tim Conrad First official Chicago Comicon August 5–7, 1977 Pick-Congress Hotel, Chicago 3,000 Stan Lee, Jenette Kahn, Chester Gould, and Howard Chaykin July 14–16, 1978 2,500 Guest of honor: Chester Gould; other guests include Al Milgrom, Chris Claremont, Rudy Nebres, and Dale Messick Will Eisner was invited to be an "Extra Special Guest", but couldn't attend due to illness. July 20–22, 1979 2,000 July 18-20, 1980 Pick-Congress Hotel Marv Wolfman Source: July 17–19, 1981 Pick-Congress Hotel Guest of honor: Will Eisner. New guests for 1981: Terry Beatty, Jim Engel, Chuck Fiala, Denis Kitchen, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Dean Mullaney. Returning guests: John Byrne, Howard Chaykin, Chris Claremont, Max Allan Collins, Mike Grell, Mike Friedrich, Roger Slifer, Paul Kupperberg, Marshall Rogers, Jim Shooter, Joe Staton, Roger Stern, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, and Cat Yronwode1981 Chicago Comicon program booklet (Chicago Comicon, 1981). Eisner unable to attend due to an accident. July 16–18, 1982 Americana-Congress Hotel Will Eisner July 22–24, 1983 Americana-Congress Hotel The last Chicago Comicon to take place in Chicago (and the last at the Congress hotel) July 6–8, 1984 Ramada O'Hare, Rosemont c. 12,000 Jack Kirby, Julius Schwartz Program cover featuring Superman drawn by Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. July 5–7, 1985 Ramada O'Hare Guest of honor: Sergio Aragonés Labeled the 10th anniversary show July 4–6, 1986 Ramada O'Hare 5,000 Stan Lee (guest of honor), George Pérez (special guest), Doug Wildey July 3–5, 1987 Ramada O'Hare c. 4,500 July 1–3, 1988 Ramada O'Hare c. 5,000 Max Allan Collins and Dick Locher (special guests); other guests: Bernie Wrightson, Michael Kaluta, Dave Stevens, and Chris Claremont June 30–July 2, 1989 Ramada O'Hare c. 5,000 Jim Aparo, Stan Lee, Harvey Pekar, Jay Lynch, Skip Williamson, and S. Clay Wilson July 6–8, 1990 Ramada O'Hare 5,000+ Featured guests: Van Williams, Gerard Christopher, Harvey Kurtzman, and Erik Larsen. Other guests: Mark Gruenwald, Jim Starlin, Tom DeFalco, Len Strazewski, John Ostrander, Kim Yale, Chuck Fiala, P. Craig Russell, Charlie Athanas, Dick Locher, Max Allan Collins, Rick Obadiah, Howard Mackie, and Tony Caputo. June 21–23, 1991 Ramada O'Hare Jim Steranko, Kevin Eastman, and Chris Claremont July 4–6, 1992 Ramada O'Hare Image Comics crew: Rob Liefeld, Mark Silvestri, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Jim Valentino, and Whilce Portacio; Martin Nodell July 2–4, 1993 Rosemont Convention Center 20,000–30,000 Guest of honor: Neil Gaiman July 3–5, 1994 Rosemont Convention Center 20,000+ Guest of honor: Harlan Ellison. Special guest: James O'Barr June 30–July 2, 1995 Rosemont Convention Center 20,000 Guest of honor: Peter David. Special guests: Sal Buscema, Roy Thomas, John Romita Sr., Chris Claremont, Jim Shooter, and Julius Schwartz June 21–23, 1996 Rosemont Convention Center 25,000Barreras, Peter. "Comics klatsch draws 25,000", Chicago Sun-Times (June 25, 1996), p. 48. Guest of honor: Will Eisner; other guests: Harlan Ellison, Larry Marder, Heidi MacDonald, Mike Richardson, Kurt Busiek, Sergio Aragonés, Evan Dorkin, Paul Levitz, Julius Schwartz, Mercy Van Vlack, and George Pérez July 4–6, 1997 Rosemont Convention Center July 17–19, 1998 Rosemont Convention Center 25,000 Guest of honor: Todd McFarlane. Special guests: David Prowse and Kenny Baker July 9–11, 1999 Rosemont Convention Center August 4–6, 2000 Rosemont Convention Center August 17–19, 2001 Rosemont Convention Center 40,000+