Chapter 260: SDCC Splash!
As July of 1985 came to an end... August came next.
This meant that Creed's next move was set and ready to do what it is intended to do.
This happened at exactly the cusp of August... as the SDCC came around.
As for what the SDCC is... it's the San Diego Comic Convention!
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For those that may not know, 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, they are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels, or college campuses. Featuring 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. For most, they are considered to be derivatives of science-fiction conventions, which began in the late 1930s.
In fact, proponents such as Star Trek and Star Wars are among the ones that are popular in comic cons.
With that said, 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 of these recurring conventions did 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.
They start as humble as they can be... with them starting out in church basements or union halls. It was quite amazing how they would grow to fill convention centers in major cities.
Of course, mirroring their humble beginnings is their simple aspirations. That is to say... comic cons were traditionally organized by fans on a not-for-profit basis and they were more oriented toward comic books as a mode of literature and maintained a less caste-like differentiation between professional and fan.
But with its growing advancement and popularity… it is slowly turning into an event that is run for profit and into something that is completely profit-based for the future to come.
Granted, there are also underliers that preserve the fan-centric spirit and don't really care for the exploitative event that most comic cons would become.
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Standing out from these typical or atypical comic cons… is, of course, the SDCC!
The San Diego Comic-Con, a multi-genre entertainment and comic convention held annually in San Diego since 1970, is considered the standard bearer for comic cons in the United States.
The convention was originally founded back in 1970 by a group of San Diego citizens, including Shel Dorf, Richard Alf, Ken Kruger, and Mike Towry.
It began with Dorf, a Michigan-born comic book fan who had previously started the Detroit Triple-Fan Fairs, one of the very first comic fan conventions. After moving to San Diego in 1970 he organized a one-day convention called Golden State Comic-Minicon.
He followed this up with a three-day convention, the Golden State Comic-Con, which was held at the U.S Grand Hotel for a crowd of 300 people. Over the following years, the convention moved around the city, before settling in the San Diego Convention Center in 1991, where it has been ever since.
Eventually, the San Diego name stuck… and that's how it came to be! From its San Diego pioneer to San Diego as its usual location... its name is on the nose as it can be!
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Of course, that was not just the whole story as the SDCC had a lot of growing to do from there.
Since its inception, the San Diego Comic-Con has maintained a pattern of mostly steady growth, from its humble beginnings of just a few hundred attendees, it has grown over time and keeps growing its audience base after every other year.
As of SDCC 1984, it has held an unto a high number of about 5,500 participants!
The process has been mostly steady, with a likely factor for growth being the convention's good reputation.
Expanding beyond just comic books was also a huge boost for the event. The growth of other pop culture conventions and the popularity of sci-fi and geek-loved films entertainment also proves a growing desire for these events which spans far beyond just San Diego.
Comic-Con includes panels, seminars, and workshops as well as previews of upcoming films. Although they are sparingly few since its establishment… trends do show that it would house a lot more in the years to come.
After all, in recent years, one could see a huge rise in the popularity of many aspects of geek culture, including comic books, and movies based on comic books… big thanks in part to the companies that made it happen.
Still… as it is in the 80s… it still hard to accept and embrace your geekiness and cosplay in public, events such as Comic-Con help feed that love of what is now considered pop culture.
Of course, one of the most important things that help San Diego Comic-Con stand out is its long history.
The convention has been a stable event in the calendars of comic lovers everywhere since before geek was chic. Over the years the events have not just grown but also evolved, to ensure the experiences are as positive as possible.
Comic-Con's solid history of successful events also means it can get a high caliber of panelists and exhibitors, which in turn feeds into the event's future success. Being one of the earliest and most long-running conventions also means that the event itself is now ingrained into pop culture, further increasing its prestige.
Perhaps it is also why it is the comic con that has "Comic-Con" in the name! It wanted to stand out and it did!
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Of course, Creed was not looking to host or spearhead these kinds of events though… they were just looking at it as a boost and the clout it had on the comic book community.
Creed Comics had pretty much become a prevailing force in its industry… which makes it much more obligated to take part in these events.
In all honesty, Alexander never really cared much for Comic-Con or Comic Cons.
Now, with the necessity of it for his re-life endeavor... it became something to put his attention on.
As for why the SDCC is something that can be seen as Creed's next opportunity... it was quite simple really.
Aside from San Diego, California's close proximity to Creed's base of operations... it also had a standing-out popularity compared to the others.
You can't just be the only comic con with a dash for nothing.
Still... proximity, standing-out popularity, and obligations are not the only reason why it was chosen as Creed's next platform of movement.
As mentioned… comic cons are used as a vehicle for industry, in which publishers, distributors, and retailers represent their comic-related releases. It was right around Creed's alley and the San Diego one is the best place to make a splash!
After all, it's not just Creed Comics that will have a spotlight in this event… but toys, costumes, clothes, merchandise, and films will have a platform as well.
It screamed as an opportunity for Creed Entertainment all around… and they would be stupid to miss out on it!