Wizard Entertainment Inc. , formerly known as Wizard World , was a producer of multi-genre fan conventions across North America .
47-450: The company that became Wizard Entertainment began in 1991 as Wizard Press , the publisher of the monthly magazine Wizard . That company evolved into a multi-title publishing company with diversified interests in branded products and related convention operations. By 2011, the company had discontinued its print division to focus exclusively on its convention business. By 2015, the company had expanded to producing 25 annual conventions around
94-429: A price guide to comics but evolved into focusing squarely on pop culture, specifically targeting young adult males. (The magazine ultimately featured a price guide to comics and action figures in the back of the magazine.) With its high-end production values and embodiment of the comic speculator boom, Wizard was an instant hit, with a monthly circulation of more than 100,000 copies (although by early 2006, circulation
141-470: A price guide , as well as comic book, movie , anime , and collector news, interviews, and previews. Wizard launched in July 1991. With issue #7, the magazine switched to glossy paper and color printing. Wizard strongly supported new publishers Valiant Comics and Image Comics , heavily promoting their new releases. With its high-end production values and embodiment of the comic speculator boom, Wizard
188-505: A "Wizard World New York Experience" focused on "celebrities, creators, sports stars, music, exhibitors, parties and other attractions" — very little comics content. The rest of Wizard's 2013 convention schedule included Portland, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Wizard World Chicago , Ohio Comic Con , Nashville, Austin, and New Orleans. In September 2013, Wizard World announced seven new stops for the 2014 tour: Sacramento, Louisville, Minneapolis, Atlanta, San Antonio, Richmond, and Tulsa. Wizard gave up
235-515: A "major offensive against Reed Exhibitions ' New York Comic Con ," Wizard scheduled "three East Coast shows in a row — the New England Comic-Con in Boston on October 1-3, Big Apple the same weekend, and the new New Jersey Comic-Con the weekend after, on October 15-17." The 2010 Big Apple Comic Con was scheduled for October 7–10, the same dates as the previously scheduled New York Comic Con. After
282-710: 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
329-540: A competitive advantage over these comic cons because they do not have our economies of scale and operating efficiencies.... Further, the size of our Comic Cons and the volume at which we produce them give us the leverage to negotiate discounts on such things as hotels and other travel expenses.... We also believe that the size and volume of our Comic Con tours create a barrier to entry of new industry participants because, due to their size, such new industry participants would find it difficult to enter into certain markets, such as
376-590: 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 . 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
423-456: 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
470-468: 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 ", e.g. the hot-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
517-436: A practice of producing specially offered Wizard #½ issues. These were special issues of ongoing major comic book series which featured in-continuity stories that supplemented the regular series' published issues. The issues were numbered #½ so as not to disrupt the series' ongoing numbering system. Often Wizard would also include free pack-in issues with their magazines, usually numbered as Wizard #0. The magazine presented
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#1732859041969564-564: A public outcry, Wizard ended up moving the dates of its 2010 New York convention to October 1–3. (Additionally, the planned Wizard 2010 New Jersey convention was canceled.) Despite Wizard World's setbacks in Atlanta/Charlotte and New York City, by late 2010, it was apparent that the company's strategy was to blanket the U.S. with Wizard conventions, including buying previously existing small-scale shows in various locations. Wizard went public in 2011; its financial statements proved that it
611-465: A round table discussion with creators in the comic book film industry. Despite all these changes, however, the magazine was losing subscribers at an unsustainable rate; by December 2010, its circulation was just 17,000 copies. On January 24, 2011, Rich Johnston of the website Bleeding Cool confirmed that the magazine would cease print publication, that almost all of its magazine staff had been laid off, and all freelance engagements were canceled. This
658-465: A three-day pass. The 1994 show featured fifty 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
705-728: A weekend attendance of over 58,000 people. In May 2002, Wizard branched out from Chicago and produced Wizard World East at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. And in 2003 the company produced Wizard World Texas, adding Wizard World Los Angeles in 2004 and Wizard World Boston in 2005. In 2007–2008, Wizard held conventions in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago , and Texas. In 2008 , Wizard began adding an academic forum called "Wizard World University," integrating scholarly panels into its conventions, beginning with
752-423: A while, particularly from those who resented the show's declining emphasis on the traditional comics market and more on things like professional wrestlers and old TV shows. In addition, local dealers resented the show's location outside of Chicago's city limits and its high exhibition prices. The 2009 show, for the first time, had no representation from major publishers like DC and Marvel. According to Deanna Isaacs of
799-533: The Chicago Comicon in 1997 to expand from its core publishing business into trade/consumer conventions. In early 2011, the company made some major corporate transitions. First, through an arrangement with Strato Malamas of the holding company GoEnergy, it became a publicly traded company known as Wizard World . At the same time, it abruptly canceled Wizard magazine and its other remaining publication, ToyFare , to focus on its convention business. Shamus
846-568: 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
893-592: The Wizard Fan Awards annually for works of distinction within the comics industry from 1993 to 2006. In 1993, the awards were presented at Dragon Con ; in 1994, they were presented at Great Eastern Conventions ' Philadelphia Comic Book Spectacular; in 1995, the awards moved their home to the Chicago Comicon (later renamed Wizard World Chicago), where they remained for the remainder of their existence. Wizard World Chicago Fan Expo Chicago (formerly Wizard World Chicago Comic Con , and commonly known as
940-545: 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,
987-490: 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
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#17328590419691034-529: The 1998 show, now 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
1081-482: 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 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 organizers. With
1128-1041: The New York market after 2013 due to the dominance of the New York Comic Con; in 2014 the Big Apple con was reacquired by its founder, Michael Carbonaro. The explosion in Wizard-produced conventions brought accusations that the entertainment behemoth was deliberately trying to push its competitors out of business. On the other hand, many praised Wizard's professional and standardized approach to producing conventions. In 2015, Wizard produced 25 conventions but lost $ 4.25 million in revenue. The 2016 schedule, cut back to 19 events, included Wizard cons in Portland, Cleveland, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Madison, Minneapolis, Des Moines, Philadelphia, Sacramento, Albuquerque, Columbus , Orlando, Chicago , Richmond, Austin, Tulsa, and Pittsburgh. By 2018,
1175-640: The November convention in Arlington, Texas. Beginning in 2005 , Wizard CEO Gareb Shamus made a concerted push to dominate the North American convention circuit. First, Wizard announced that it would be holding a comic book convention in Atlanta from June 30–July 2, 2006, the same dates on which the long-running Charlotte, North Carolina -based Heroes Convention was scheduled to take place. This caused an outcry amongst
1222-511: The U.S. In 2021, Wizard sold its convention events business to FanExpo . Gareb Shamus founded Wizard magazine in January 1991 shortly after he graduated from college. The company was originally based in Congers, New York . Wizard magazine was successful, and the company expanded its publishing operations with more magazines devoted to other elements of the collectible industry. Wizard purchased
1269-400: The comic book community, as Atlanta is only a four-hour drive from Charlotte, and several comic book creators voiced concerns about an attempt by a large, corporate event to force out an independent comic book convention. As a result of the outcry, many prominent creators signed up to appear at HeroesCon 2006 rather than the competing Wizard con. Wizard ultimately announced that it would postpone
1316-583: The company announced that Wizard would cease print publication and become an all-digital magazine called Wizard World , launching in February 2011. At that point Wizard Entertainment also ceased publication of its sister magazine, ToyFare . In 2000 , Wizard founder Shamus forayed into the world of actual comic book publishing, creating the imprint Black Bull Entertainment , featuring several well-known creators, including Mark Waid , Chris Eliopoulos , Nelson DeCastro , and Garth Ennis . The first Black Bull title
1363-403: The company was producing thirteen annual conventions around the U.S. The COVID-19 pandemic hit Wizard Entertainment hard — as it did the convention business worldwide. Most 2020 conventions scheduled for after mid-March of that year were canceled, and many moved online in 2021. Wizard World held only six in-person conventions in 2021, and that August the company announced it would be selling
1410-508: The convention events business to FanExpo , with the final Wizard World Chicago show occurring in October. Wizard (magazine) Wizard or Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture (previously titled Wizard: The Guide to Comics and Wizard: The Comics Magazine ) was a magazine about comic books , published monthly in the United States by Wizard Entertainment from July 1991 to January 2011. It included
1457-405: 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
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1504-734: The larger metropolitan cities. Wizard's 2011 convention calendar included "a show-a-month schedule" and guest-lists of "nerd-lebrities of various levels of fame,... turning their shows into autograph-focused events." Ultimately, however, Wizard scaled back its 2011 operations to seven shows — New Orleans, Toronto , Big Apple (New York), Philadelphia, Mid-Ohio , and Austin — ultimately canceling scheduled conventions in Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, and Central Canada . In addition, previously announced new Wizard conventions in New Jersey, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Nashville never materialized. Wizard skipped New York altogether in 2012 , returning in 2013 with
1551-453: The magazine, shifting focus from reviews and humor to information about upcoming comics and the industry as a whole. The three-page "Magic Words" section, which consisted of reader questions, was dropped and replaced by "Fan Mail", a half-page section allowing three short (and often humorous) letters. Soon after, in August 2008, longtime Wizard Editor Brian Cunningham was removed. The final editor
1598-741: The planned Atlanta convention until 2007. In 2009 , Wizard canceled its Texas event and postponed the Los Angeles convention. That spring and summer, however, Shamus/Wizard acquired the Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon and the Big Apple Comic Con , New York City's longest-running comic book, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and pop culture convention. Wizard Entertainment's 2010 planned North American Comic Con tour included city stops in Toronto , Anaheim, Philadelphia, Chicago , New York City , Boston, New Jersey, and Austin. As part of
1645-633: 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 , but that show was cancelled. In 1975, Warner approached local comic book store owner Joe Sarno and his associate Mike Gold to produce
1692-428: 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
1739-752: The show. Their job was to overcome Chicago's reputation of being a sub-par convention city. 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 president Jenette Kahn , seminal cartoonist/editor Harvey Kurtzman , artist Mike Grell , and illustrator Tim Conrad. The show featured
1786-415: Was a former staff writer and managing editor Mike Cotton. On February 27, 2009, Wizard laid off 10% of its workforce, including its three staff writers, in order to make room for freelance writers. Wizard was relaunched with issue #228 (August 2010), which featured Mark Millar as a guest editor. The magazine returned to its strictly comic book roots. The issue featured a Green Hornet film cover and
1833-469: Was an instant hit, with a monthly circulation of more than 100,000 copies. The magazine's success led Wizard Entertainment to launch several ongoing magazines dedicated to similar interests — such as InQuest Gamer for collectible game cards (published 1995–2007), ToyFare for toys and action figures (1997–2011), Anime Insider for anime and manga (2001–2009), and Toy Wishes for mainstream toy enthusiasts ( c. 1999– c. 2008). In 2006, Wizard
1880-618: Was confirmed later that day by Wizard , who also revealed that its sister magazine, ToyFare , was also canceled. According to the publication's representatives, Wizard would be relaunched in February 2011 as an online magazine called Wizard World . The first issue of Wizard World was made available online and through major digital distribution channels on March 2, 2011. The magazine went through an ever-changing line-up of regular and semi-regular features, including: Retired features include Both Wizard and ToyFare often featured mail-away offers for exclusive merchandise. Wizard began
1927-400: Was doubling down on dominating the North American convention market: The majority of our target audience is male-oriented and are major buyers of many types of entertainment and media.... We believe that this male demographic consists of tens of millions consumers in the United States and has hundreds of billions in spending power.... Our competitors are local one-time event comic cons. We have
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1974-434: Was down to around 50,000). The magazine also spawned several ongoing magazines dedicated to similar interests, such as InQuest Gamer (launched 1995), for collectible game cards; ToyFare: The Toy Magazine , for toys and action figures (launched 1997); Anime Insider (launched 2001) for anime and manga; and Toy Wishes (launched 2001) for mainstream toy enthusiasts. On January 24, 2011, after 20 years of publication,
2021-617: 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
2068-641: 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, while Wizard Entertainment's conventions were sold to Informa 's Fan Expo unit in August, and rebranded accordingly beginning in 2022. By 2009, criticism of Wizard World Chicago had been mounting for
2115-568: Was pushed out as company CEO in late 2011; his position was taken in March 2012 by John Macaluso. In 2015, the company lost $ 4.25 million in revenue and cut back from 25 to 19 convention events in 2016. Less than a week after the announcement of the losses, Macaluso resigned as CEO and was replaced by John D. Maatta. In 2018, Wizard World was renamed Wizard Entertainment, Inc. In 2021, after selling its last few conventions to FanExpo, Wizard Entertainment essentially ceased to exist. Wizard started as
2162-464: Was revamped with a bigger look and more pages, switching from the "perfect bound" staple-free look to that of a more traditional magazine. In November 2006, Wizard magazine editor-in-chief and co-founder Pat McCallum was fired, after more than a decade with the company. Wizard declined to say why he was removed. On February 21, 2007, Scott Gramling was announced as the new editor-in-chief. After issue #200 (June 2008), Wizard made several changes to
2209-494: Was the limited series Gatecrasher: Ring of Fire . Black Bull's titles included: Black Bull published comics through 2005. Wizard purchased the Chicago Comicon in 1996 ; the renamed " Wizard World Chicago " was the template for a new kind of convention that shifted its focus from actual comic books to ancillary elements of pop culture fandom: celebrity performers, films, television, video games, and toys – "comic conventions" almost in name only. By 2006, Wizard World Chicago boasted
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