The Dallas Comic Con is a three-day comic book fan convention now held annually in the Dallas, Texas, area. Larger in scale than the Sci-Fi Expo events under the same management, the Dallas Comic Con (or DCC for short) focuses on comic book artists, writers, and publishers. These events usually also feature question and answer sessions, a large dealers room, and a number of comics and media guests signing autographs. The event is produced by Informa and managed by Ben Stevens.
History
In 2002, Ben Stevens producer of the Sci-Fi Expo (1994-present) and Philip Wise (owner of rebelscum.com and theforce.net) brought on consultant Mark Walters (of the defunct Dallas Fantasy Fair, who had staged the Dallas Comic & Toy Fest from 2000â€"2001) and produced the first Dallas Comic Con. The show attracted 5,000 attendees.
Starting with the October 2012 show, Dallas Comic Con expanded to three days. C2 Ventures sold control of Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo, and Fan Days to Informa in early 2014.
Locations
To date, the Dallas Comic Con has been held at one of four locations, each located in a suburb of Dallas, Texas. Early editions were held at the Plano Centre, in Plano, Texas, or the Richardson Civic Center in Richardson, Texas. Beginning in May 2011, the event relocated to the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas. In May 2014, the Dallas Comic Con relocated to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas.
Dates and guests
"Dallas Comic Con 1.0" was held October 12â€"13, 2002, at the Plano Centre. Fantasy Guests of Honor were Dave Dorman and Greg & Tim Hildebrandt. Comic guests included Amanda Conner, Jim Daly, Nick Derington, Richard Dominguez, Ben Dunn, Steve Erwin, Kerry Gammill, Miles Gunter, Michael Lark, Jaime Mendoza, John Lucas, Joseph Michael, Terry Moore, Mark Murphy, Don Punchatz, Kelsey Shannon, Cal Slayton, Kenneth Smith, and Dave Stevens. Media guests included Carrie Fisher, Amy Allen, Rena Owen, Peter Mayhew, Ray Park, David Naughton, Jackson Bostwick, Linda Blair, Joanna Cameron, Brad Dourif, Ben Chapman, Traci Lords, Cynthia Rothrock, Butch Patrick, Glenn Shadix, and Richard Hatch.
Dallas Comic Con 2.0 was held April 5â€"6, 2003, at the Richardson Civic Center. Comic guests included Tim Bradstreet, Adam Hughes, Dave Dorman, and Frank Cho, Scott Kurtz, Kerry Gammill, Cal Slayton, and Michael Lark. Media guests included Zach Jensen, Tanya Roberts, Chase Masterson, Maud Adams, Anne Ramsay, and David Carradine. A collectible program book was produced with dual covers by artists Dave Dorman and Adam Hughes. A "Celebrity Autograph Series" trading card featuring Zachariah Jensen was distributed to promote this event. While the card is numbered "Promo 1" the line was dropped due to licensing issues and this was the only such card issued.
DCC3 was held October 25â€"26, 2003, at the Plano Centre. Comic guests included Tim Bradstreet, Phil Noto, Adam Hughes, Scott Kurtz, John Lucas, Ben Dunn, Jaime Mendoza, Cal Slayton, and Erik Reeves. Media guests included Warwick Davis, Anthony Daniels, Dave Prowse, Rena Owen, Michonne Bourriague, Amy Allen, John Rhys-Davies, Sala Baker, David Hedison, Mercedes McNab, Brad Dourif, and Jonathan Breck.
DCC4 was held October 23â€"24, 2004, at the Plano Centre. Comic guests included Adam Hughes, Michael Lark, Greg Horn, Dan Brereton, Cal Slayton, and Michael Jantze. Media guests included Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, Orli Shoshan, Iyari Limon, Robia LaMorte, Peter Mayhew, John de Lancie, plus voice actors Kevin Conroy and Arleen Sorkin. A collectible program book was produced with dual covers by artists Adam Hughes and Dan Brereton. Activities at this event included a costume contest and a free screening of the motion picture Saw.
DCC5 was held February 12â€"13, 2005, at the Richardson Civic Center. Comic guests included Bernie Wrightson, Tim Bradstreet, Steve Niles, Mark Brooks, Jaime Mendoza, Scott Kurtz, Todd Nauck, Raven Gregory, Cal Slayton, and Brian Denham. Media guests included Thomas Jane, Patricia Arquette, Sean Astin, and David Anders.
DCC6 was held October 15â€"16, 2005, at the Plano Centre. Comic guests included Mark Brooks, Ale Garza, Cliff Chiang, Rich Buckler, Terry Moore, Michael Lark, James O'Barr, Cal Slayton, Kerry Gammill, Jaime Mendoza, Cat Staggs, Cynthia Cummiens, David Hopkins, Ben Dunn, and Baldo writer Hector Cantú. Media guests included Carrie Fisher, Jonathan Frakes, Adam Baldwin, Kevin Sorbo, Peter Mayhew, Erin Gray, Donnie Dunagan, Marc Singer, Kane Hodder, Bill Johnson, Genie Francis, Bonnie Piesse, plus 2001: A Space Odyssey stars Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood. Other guests included Lucasfilm rep Steve Sansweet, author Paul Black, and Fanboy Radio. A collectible program book was produced with dual covers by artists Mark Brooks and Terry Moore.
DCC7 was held April 29â€"30, 2006, at the Plano Centre. Comic guests included Bernie Wrightson, Dave Dorman, Tony Harris, Howard Chaykin, Steve Niles, Norm Breyfogle, James O'Barr, Cal Slayton, Josh Howard, Jaime Mendoza, Tom Hodges, Cat Staggs, Kerry Gammill, Brian Denham, Ben Dunn, Kez Wilson, Jim Daly, David Hopkins, Brock Rizy, and Tim Bradstreet. Media guests included Thomas Jane, Gates McFadden, John Wesley Shipp, Doug Jones, Alan Ruck, Dwight Schultz, Sarah Douglas, Michael Gross, Jeremy Bulloch, James Hampton, Burton Gilliam, and Karen Allen. A collectible program book was produced with dual covers by artists Dave Dorman and Tom Hodges & Cat Staggs.
DCC8 was held October 28â€"29, 2006, at the Plano Centre. Comic guests included Brian Stelfreeze, Phil Noto, Paul Gulacy, Steve Rude, Mike Grell, Ron Frenz, Mark Brooks, Jaime Mendoza, Kerry Gammill, Steve Erwin, Kez Wilson, Tom Hodges, Cat Staggs, Cal Slayton, and Ben Dunn. Media guests included Amy Acker, Firefly actor Ron Glass, Lane Garrison, Jake Lloyd, Claudia Christian, Musetta Vander, Daniel Logan, Mark Goddard, and Bambi voice actor Donnie Dunagan. Other guests included wrestler Captain Lou Albano, wrestler Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, and reality show teams Team Brown Family and Team Wild Hanlons from the NBC show Treasure Hunters.
DCC9 was held June 30-July 1, 2007, at the Richardson Civic Center. Guest of Honor was Herb Trimpe, co-creator of Wolverine. Comic guests included Billy Tan, Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, Kristian Donaldson, Brian Denham, Josh Howard, The Crow creator James O'Barr, Ben Dunn, Jamie Mendoza, Steve Irwin, Kez Wilson, Kenneth Smith, Cal Slayton, Baldo writer Hector Cantú, multiple Hugo-winning fan artist Brad W. Foster, and more. Media guests included Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress Kristy Swanson, actor Robert Beltran from Star Trek: Voyager, voice actor Billy West, actress Mary Oyaya, and actor James Hampton.
Dallas Comic Con X was held January 12â€"13, 2008, at the Richardson Civic Center. Media guests included Shawnee Smith, the actress who played "Amanda Young" in the first four Saw movies; Ray Park, the actor who played "Darth Maul" in Phantom Menace and "Toad" in X-Men; and a first-ever convention appearance by actress Missi Pyle of Galaxy Quest, Dodgeball, and Heroes. Comic guests included Tony DeZuniga, co-creator of Jonah Hex and Black Orchid for DC Comics; Harold LeDoux, artist of Judge Parker for over 50 years; Scott Kurtz, creator and artist of PvP (Player vs. Player); Kristian Donaldson, artist of "DMZ", "Fallen Angel", and "Supermarket"; Nick Derington, lead animator for A Scanner Darkly; Kristofer Straub, creator and artist of "Starslip Crisis"; Cal Slayton, artist for "Shades of Blue" and "Dead@17"; Brad W. Foster, Hugo Award-winning independent artist from Jabberwocky Graphix; James O'Barr, creator and artist of "The Crow"; Bob Layton, quintessential "Iron Man" artist, co-creator of "X-Factor", Valiant Comics pioneer; Terry Moore, creator and artist of "Strangers in Paradise"; Steve Niles, creator of "30 Days of Night" and "Criminal Macabre"; Cully Hamner, artist of "Blue Beetle" and upcoming "Black Lightning"; Tim Bradstreet, cover artist of "The Punisher"; Matt Sturges, writer for "Jack of Fables" and "Countdown to Mystery"; Brian Denham, artist of "Nova" and "Iron Man: Hypervelocity"; Sarah Wilkinson, sketch card artist for Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Spider-Man 3; David Hopkins, writer of "Astronaut Dad", "Emily Edison", "Dead@17: Rough Cut"; Jaime Mendoza, inker of "Ultimate Fantastic Four" and "X-Men"; Cat Staggs, sketch card artist for Star Wars, Heroes, & Indiana Jones; and Scott Harben, top photographer and sculptor.
Other C2 Ventures events in 2008 were a combined Dallas Comic Con & Sci-Fi Expo featuring "Boba Fett" actor Jeremy Bulloch on April 5â€"6 at the Richardson Civic Center and Star Wars Fan Days II on October 25â€"26 at the Plano Centre.
Dallas Comic Con 12 was held in early 2009 at the Richardson Civic Center with a number of media and comics guests.
Dallas Comic Con 13 was held August 15â€"16, 2009, in Richardson with actors Barry Bostwick, Dean Stockwell, James Hampton, Yancy Butler, and Rene Auberjonois plus more than 30 comics artists and writers, including Paul Smith, Steve Niles, Bill Sienkiewicz, J. Scott Campbell, Cal Slayton, and many more.
Dallas Comic Con 14 was held January 30â€"31, 2010, held at the Richardson Civic Center in Richardson, Texas. Actors in attendance included Adam West, Sean Patrick Flanery, Charisma Carpenter, Daniel Cudmore, Peter Mayhew, Anne Lockhart, and Herb Jefferson, Jr.. Comics creators in attendance included Tim Sale, Adam Hughes, Todd Nauck, Brad W. Foster, Ben Dunn, Michael Golden, Harold LeDoux, Cal Slayton, and many more.
Dallas Comic Con 15 was held August 28â€"29, 2010, at the Richardson Civic Center in Richardson, Texas. Actors in attendance included Edward James Olmos, Luciana Carro, Alan Harris, Mike Edmonds, Lar Park Lincoln, and cast members from the film Machete. Comics guests included Black Cat co-creator Keith Pollard, Dirty Pair artist Adam Warren, artist Angel Medina, plus Pat Broderick, June Brigman, Roy Richardson, Kerry Gammill, Kez Wilson, Ben Dunn, Josh Howard, Joe Eisma, Steve Erwin, John Lucas, Brian Denham, Andre Mangum, David Hopkins, Cal Slayton, Richard Dominguez, Lawrence Reynolds, Anthony Tollin, and others.
Dallas Comic Con 2011 was held May 21â€"22, 2011, at the new Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas. Media guests included actor Leonard Nimoy, actress Carrie Fisher, plus Amanda Pays, John Wesley Shipp, Alexis Cruz, Thomas Jane, Todd Farmer, and cast members from The Walking Dead. Comics guests included comics legend Stan Lee, John Romita, Jr., Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Cal Slayton, Bernie Wrightson, Steve Niles, Tim Bradstreet, Rick Leonardi, Kerry Gammill, Todd Nauck, James O'Barr, and Michael Lark.
Stan Lee Presents Dallas Comic Con was held May 19â€"20, 2012, at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas. Comics guests included Stan Lee, Neal Adams, George Pérez, Len Wein, Arthur Suydam, Jimmy Palmiotti, Cully Hamner, Brian Stelfreeze, Norm Breyfogle, Greg Horn, Mitch Breitweiser, Elizabeth Breitweiser, Alex Saviuk, Sam DeLarosa, Guo Jingxiong, Steve Erwin, Cal Slayton, and Kristian Donaldson. Media guests included Star Trek actors Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie, Star Wars actors David Prowse, Jeremy Bulloch and Peter Mayhew, Batman actors Adam West and Kevin Conroy, plus Burt Ward, and actors Laura Vandervoort, Summer Glau, James Marsters, Anne Lockhart, and Tim Taylor. The largest DCC to date, organizers estimated the total attendance at 20,000 for the weekend.
Another Dallas Comic Con was held October 19â€"21, 2012, at the Irving Convention Center. Official guests included Stan Lee, Bruce Campbell, Robert Englund, Tom Felton, and Sean Astin.
Dallas Comic Con 2013 was held May 17â€"19, 2013, at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas.
Dallas Comic Con: Fan Days was held October 4-6, 2013, at the Irving Convention Center. Official guests included John Barrowman, Simon Bisley, and John Heder.
Dallas Comic Con 2014, the first under the new ownership, was held May 16-18, 2014, at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas, Texas. Notable media guests include Nathan Fillion, William Shatner, Akira Takarada, Christopher Lloyd, and partial cast reunions of Firefly, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Nightmare on Elm Street. Notable comics guests include Stan Lee, Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, David Finch, Mark Bagley, J. Scott Campbell, and Dan Slott. From Firefly, cast members included Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Adam Baldwin, Ron Glass, Sean Maher, Gina Torres, and Jewel Staite. From Star Trek: The Next Generation, cast members included Jonathan Franks, Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, John De Lancie, Denise Crosby. From The Walking Dead, cast members included David Morrissey, Emily Kinney, and Michael Rooker.
Upcoming events
Dallas Comic Con 2015, the second under the new ownership, will be held May 29-31, 2015, at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas, Texas. Notable media guests are scheduled to include Tyler Posey, Robin Lord Taylor, Carrie Fisher, Hulk Hogan, Karen Gillan, Nathan Fillion, Morena Baccarin, Alan Tudyk, Adam West, Burt Ward, Dean Cain, and Laura Vandervoort, . Notable comic guests are scheduled to include Stan Lee, Amanda Conner, Alex Maleev, Esad Ribić, Kaare Andrews, Greg Pak, Steve Epting, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Bob Layton.
See also
- Dallas Fantasy Fair
References
External links
- Official website