Fan Expo Boston
StatusActive
GenreFan convention
VenueHynes Convention Center (2011-2012)
Seaport Hotel and Seaport World Trade Center (2013-2016)
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (2017-Present)
Location(s)Boston, Massachusetts
CountryUnited States
InauguratedMarch 18, 2007; 16 years ago (2007-03-18)
Next eventJune 28, 2024; 4 months' time (2024-06-28)
Organized byFan Expo HQ/Informa Connect
Websitewww.fanexpoboston.com

Fan Expo Boston, formerly Boston Comic Con, is a multigenre convention held annually in Boston, Massachusetts. Primarily focused on comic books, the convention later featured media guests from film and television, cosplayers, an art auction, a tabletop/CCG/RPG gaming room, and an annual costume contest. After its acquisition by Informa as part of their Fan Expo line, the 2017 edition retired the Comic Con name and was therefore renamed Fan Expo Boston.

History

Founded on March 18, 2007 as a one-day show at the Back Bay Events Center, Boston Comic Con has grown each year and subsequently expanded to two days in 2009 and three days in 2014. The convention moved to the Westin Waterfront Hotel in 2010 and the Hynes Convention Center in 2011. Following a cancellation in April 2013 due to the Boston Marathon bombing, Boston Comic Con relocated to the Seaport Hotel and Seaport World Trade Center in South Boston's seaport district.[1] Immediately following the 2016 convention it was announced that the convention had been sold to London-based Informa, producers of the Fan Expo line of conventions, and would be moving in 2017 to the nearby Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.[2][3] Despite advertising the 2017 convention as BCC's 10th anniversary, the convention opened as "Fan Expo Boston", with the Comic Con name effectively retired from 2018 onward.[4]

Event history

Dates Location Notes
April 30 - May 1, 2011 Hynes Convention Center
Boston, Massachusetts		Guests included J. Scott Campbell, Sanford Greene, Frank Quitely, Stan Sakai, Scott Wegener [5]
April 21–22, 2012 Hynes Convention Center
Boston, Massachusetts		Guests included Talent Caldwell, Jim Cheung, Amanda Conner, Steve Epting, Phil Jimenez, Ed McGuinness, Phil Noto, Jimmy Palmiotti, Mark Texeira, Billy Tucci, Skottie Young[6]
August 3–4, 2013 Seaport World Trade Center
Boston, Massachusetts		Originally scheduled for April 20–21 at the Hynes Convention Center. Postponed due to Boston bombings[7][8]
August 8–10, 2014 Seaport World Trade Center
Boston, Massachusetts		Guests included Neal Adams, Sean Astin, John Barrowman, Amanda Conner, Danielle Corsetto, Adam Kubert, James Marsters, Pop Mhan, Jason Momoa, Eve Myles, Jimmy Palmiotti, Stan Sakai, Alex Saviuk, Jewel Staite, Ben Templesmith, Mark Texeira, Mark Waid, Scott Wegener [9]
July 31-August 2, 2015 Seaport World Trade Center
Boston, Massachusetts		Guests included Hayley Atwell, Frank Cho, Amanda Conner, Stan Lee, Jimmy Palmiotti, Cassandra Peterson, Billie Piper, Humberto Ramos, Amy Reeder, Ben Templesmith[10]
August 12–14, 2016 Seaport World Trade Center
Boston, Massachusetts		Guests included Gillian Anderson, John Barrowman, Mark Brooks, John Cassaday, Jenna Coleman, Amanda Conner, Katie Cook, Karen Gillan, Elizabeth Henstridge, Phil Jimenez, Erik Larsen, Jae Lee, David Lloyd (comics), Caity Lotz, Vic Mignogna, Frank Miller (comics), Mike Norton, Jimmy Palmiotti, Dan Parent, Andy Price, Stan Sakai, Tim Seeley, William Shatner, Brian Stelfreeze, Billy Tucci, Karl Urban, Mark Waid, Marv Wolfman[11]
August 11–13, 2017 Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Boston, Massachusetts		Guests included Neal Adams, Troy Baker, John Barrowman, Nick Bradshaw, Zach Callison, Greg Capullo, Katie Cassidy, Charlet Chung, Jim Cummings, Anthony Daniels, Felicia Day, Eliza Dushku, Kara Eberle, Maile Flanagan, Karen Gillan, Jennifer Hale, Jess Harnell, Phil Jimenez, Stan Lee, Charles Martinet, Jason Mewes, Amanda C. Miller, Trina Nishimura, Nolan North, Bryce Papenbrook, Fernando Ruiz, Kevin Smith, Matt Smith (actor), Ian Somerhalder, Veronica Taylor, Ty Templeton, Alan Tudyk, Karl Urban, Ming-Na Wen, Billy West, Arryn Zech[12]
August 10–12, 2018 Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Boston, Massachusetts		Guests included Neal Adams, Soni Aralynn, Justin Briner, Zach Callison, J. Scott Campbell, Greg Capullo, Amanda Conner,Michaela Dietz, Dave Dorman, Emma Dumont, Estelle, Joe Flanigan, Michael J. Fox, Jeff Goldblum, Cecil Grimes, Deedee Mango Hall, Yaya Han, Chad Hardin, David Hayter, Richard Horvitz, Amy Jo Johnson, Josh Keaton, Maurice LaMarche, Greg Land, Ken Lashley, Jae Lee, Jim Lee, Christopher Lloyd, Ed McGuinness, Bob McLeod, Jonboy Meyers, Jason Momoa, Mark Morales, Jessica Nigri, Jimmy Palmiotti, Dan Parent, Rob Paulsen, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Lucie Pohl, Andy Price, Frank Quitely, Humberto Ramos, Fernando Ruiz, Chris Sabat, Chris Sarandon, Sean Schemmel, Jeremy Shada, William Shatner, Mark Sheppard, Brent Spiner, Jewel Staite, Brian Stelfreeze, Tara Strong, Catherine Tate, Lea Thompson, Billy Tucci, Chris Uminga, LeeAnna Vamp, Billy Dee Williams, Tom Wilson[13]
August 16–18, 2019 Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Boston, Massachusetts		Guests included Stephen Amell, Sean Astin, Steve Blum, Rodger Bumpass,  Peter Capaldi,  Greg Capullo, Frank Cho, Roger Clark, Becky Cloonan, Peter Cullen, Grey DeLisle, John DiMaggio, Jason David Frank, Will Friedle, Todd Haberkorn, Laurie Holden, Jody Houser, Zachary Levi, Vanessa Marshall,  Todd McFarlane,  Phil Noto,  Paige O'Hara,  Edward James Olmos,  Bryce Papenbrook, Dan Parent, Marc Silvestri, Gail Simone, Dan Slott, Patricia Summersett, Fred Tatasciore, Ty Templeton,  Mark Texeira, Cristina Vee.[14]
August 7–9, 2020 Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Boston, Massachusetts		Cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic [15]
September 3–5, 2021 Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Boston, Massachusetts		Originally scheduled for August 6–8[16][17]
August 12–14, 2022 Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Boston, Massachusetts		Guests included Zach Aguilar, Jeff Anderson, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Justin Briner, Gina Carano, C.B. Cebulski, Clifford Chapin, Frank Cho, Anthony Daniels, John de Lancie, Dan DiDio, Steve Downes, Ashley Eckstein, Giancarlo Esposito, Trevor Fehrman, Jonathan Frakes, Will Friedle, Michael Golden, Chloé Hollings, Martin Kove, Kristin Kreuk, Matthew Lewis, Jeph Loeb, Kevin Maguire, David Matranga, Ewan McGregor, Ed McGuinness,Kristen McGuire, Bob McLeod, Steve McNiven, Jason Mewes, Frank Miller, Dominic Monaghan, Nolan North, Brian O'Halloran, Ken Page, Bryce Papenbrook, Dan Parent, Joe Quesada Carolina Ravassa, Tone Rodriguez, Christy Carlson Romano, Michael Rosenbaum, Josef Rubinstein, Chris Sarandon, Alex Saviuk, Kevin Smith, Arthur Suydam, David Tennant, Alexis Tipton, Cristina Vee, Tom Welling, Ming-Na Wen, Keith Williams, Renée Witterstaetter, Elijah Wood, William Zabka[18]
August 4–6, 2023 Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Boston, Massachusetts		[19]
June 28–30, 2024 Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
Boston, Massachusetts		Upcoming event

Notable Events

Chef Paul Wahlberg filmed a segment of his reality show Wahlburgers (episode six of season three) at Boston Comic Con on Friday, August 1, 2014 which aired on Wednesday, February 11, 2015.[20]

Guests Manu Bennett, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Brian Azzarello and more appeared alongside several cosplayers at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox's inaugural "Boston Comic Con Night" on July 30, 2015.[21]

Mayor Marty Walsh appeared on August 1, 2015 to declare Stan Lee Day in Boston in honor of Stan Lee's appearance at Boston Comic Con.[22]

References

  1. ^ Taggart, Olivia. (August 1, 2013) "Framingham native expects crowd of 15,000 at Boston Comic Con." MetroWestDailyNews.com. Retrieved on December 6, 2015.
  2. ^ "Boston Comic Con, Officially Sold To Informa As Part Of FanExpo". Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News. 2016-08-14. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  3. ^ "Boston Comic Con | August 11–13, 2017". Boston Comic Con. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  4. ^ "BOSTON COMIC CON NOW FAN EXPO BOSTON? |". www.starwarsautographcollection.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  5. ^ "Boston Comic Con 2011 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  6. ^ "Boston Comic Con 2012 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  7. ^ "Boston Comic Con 2013 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  8. ^ "Boston Comic Con 2013 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  9. ^ "Boston Comic Con 2014 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  10. ^ "Boston Comic Con 2015 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  11. ^ "Boston Comic Con 2016 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  12. ^ "Boston Comic Con 2017 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  13. ^ "Fan Expo Boston 2018 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  14. ^ "Fan Expo Boston 2019 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  15. ^ Liptak, Andrew. "Coronavirus: The Sci-Fi/Fantasy Conventions Canceled So Far," Tor.com (March 15, 2020).
  16. ^ "Fan Expo Boston 2021 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  17. ^ "Fan Expo Boston 2021 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  18. ^ "Fan Expo Boston 2022 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  19. ^ "Fan Expo Boston 2023 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  20. ^ A&E. "Wahlburgers: Paul Geeks Out at Comic Con (S3, E6)". YouTube.com. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  21. ^ Abreu, Mallory. (July 31, 2015) "Boston Comic Con kicks off with a night at Fenway. The Boston Globe. Retrieved on December 6, 2015.
  22. ^ Shanahan, Mark. (August 2, 2015) "Stan Lee honored in Boston with day of his own. The Boston Globe. Retrieved on December 6, 2015.

External links

42°20′44.84″N 71°02′45.28″W / 42.3457889°N 71.0459111°W / 42.3457889; -71.0459111

Informa
List of multigenre conventions in North and South America
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