GalaxyCon, LLC
Company typePrivate
Genre
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006)
FounderMike S. Broder
Headquarters
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
,
US
Area served
United States
Websitegalaxycon.com

GalaxyCon, LLC, formerly known as Super Conventions or Supercon,[1] is a privately owned company based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that organizes comic book and anime conventions in the United States.[2][3] Events currently include GalaxyCon Raleigh (formerly Raleigh Supercon) in Raleigh, North Carolina, GalaxyCon Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, GalaxyCon Columbus in Columbus, Ohio and GalaxyCon Austin in Austin, Texas.[2][4][5][6][7]

As of 2019, the "Supercon" trademark only applies to Florida Supercon. All other conventions have been renamed GalaxyCon.[5][8] Florida Supercon, held in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale metro areas, was sold to ReedPop in early 2019.[9]

History

The first Supercon was organized by founder Mike Broder in late 2006 at the Ramada Hollywood Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida, called Florida Supercon.[10][11] He was looking to bring a large scale convention to south Florida.[12] Another event, Anime Supercon, took place in Fort Lauderdale five months later.[13] Estimated attendances at each event averaged around 2,000 people.[10][11][13] As success grew, other conventions were added throughout the Fort Lauderdale and Miami metro areas.

An attempt was made in November 2008 to hold a longstanding Supercon outside of Florida, in Atlanta, Georgia, but it was not as prosperous as the Florida events.[14] Another try did not take place until July 2017 with Raleigh Supercon in North Carolina, replacing the promotional Wizard World Raleigh Comic Con which eventually moved to nearby Winston-Salem after the 2015 event.[15] Raleigh Supercon 2017 drew in an estimated 30,000 people for the weekend.[2][4][16] Super Conventions later acquired the former Derby City Comic Con in Louisville, Kentucky, which was re-branded as Louisville Supercon.[17] The inaugural event took place in November 2018.[18]

Two recent conventions, Animate! Florida (formerly known as Animate! Miami) and Paradise City Comic Con (formerly known as Magic City Comic Con[19]), were discontinued in 2018 so Super Conventions could concentrate on their three Supercon events.[2][3] Both of those had taken place in Miami.

Sale of Florida Supercon and convention name changes

On March 11, 2019, it was announced that Broder sold Florida Supercon and the "Supercon" trademark to ReedPop of Norwalk, Connecticut.[9] The company owns a number of conventions around the world, including New York Comic Con and MCM London Comic Con.[9] Management for the events in Raleigh and Louisville will remain the same under Broder, but are renamed as GalaxyCon.[8][20] Also added are GalaxyCon events in Richmond, Virginia and Minneapolis, Minnesota.[8] Florida Supercon, now managed by ReedPop, will continue to have its annual event in early July.[5]

List of current GalaxyCon events

Name Location Venue Most Recent Event Year First Started
GalaxyCon Minneapolis Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis Convention Center November 6–8, 2020 2019[7]
GalaxyCon Raleigh Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh Convention Center July 27–30, 2023 2017[21]
GalaxyCon Richmond Richmond, Virginia Greater Richmond Convention Center March 24–25, 2023 2019[6]
GalaxyCon Austin Austin, TX Austin Convention Center September 1–3, 2023 2023[22]
GalaxyCon Columbus Columbus, OH Greater Columbus Convention Center December 1–3, 2023 2022[23]
Nightmare Weekend Richmond Richmond, Virginia Greater Richmond Convention Center October 13-15, 2023 2023[24]

Notes: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, GalaxyCon Raleigh was rescheduled for July 29 – August 1, 2021.[25] In April, the convention announced that due to economic conditions and issues with the venue, GalaxyCon would not be returning to Louisville for 2020.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ Florida Department of State – GalaxyCon,LLC Retrieved Aug. 5, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Super Conventions, Retrieved Jul. 12, 2018.
  3. ^ a b AnimeCons.com – Super Conventions, Retrieved Jul. 12, 2018.
  4. ^ a b GalaxyCon Raleigh, Retrieved Jul. 12, 2018
  5. ^ a b c Florida Supercon, Retrieved Jul. 12, 2018
  6. ^ a b GalaxyCon Richmond, Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  7. ^ a b GalaxyCon Minneapolis, Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c GalaxyCon, Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c ReedPOP, ReedPOP Adds Florida Supercon To Its Family Of Pop Culture Conventions, March 11, 2019, Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  10. ^ a b AnimeCons.com – Florida Supercon 2006, Retrieved Jul. 12, 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Florida Supercon expects biggest turnout in July". Miami Herald. McClatchy. 3 June 2016. ISSN 0898-865X. OCLC 2733685. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  12. ^ Fernandez, Elizabeth (26 June 2015). "Mike Broder: The super geek behind Supercon". thenewtropic.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2020. It started as a small gathering of Superman fans, hence the name, but Florida Supercon has exploded in popularity, outgrowing venue after venue until it finally landed at the Miami Beach Convention Center, where this weekend close to 45,000 guests are expected to attend.
  13. ^ a b AnimeCons.com – Anime Supercon 2007, Retrieved Jul. 12, 2018.
  14. ^ AnimeCons.com – Atlanta Supercon, Retrieved Jul. 12, 2018.
  15. ^ WRAL Channel 5, Out and About – Wizard World, Retrieved Jul. 12, 2018.
  16. ^ Visit Raleigh, 15+ Major Upcoming Events and Festivals in Raleigh, N.C., July 6, 2018, Retrieved Jul. 12, 2018.
  17. ^ Cision PRWeb, Supercon To Launch a New Geek Event in Louisville in 2018, January 8, 2018, Retrieved Jul. 12, 2018.
  18. ^ Louisville Downtown Partnership, November 30 – December 2: Louisville Supercon, Retrieved Jun. 16, 2019.
  19. ^ Valys, Phillip (March 28, 2016). "Animate Florida, Paradise City Comic Con level up to Fort Lauderdale". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 18, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  20. ^ GalaxyCon – Contact, Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  21. ^ Overton, Rodney (15 July 2017). "Nearly 20,000 expected at first-ever Raleigh Supercon this weekend". WNCN. Raleigh, North Carolina. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020. Inside the convention center, hundreds of vendors lined up to sell their products to eager customers. It's a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to reach a select clientele of nearly 20,000 people who are expected to flock to Raleigh this weekend.
  22. ^ "GalaxyCon Austin". GalaxyCon. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  23. ^ "GalaxyCon Columbus". GalaxyCon. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  24. ^ "Nightmare Weekend Richmond". GalaxyCon. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  25. ^ Broder, Mike (24 July 2020). "GalaxyCon Raleigh Announcement". galaxycon.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020. Due to the current situation regarding Covid-19 we will be postponing our July 30 – August 2, 2020 GalaxyCon Raleigh event. The new event dates for GalaxyCon Raleigh are December 10–13, 2020.
  26. ^ GalaxyCon Louisville, Retrieved Apr. 17, 2020.
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