Denver Comic Con

Denver Comic Con is a 3-day multigenre convention held annually in Denver, Colorado in the United States. The inaugural convention was held June 15 to 17, 2012^[2] and created as a program for the non-profit educational organization Comic Book Classroom.^[3] The 2014 event was held June 13–15, 2014 at the Colorado Convention Center, and will return on Memorial Day, May 23–25, 2015.

True to its association with the re-branded Pop Culture Classroom, Denver Comic Con embraces a host of popular arts including comic books, tabletop and video games, anime, manga, cosplay, horror and science fiction, webcomics, movies, television and literature.

Overview and history

Comic Book Classroom was founded in 2010,^[4] a Colorado charitable organization focused on enhancing and improving student’s learning experience through the use of comic book media. At the same time, the founders of Comic Book Classroom also created the Denver Comic Con event. The Original Founders of Comic Book Classroom and Denver Comic Con are Charlie LaGreca, Frank Romero, David Vinson and Kevin Vinson.^[5]

Between 2010 and 2012, the Original Founders were joined by accomplished educators Illya Kowalchuk and Christina Angel, and experienced event organizers Michael Newman and Bruce Macintosh, who became an integral part of organizational development as the foundations of both Comic Book Classroom and Denver Comic Con educational programs were developed simultaneously.

The Classroom program debuted the first version of its “Storytelling Through Comics” curriculum to local area schools, and with the help of hundreds of dedicated volunteers and generous donations, the Denver Comic Con event became a reality on Father’s Day weekend, June 15, 2012. It was an unexpected and overwhelming success. The 2013 and 2014 Denver Comic Con’s built on that success.

Proceeds from Denver Comic Con fund the staffing, supplies and infrastructure of The Classroom program that promotes literacy through the medium of sequential art and storytelling. “Storytelling Through Comics” is a graphic literature creation program that is offered free of charge to schools, teachers and community organizations. The program currently offers students an educational experience that includes instruction in reading & vocabulary, writing stories, and eventually the creation of the students’ own comics. Completed entries are then published in a class collection.

In 2014, the Comic Book Classroom Board of Directors voted to change the name to Pop Culture Classroom (PCC).^[6] The name change reflects the board’s broader vision for the organization. In addition to expanding the reach of our comic-based curriculum, PCC seeks to use other elements of pop culture to advance our mission of literacy education and to spark the creative spirit within every child.

Programming and Guests

The Denver Comic Con executes one of the largest programming schedules of any major genre convention, with almost 400 distinct events and panels. The convention includes celebrity panels, seminars with professional creators, actors and artists, workshops with comic book professionals, and the DCC's Reel Heroes Independent Filmmakers Series. DCC's programming and guest line-ups are unique among conventions in that they actively promote the convention's twin missions of Community and Diversity. Among the distinct tracks of programming, for instance, the convention focused on comics and media featuring or produced by Colorado-area comics creators, women, minorities and the LGBTQ Community.^[7]

Like most comic book conventions, Denver Comic Con also features a large floorspace for exhibitors. Elements of the Con floor in Denver include celebrity autographs, a large "Artist Valley", comic book dealers and collectibles merchants, as well as fan-based organizations like the 501st Legion.

Guests have included, Star Trek’s William Shatner, George Takei, and Walter Koenig, Bruce Campbell, Peter Mayhew of Star Wars, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Peter Davison and Daphne Ashbrook from Doctor Who, multi-hyphenate Wil Wheaton, and stars of the casts of Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Walking Dead, and The Guild.

Comics and artistic guests have included Fiona Staples, Neal Adams, Denny O’Neill, Chris Ware (Building Stories), Jeffrey Brown (Darth Vader and Son), Marvel legend Jim Steranko, and indie artists Peter Bagge and Jim Mahfood.

Long lines disrupted Denver Comic Con at the beginning of the 2013 event, when over 15,000 fans lined up for entry. Some fans were turned away on the order of Denver's fire marshall.^[8][9] Over 61,000 fans ultimately attended the convention in 2013.^[10]

Cosplayers are featured during the annual DCC Cosplay Shindig, the Opening Ceremonies with acts and other surprises, and associated events have included the Four Color Mixer, a genre-themed concert traditionally held at the Hard Rock Café Denver.

Partnerships

Since the inaugural 2012 Denver Comic Con, Breckenridge Brewery has collaborated with the Denver Comic Con to brew and sell a specialty beer, with the name chosen by a fan contest.^[11] The 2012 beer, an American wheat ale, was named, “The Fantastic Pour.”^[12] The 2013 beer, a Belgian Wit brewed with Buddha’s Hand fruit, was dubbed "The Caped Brewsader.^[13] In early May of 2014, it was announced that the 2014 beer, an amber ale, will be named "Brews Wayne."^[14]

Aurora Rise, a non-profit group founded to provide financial support to victims of the 2012 Aurora shooting, appeared at the 2013 and 2014 Denver Comic Cons.^[15]

Awards

In March 2013, Denver Comic Con was voted “Best Fan Convention”^[16] by the editors of Westword, a local alternative press publication.

See also

• Fandom
• Science fiction convention
• Comic Art Convention

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Denver Comic Con (category)

• Official website