East Coast Comicon

Asbury Park Comicon 3 at Asbury Park Convention Hall in Asbury Park, NJ.

The East Coast Comicon is an annual comic book fan convention that takes place in New Jersey. Founded by Cliff Galbraith, it began in 2012 as the Asbury Park Comicon, and took place in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Due to its expansion and the need for a larger venue, it was renamed the East Coast Comicon in 2015, and moved to the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey.

History

The Asbury Park Comicon was founded by Cliff Galbraith and Popculturist Robert Bruce. The show was conceived when Galbraith attended a record fair and observed crowds of people looking through cardboard boxes filled with albums. Galbraith relates, "I said, 'Who else looks through white boxes?' And a light bulb went off." Comparing his convention to the enormous crowds of the much larger New York Comic-Con, which takes place in nearby Manhattan, Galbraith comments, "What we offer is a much more civilized, intimate setting. You can really spend time with the artist. You’re not hustled along."[1] Galbraith and Bruce wanted to create a convention that emphasized comics over the film and television promotions around which many of the conventions they had attended had become centered. The first show took place on May 2, 2012, at the Asbury Lanes live music and bowling venue in Asbury Park, New Jersey.[2][3] The event featured guests Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, Stephanie Buscema, Jamal Igle, Steve Mannion, and Mike Zapcic and Ming Chen of the AMC TV show Comic Book Men.

The second Asbury Park Comicon took place on September 29, 2012, at the Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park.[2][4] The event featured artists Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, Dean Haspiel, Reilly Brown, Mike Zapcic and Ming Chen of the AMC reality series Comic Book Men.

The third Asbury Park Comicon took place on March 30, 2013, at Asbury Park Convention Hall in Asbury Park. The event featured Al Jaffee, Michael E. Uslan, Herb Trimpe, Jamal Igle, Allen Bellman, Don McGregor, Jay Lynch, Rudy Nebres, John Holmstrom, Evan Dorkin, and Bob Camp.[5] The third Asbury Park Comicon was attended by approximately 3,800 comic book fans.[6]

The fourth Asbury Park Comicon took place over the weekend of April 12 and 13, 2014, at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Guests included Jim Steranko, Chris Claremont, Ann Nocenti, J.H. Williams III, Cliff Chiang, Denis Kitchen, Mark Schultz, Box Brown, Andrew Aydin, Don McGregor, Jay Lynch, Jamal Igle, and Peter Bagge. Mike Zapcic, Ming Chen, and Bryan Johnson also appeared.

By 2015, Galbraith realized that the Asbury Park location created too many limitations to the convention's expansion. The Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey would allow to increase the number of featured exhibitors to 300, provide a more convenient location to northern New Jersey and New York City, and free parking.[7] Guests included Neal Adams, Arthur Adams, Jim Steranko, Simon Bisley, Larry Hama, John Holmstrom, Bob Camp, Ann Nocenti, Whilce Portacio, Steve Rude, Don McGregor, Rich Buckler, and many others. Among the panel discussions was one devoted to artist Wally Wood.[1] It was the last comicon to feature Herb Trimpe before his passing on Monday, April 13th, 2015.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Schwartz, Art (April 12, 2015) "Superheroes seize Secaucus: Convention will feature comic book creators, rock artists in April". The Hudson Reporter.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 La Gorce, Tammy (March 24, 2013). "Comic Book Fundamentals". The New York Times.
  3. ↑ "Asbury Park Comic Con Comes to New Jersey". Comic Book Resources. February 22, 2012.
  4. ↑ MacDonald, Heidi (September 27, 2012). "This Weekend: Asbury Park Comic Con II". Comics Beat.
  5. ↑ Re, Mike (March 20, 2013). "Asbury Park is comic central". Asbury Park Press.
  6. ↑ Bennett, Bruce (April 1, 2013). "Back to the Books in Asbury Park". The Wall Street Journal.
  7. ↑ Galbraith, Cliff (2015). "About". East Coast Comicon. Retrieved April 14, 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to East Coast Comicon.