ComicCon International(CCI) was established in 1970 as a comic book convention started by a group of comic book, movie, and science fiction fans. The purpose of the one-day convention was to raise money in order to host a larger event, leading to the first three-day long San Diego ComicCon in that same year, with over 300 people in attendance. This second event later became the model for almost every other comic book convention to follow. It included programs, panels, dealers’ rooms, and even film screenings. CCI originally started in the basement of the U.S.
Grant Hotel but now takes over the San Diego Convention Center, and often needs to utilize secondary locations (ComicCon International). Wizard World ComicCon (W.W.
ComicCon) was established in 1972 as comic and collectible convention in the Chicago area. —-More will eventually be added to this paragraph; I’m just struggling to find information about this that isn’t Wikipedia.Cosplay technically was established during the Masquerade Balls of the 15th century, however, the ‘fan costuming’ did not actually start until the United States until the 1930s. During this time period, it was more common for people to dress within a genre (almost like a themed party) as opposed to attempting to mimic a character’s costume. Forrest Ackerman was the pioneer of cosplay; he was the first person to attend a science fiction convention dressed in costume. This started a trend of attendees wearing costumes to the convention and having prizes for those dressed in what was deemed ‘best costume.’ Cosplay then made its’ way to Japan where convention attendees would dress as their favorite manga and TV characters. A Japanese reporter, Nobuyuki Takahashi, is credited with inventing the word ‘cosplay’ in the 1980’s after combining the words ‘costume’ and ‘play’ while trying to find a better translation of the word ‘masquerade.
‘ DragCon was established in 2015 by World of Wonder and RuPaul Charles. RuPaul was quoted saying, “that it DragCon was created to give his fans and LGBT people, in general, to take the online connections they’ve made to create bonds in-person (Sugarman, 2015).” Drag is defined as entertainment in which performers dressed as members of the opposite sex caricature gender stereotypes through the use of often outrageous costumes and exaggerated mannerisms (Merriam-Webster). The concept of Drag has been in existence for over 2400 years, though drag as we know it today was established in the 1800’s. Men portraying female characters in theatre productions is what started drag.
Women were not allowed to perform on stage due to a variety of reasons, but someone needed to portray the female characters. This was left up to boys and younger men wearing masks to act as those female characters. Drag balls were a safe haven for gay men in the 1800’s and 1900’s and are considered crucial in modern LGBTQ+ culture. The Stonewall Riots in 1969 helped to transform radical gender norms to further develop LGBTQ+ culture, helping drag to eventually become a main stream concept (Course Notes, Topic 2). —–Can I cite our course notes?ComparisonSponsorship Many conventions have companies as sponsors each year as a way to cut costs for attendees and to provide more and better experiences for guests. These sponsors typically pay the convention organizers in order to advertise their product, the more money the corporations pay, the more advertisements they are allowed to have.
These sponsors usually relate to the convention in one way or another. The companies want to advertise to their demographics in order to help promote sales and advertising at these conventions is an excellent way to accomplish that. Sponsors for CCI include Amazon, AMC, Baby Tattoo, Comixology, DC, DragonBallZ, Fox, FX, Hulu, Marvel Studios, NBC, Netflix, Nintendo, San Diego Public Library, SYFY, YouTube Originals, and ComicCon Village(Citation). Comixology is… (Citation).Sponsors for W.W. ComicCon include HP, Sapporo, CBS, the CW, Disney, Coca-Cola Zero, U.
S. Army, Navy, Verizon, Fox, Cirque du Soleil, Warner Brothers, Liberty Mutual, Direct TV, Discovery Science, Marvel, Mini, State Farm, Sony, Paramount, Sprint, PDP, Lionsgate, Mountain Dew, T-Mobile, Wikia, Universal, Activision, Chrysler, Six Flags, Capcom, and 5-Hour Energy(Citation). Sponsors for LA DragCon include Wow Presents Plus, Jeffree Star Cosmetics, VH1, World of Wonder, Anastasia Beverly Hills, 99 Brand, Arda Wigs, Dermablend Professional, Facebook, Fireball Whiskey, Mary’s Hamburger, Identity Vodka, Mamma Mia Here We Go Again, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, and Micky’s West Hollywood(Citation).Sponsors for NYC DragCon include WOW Presents Plus, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Lime, Mally Cosmetics, Patchology, 99 Brand, Fireball Whiskey, WH1, World of Wonder and Dermablend Professional(Citation).
