Fan Expo Boston, formerly Boston Comic Con, is a

multigenre convention Fan convention (also known as con or fan meeting), a term that predates 1942, is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some ...

held annually in

Boston, MA Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

. 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 Informa plc is a British publishing, business intelligence, and exhibitions group based in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has offices in 43 countries and around 11,000 ...

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 The Boston Marathon bombing was a domestic terrorist attack that took place during the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Two terrorists, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs, w ...

, Boston Comic Con relocated to the

Seaport Hotel and Seaport World Trade Center The Seaport Boston Hotel and World Trade Center is a hotel and conference center complex located on the South Boston Waterfront in Boston, Massachusetts. The South Boston Waterfront is also known as the Boston Seaport District and the Innovation ...

in South Boston's seaport district. Immediately following the 2016 convention it was announced that the convention had been sold to London-based

, producers of the Fan Expo line of conventions, and would be moving in 2017 to the nearby

Boston Convention and Exhibition Center The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) is an exhibition center in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is among the largest exhibition centers in the Northeastern United States, with approximately 516,000 square feet (about 4.8 hect ...

. 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.

Event history

Notable Events

Chef Paul Wahlberg filmed a segment of his reality show

Wahlburgers Wahlburgers Franchising LLC, doing business as Wahlburgers (stylized as wahlburgers), is a casual dining burger restaurant and bar chain. It is owned by chef Paul Wahlberg and his brothers, actors Donnie and Mark. , there are 49 Wahlburgers l ...

(episode six of season three) at Boston Comic Con on Friday, August 1, 2014 which aired on Wednesday, February 11, 2015. Guests

Manu Bennett Jonathan Manu Bennett (born 10 October 1969) is a New Zealand actor. He is primarily known for portraying characters in epic fantasy works, such as Crixus in the TV series ''Spartacus'', Allanon in '' The Shannara Chronicles'', Slade Wilson / ...

Jimmy Palmiotti James Palmiotti (born August 14, 1961) is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film. Early life Palmiotti attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Career Palmiotti star ...

Amanda Conner Amanda Conner is an American comics artist and commercial art illustrator. She began her career in the late 1980s for Archie Comics and Marvel Comics, before moving on to contribute work for Claypool Comics' '' Soulsearchers and Company'' and Ha ...

Brian Azzarello Brian Azzarello (born August 11, 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter who first came to prominence with the hardboiled crime series ''100 Bullets'', published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. ...

and more appeared alongside several cosplayers at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

's inaugural "Boston Comic Con Night" on July 30, 2015. Mayor

Marty Walsh Martin Joseph Walsh (born April 10, 1967) is an American politician and former union official. He has been the 29th United States Secretary of Labor since March 23, 2021. A Democrat, he previously served as the 54th mayor of Boston from 2014, ...

appeared on August 1, 2015 to declare Stan Lee Day in Boston in honor of

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

's appearance at Boston Comic Con.Shanahan, Mark. (August 2, 2015)
Stan Lee honored in Boston with day of his own
''The Boston Globe.'' Retrieved on December 6, 2015.

References

External links

Fan Expo Boston Website
{{Multigenre conventions in North America Recurring events established in 2007 2007 establishments in Massachusetts Comics conventions in the United States Multigenre conventions Conventions in Massachusetts