Great Eastern Conventions, Inc. was an entertainment company which produced

comic book conventions A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at co ...

, most actively during the years 1987-1996. In

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the Great Eastern shows filled the gap between the mid-1980s demise of the annual

Comic Art Convention The Comic Art Convention was an American comic book fan convention held annually New York City, New York, over Independence Day weekend from 1968 through 1983, except for 1977, when it was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 1978 to 1979, ...

and

Creation Convention Creation Entertainment is an American for-profit entertainment company located in Glendale, California, which produces fan conventions for fans of various films and television series, mainly in the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres. Crea ...

s, and the establishment of promoter Michael Carbonaro's annual

Big Apple Comic Con The Big Apple Comic Con is a New York City comic book convention, the longest-running comic book/speculative fiction/pop culture convention in New York City. It was started by retailer Michael "Mike Carbo" Carbonaro in March 1996 in comics, 1996 ...

in 1996. From 1993–1995, Great Eastern hosted two New York City shows annually at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. In addition to running shows in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

, Great Eastern also ran shows in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Great Eastern was founded in 1977 by New Jersey-based promoter Frederic Greenberg.Doten, Patti. "Comics convention a real draw," ''Boston Globe'' (21 Jan 1995), p. 23.

History

Greenberg, a comic book fan himself, began hosting conventions in 1977 after he discovered that there weren't regular shows in his area.Reuter, Nancy
"Comic Books Are Serious Business To The Devoted,"
''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (Feb. 15, 1987). From 1983–1987, Great Eastern hosted monthly conventions in

Mount Laurel, New Jersey Mount Laurel is a township in Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia and part of the South Jersey region. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 41,864, reflecting an increase of 1 ...

, routinely drawing between 150 and 175 people. Originally based in

Boonton, New Jersey Boonton is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 8,815, an increase of 468 (+5.6%) from the 2010 census count of 8,347, which in turn reflected a decline of 149 (− ...

, by 1989 the company had moved its offices to

Ringoes, New Jersey Ringoes is an unincorporated community located within East Amwell Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. The community is served by the United States Postal Service as ZIP Code 08551 and as of the 2010 United States Census ...

. By 1990, Great Eastern was running one-day shows weekly throughout the Northeastern United States, as well as larger shows in cities likes San Francisco, Tampa, and Atlanta. Their June 1990 convention at the New York Penta Hotel was billed as "the biggest show of the year." Great Eastern hosted comic book conventions in South Florida from 1990-1994. Venues included the Howard Johnson Hotel— North Miami Beach, the Marriott Hotel— Coral Gables, and the Marriott Hotel—

Hialeah Gardens Hialeah Gardens is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 19,297 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 21,744, with a population density of 6690.1 per mi2, made u ...

. Featured guests varied based on availability, such as

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 ...

Todd McFarlane Todd McFarlane (; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, artist, writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur, best known for his work as the artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horro ...

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (co ...

Rob Liefeld Robert Liefeld (; born October 3, 1967) is an American comic book creator. A prominent writer and artist in the 1990s, he is known for co-creating the character Cable (comics), Cable with writer Louise Simonson and the character Deadpool with wri ...

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, and ...

, John Beatty,

Pat Broderick Pat Broderick (born November 26, 1953) is an American comics artist, known for his work on the ''Micronauts'' and ''Alpha Flight'' for Marvel Comics, and '' Legion of Super-Heroes'', ''Captain Atom'' and ''Green Lantern'' for DC Comics. Broderick ...

Martin Nodell Martin Nodell (November 15, 1915 – December 9, 2006) was an American cartoonist and commercial artist, best known as the creator of the Golden Age superhero Green Lantern. Some of his work appeared under the pen name Mart Dellon. Biography E ...

Joe Staton Joe Staton ( born January 19, 1948) is an American comics artist and writer. He co-created the Bronze Age Huntress (Helena Wayne), as well as the third Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Kilowog and the Omega Men for DC Comics. He was the artist of t ...

Mike Zeck Michael J. Zeck (born September 6, 1949), is an American comics artist. He is best known for his work for Marvel Comics on such series as ''Captain America'', ''Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars'', '' Master of Kung-Fu'', and ''The Punisher'' as we ...

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Early ...

. Great Eastern pulled out of South Florida after 1994 as a result of after-effects from

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a very powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It is the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged ...

's impact in August 1992. In 1992, Great Eastern Conventions partnered with ''

Cerebus ''Cerebus'' (; also ''Cerebus the Aardvark'') is a comic book series created by Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim, which ran from December 1977 until March 2004. The title character of the 300-issue series is an anthropomorphic aardvark who takes on ...

'' creator

Dave Sim Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, best known for his comic book '' Cerebus'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political and philosophical ...

in promoting small conventions in over 20 U.S. locations, including Indiana, Oregon, Texas, as well as in South Florida. From 1993–1995, Great Eastern hosted two large-scale conventions annually at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, which were dubbed "The New York Comic Book Spectacular." The February 1994 show was affected by a large winter storm which forced about one-fifth of the special guests to cancel their appearances. Great Eastern mounted a "Philadelphia Comic Book Spectacular" in October 1994; Greenberg was soon sued by David Greenhill, promoter of Philadelphia's Comicfest '93, for scheduling the Philadelphia Comic Book Spectacular the same weekend as Greenhill's planned Comicfest '94.Newswatch: Greenhill Sues Great Eastern and Wizard," ''The Comics Journal'' #172 (Nov. 1994), p. 40. Despite their large fan attendance and expansive venues, Great Eastern's large shows were criticized by many within the industry for pandering to dealers and spectacle. As frequent participant

Evan Dorkin Evan Dorkin (born April 20, 1965) is an American comics artist and cartoonist. His best known works are the comic books ''Milk and Cheese'' and ''Dork''. His comics often poke fun at fandom, even while making it clear that Dorkin is a fan himsel ...

stated, "The New York shows are extremely unfriendly to both creators and fans. . . . There is limited programming, limited professional appearances at these shows." In March 1996, Greenberg, at a very late point, cancelled what had been advertised as a larger-than-usual Great Eastern show, scheduled to be held at the

New York Coliseum The New York Coliseum was a convention center that stood at Columbus Circle in Manhattan, New York City, from 1956 to 2000. It was designed by architects Leon Levy and Lionel Levy in a modified International Style, and included both a low b ...

on 59th St. & Columbus Circle."Newswatch: NYC Comics Convention Cancelled, Fans Irate," ''The Comics Journal'' #185 (Mar. 1996), pp. 18-19. As a substitute event, comic book retailer Michael Carbonaro and others on the spur of the moment mounted the first

. Greenberg and Great Eastern Conventions disappeared from the fan convention circuit from that moment forward.

Publications

Greenberg also published two magazines which covered the comics industry, ''Comic Book Week'' (est. 1993) and ''Comic Talk''. In mid-1993 he had to cut down the frequency of both publications due to the slowdown in the industry."Newswatch: Comic Book Week on Hiatus," The Comics Journal #161 (Aug. 1993), pp. 27-28.

Dates and locations

References

{{reflist Entertainment companies of the United States Companies based in Hunterdon County, New Jersey 1977 establishments in New Jersey Defunct comics conventions Entertainment companies established in 1977 Conventions in New Jersey