Houstoncon was an annual multi-genre fan convention which was held between

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and 1982 in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The founders of Houstoncon were Roy Bonario and Marc Schooley; Houston area entrepreneur Ed Blair, Jr. was also a key member of the organizing committee. Most Houstoncons took place over three days in June, from Friday to Sunday. The convention featured a large range of pop culture elements, primarily comic books but also television serials,

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

/fantasy (particularly '' Star Trek''), film/television, animation, toys, and horror. Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, the Houstoncon often featured screenings of old television serials, and such evening events as a costume contest. The convention featured a large floorspace for exhibitors, including comic book dealers and

collectibles A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...

merchants. The show included an autograph area, as well as an Artists' Alley where comics artists signed autographs and sold or did free sketches. (Despite the name, Artists' Alley could include writers and even

glamour models Glamour photography is a genre of photography in which the subjects are portrayed in erotic poses ranging from fully clothed to nude. The term may be a euphemism for erotic photography. For glamour models, body shape and size are directly rela ...

History

Roy Bonario, Gene Arnold, Marc Schooley and a group of Houston-based comic book fans founded the Houston Comic Collector's Association in 1965; the HCCA, spearheaded by Bonario and fellow enthusiasts Marc Schooley and Jerry Poscovsky, put on the first Houstoncon (officially known as the Houston Comic Convention) at the

Ramada Inn Ramada is a large American multinational hotel chain owned by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. As of December 31, 2018, it operates 811 hotels with 114,614 rooms across 63 countries under the Ramada brand. Name The ''Ramada'' name derives from t ...

on June 16–18, 1967.Schelly, Bill. ''Founders of Comic Fandom: Profiles of 90 Publishers, Dealers, Collectors, Writers, Artists and Other Luminaries of the 1950s And 1960s'' (McFarland, 2010), pp. 168-169. Originally part of a partnership with Southwesterncon, which had debuted in Dallas in 1966, Houstoncon started out as an every-other-year affair. The first Houstoncon attracted 124 attendees. Houston area entrepreneur Ed Blair, Jr. was chairman of Houstoncon from 1969–1975. Houstoncon (still referred to as "Southwesterncon" in some publications) '69 took place June 20–22 at Houston's Ramada Inn. Houstoncon '71 took place June 17–20 and featured

Kirk Alyn Kirk Alyn (born John Feggo Jr.; October 8, 1910 – March 14, 1999) was an American actor, best known for being the first actor to play the DC Comics character Superman in live-action for the 1948 movie serial ''Superman'' and its 1950 sequel '' A ...

at his first fan convention. (Alyn ended up appearing at five Houstoncons in total.) By 1973, the partnership with Southwesterncon was dissolved and Houstoncon became an annual event, at this point being run by Blair, with the help of legendary fandom publisher G. B. Love. Houstoncon 1973 was held June 21–24 at the Marriott Motor Hotel in Houston, attracting over 2,000 attendees; guests include

, Frank Coghlan, Jr.,

William Benedict William Benedict (April 16, 1917 – November 25, 1999), was an American actor, perhaps best known for playing "Whitey" in Monogram Pictures' The Bowery Boys series. Early years Benedict was born in Haskell, Oklahoma, After his father's dea ...

William Witney William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serials: '' Dick Tracy Returns'', '' G-Men vs. the Bl ...

, Dave Sharpe,

Al Williamson Alfonso Williamson (March 21, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy. Born in New York City, he spent much of his early childhood in ...

, and

Don Newton Don Newton (November 12, 1934 – August 19, 1984) was an American comics artist. During his career, he worked for a number of comic book publishers including Charlton Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on The Phan ...

. The convention became notorious for a major van crash involving

Robert Beerbohm Robert Lee Beerbohm (born June 17, 1952) is an American comic book historian and retailer who has been intimately involved with the rise of comics fandom since 1966. Beginning as a teenager in the late 60s, he became a fixture in the growing comic ...

Bud Plant Bud Plant was a wholesale comics distributor active in the 1970s and 1980s during the growth of the direct market. He also published a selection of comics and zines during the same period. Starting in 1970 as a mail-order distributor specializing ...

, Terry Stroud and Dick Swan as they were leaving the show. Houstoncon 1974 was held June 20–23 at Houston's Sheraton-Lincoln Hotel, attracting over 2,500 attendees. That year the show merged with the local Star Trek convention and was co-produced by Ed Blair, Jr. with G. B. Love; guests included

Walter Koenig Walter Marvin Koenig (; born September 14, 1936) is an American actor and screenwriter. He began acting professionally in the mid 1960s and quickly rose to prominence for his supporting role as Ensign Pavel Chekov in ''Star Trek: The Original S ...

Dan Adkins Danny L. AdkinsDanny L. Adkins
at the

, Kenneth Smith, Fred Fredericks,

Jock Mahoney Jacques Joseph O'Mahoney (February 7, 1919 – December 14, 1989), known professionally as Jock Mahoney, was an American actor and stuntman. He starred in two Action/Adventure television series, ''The Range Rider'' and ''Yancy Derringer''. He ...

, Tom Steele,

, and stuntman Dave Sharpe. The 1975 show, which took place June 25–29 at the Royal Coach Inn, was again merged with the Houston Star Trek convention; guests included

C. C. Beck Charles Clarence Beck (June 8, 1910 – November 22, 1989) was an American cartoonist and comic book artist, best known for his work on Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel (today known as Shazam!) at Fawcett Comics and DC Comics. Early li ...

George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...

, John Wooley, and

Don "Red" Barry Donald Barry de Acosta (January 11, 1912 – July 17, 1980), also known as Red Barry and Milton Poimboeuf, was an American film and television actor. He was nicknamed "Red" after appearing as the first Red Ryder in the highly successful 19 ...

. Beck and Barry served as judges for the costume contest. For the 1976 and 1977 editions, Schooley and Bonario resumed control with Blair consulting. Guests of the 1977 show included

Frank Brunner Frank Brunner (born February 21, 1949) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s. Early life Brunner attended Manhattan's High School of Art and Design. He was in the same graduating class ...

, Spanky McFarland,

Forrest J Ackerman Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror, and fantasy films; a pr ...

, and

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

. Houstoncon '78 guests include

Frankie Thomas Frank Marion Thomas Jr. (April 9, 1921 – May 11, 2006), was an American actor, author and bridge-strategy expert who played both lead and supporting roles on Broadway, in films, in post-World War II radio, and in early television. He was ...

Ron Goulart Ronald Joseph Goulart (; January 13, 1933 – January 14, 2022) was an American popular culture historian and mystery, fantasy, and science fiction author. He published novelizations and other work under various pseudonyms: Kenneth Robeson, Co ...

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...

Jenette Kahn Jenette Kahn (; born May 16, 1947) is an American comic book editor and executive. She joined DC Comics in 1976 as publisher, and five years later was promoted to president. In 1989, she stepped down as publisher and assumed the title of editor ...

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Mi ...

Greg Jein Greg Jein (born October 31, 1945 in Los Angeles, USA; died May 22, 2022) was a Chinese American model designer who created miniatures for use in the special effects portions of many films and television series, beginning in the 1970s. Jein was ...

, Jim Newsome, and Paula Crist. Houstoncon '79 guests included

and

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'' and '' The Avengers'' for Marvel Comics. In the 198 ...

. Houstoncon '80 took place June 20–22; featured guests included

. The final Houstoncon, held June 19–20, 1982, at

The Summit (Houston) The Lakewood Church Central Campus is the main facility of Lakewood Church, a megachurch in Houston, Texas, five miles southwest of Downtown Houston and next to Greenway Plaza. From 1975 to 2003 the building served as a multi-purpose sports a ...

, an indoor sports arena, was also known as "Ultimate Fantasy" (and later "The Con of Wrath").Rouner, Jef
"Comicpalooza: How Houston's Comics Convention Came Back from the Dead to Become One of the Best in the Country,"
''Houston Press'' (June 12, 2014.) Organized by local fan Jerry Wilhite, and scheduled for shortly after the release of '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'', Ultimate Fantasy assembled the entire main cast of the original ''Star Trek'' TV series as guests of the show, which was promoted with magazine advertising, laser light shows, billboards, a huge venue, and other promotional gimmicks. Due to poor sales, however, only a few hundred people attended the convention; the resulting debacle was later the subject of a documentary film.

Legacy

From 1983 to 1996, Houston was the site of the annual Comix Fair, a smaller-scale convention primarily focused on comic books. On August 7–8, 1993, the University of Houston hosted the first annual "Houston Comic Book Festival", with official guests Chris Claremont,

Matt Wagner Matt Wagner (born October 9, 1961) is an American comics artist and writer who is best known as the creator of the series '' Mage'' and '' Grendel''. Career Matt Wagner's first published comic book work was '' Comico Primer'' #2 (1982), which w ...

Kelley Jones Kelley Jones (born July 23, 1962) is an American comics artist best known for his work on ''Batman'' with writer Doug Moench and on '' The Sandman'' with writer Neil Gaiman. Early life Kelley Jones was born in Sacramento, California and grew up ...

, Joe St. Pierre,

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 ...

, and

Mike Leeke Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

. In 2001 local retailer Bedrock City Comics produced a "Houstoncon" show on September 15–16 (shortly after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

) at the Holiday Inn. An homage to the original Houstoncon, guests include

Harry Knowles Harry Jay Knowles (born December 11, 1971) is an American film critic and writer known for his website called Ain't It Cool News. Knowles was a member of the Austin Film Critics Association until he was removed in September 2017 "by a substanti ...

, John Lucas, and Scott Gilbert.McClelland, Eileen. "Eight-Day Planner September 13–September 20," ''The Houston Chronicle'' (September 13, 2001), p. 14.

References

External links

Houstoncon fan site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houstoncon Defunct comics conventions Defunct multigenre conventions Festivals in Houston Conventions in Texas Defunct science fiction conventions in the United States Recurring events established in 1967 1967 establishments in Texas 1982 disestablishments in Texas