OrlandoCon, also known as O'Con, was a long-running

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

fan 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 ...

which was held annually between

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

and 1996 in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

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 ...

. The first comic book convention held in the Orlando area, OrlandoCon billed itself as a "Central Florida comic art convention and early TV/film festival." Captain Marvel-creator

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 ...

was a regular guest of the show; as were many other

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known char ...

creators who lived in the Orlando area. The founders of OrlandoCon were regional chairman of the

National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

Jim Ivey, and local enthusiasts Charlie Roberts, Richard Kravitz, Rob Word, and Neil Austin. Most OrlandoCons took place over a September weekend.

Events and activities

Each year's show featured a banquet for attending cartoonists and the presentation to the guest of honor of a gold brick called the Ignatz Award Harvey, R. C. "Blood & Thunder: Two for Cho," ''The Comics Journal'' #219 (Jan. 2000), p. 3. named in honor of

George Herriman George Joseph Herriman III (August 22, 1880 – April 25, 1944) was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip '' Krazy Kat'' (1913–1944). More influential than popular, ''Krazy Kat'' had an appreciative audience ...

's ''

Krazy Kat ''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an US, American newspaper comic strip, by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Journal-American, New Yor ...

''. Recipients of the Ignatz included Don Martin,

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Poland, Polish-born Americans, American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkm ...

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 Earl ...

, and Don Addis. (The OrlandoCon Ignatz Award is not connected to the current award of the same name presented annually at the

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

-based

Small Press Expo The Small Press Expo (SPX) is an American alternative comics convention. A registered 501(c)(3) that was created in 1994, every year since its inception, SPX has put on a festival, known as The Expo, that provides a forum for artists, writers an ...

.) Each show featured a charity auction to benefit the

Milt Gross Milt Gross (; March 4, 1895 – November 29, 1953) was an American cartoonist and animator. His work is noted for its exaggerated cartoon style and Yiddish-inflected English dialogue. He originated the non-sequitur "Banana Oil!" as a phrase defla ...

Fund of the

.Roberts, Charlie
"Milton Caniff and Shel Dorf: A Personal View,"
''Scoop''. Accessed Dec. 24, 2013. The OrlandoCon often featured screenings of early TV shows, as well as panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals. In addition, there was a 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 produced free sketches.

History

The first OrlandoCon was held in September 1974 at the Orlando

Howard Johnson's Howard Johnson's, or Howard Johnson by Wyndham, is an American hotel chain and former restaurant chain. Founded by Howard Deering Johnson in 1925 as a restaurant, it was the largest restaurant chain in the U.S. throughout the 1960s and 1970s, ...

Convention Center — guests include

Roy Crane Royston Campbell Crane (November 22, 1901 – July 7, 1977), who signed his work Roy Crane, was an American cartoonist who created the comic strip characters Wash Tubbs, Captain Easy and Buz Sawyer. He pioneered the adventure comic strip, establi ...

Hal Foster Harold Rudolf Foster, FRSA (August 16, 1892 – July 25, 1982) was a Canadian-American comic strip artist and writer best known as the creator of the comic strip ''Prince Valiant''. His drawing style is noted for its high level of draftsmanship a ...

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, Con ...

, ,

Les Turner Leslie Turner (December 25, 1899 - March 2, 1988) was an American cartoonist and writer who produced the adventures of ''Captain Easy'' for more than three decades. Biography Early life and education Born in Cisco, Texas, Turner grew up fro ...

Ralph Dunagin Raymond Ralph Dunagin Jr. (June 19, 1937 – June 24, 2020) was an American cartoonist for the ''Orlando Evening Star'' and the ''Orlando Sentinel'' from 1961 to 2001. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize twice. Early life and education Dunag ...

Bill Crooks William Crooks (12 April 1908 – December 1986) was manager of Eastwoodhill Arboretum, Ngatapa, Gisborne, New Zealand from 1967 to 1974. For the previous forty years he was the assistant of William Douglas Cook, founder of the arboretum. Engla ...

, Harold McCauley, " Scorchy Smith" artist

Edmund Good Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings an ...

, and Disney artist Ralph Kent. In 1976 OrlandoCon moved venues from the Howard Johnson Convention Center to the International Inn, where the convention stayed for most of the rest of its existence. Even though he moved to Pennsylvania in 1974, Charlie Roberts stayed with the OrlandoCon as co-organizer with Jim Ivey until 1979, at which point small press publisher

Bill Black William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio. Black later formed Bill Black's Combo. Ear ...

became involved with the convention. With the collapse of the comic book speculating market in 1993, the show petered out. One of the final OrlandoCons was produced by local retailer Mike Kott on September 10–11, 1994, at the Clarion Towers; guests include show founder Jim Ivey and

Locations and dates

Legacy

The huge Orlando-based multi-genre convention

MegaCon MegaCon, short for Mega Convention, is a large speculative fiction convention that caters to the comic book, sci-fi, anime, fantasy, and gaming communities, often occurring in spring at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Th ...

was inaugurated in 1993;Walt, Andra
"Owner/Director Beth Widera of Orlando’s MegaCon Stops by InvestComics,"
''InvestComics'' (Feb. 13, 2012). it continues to this day.

References

External links

* Holtz, Allan

''Stripper's Guide'' blog (Jan. 30, 2007) * Holtz, Allan

''Stripper's Guide'' blog (Feb. 15, 2007)
Jim Ivey's Sunday Comic about OrlandoCon
{{DEFAULTSORT:OrlandoCon 1974 establishments in Florida 1994 disestablishments in Florida Defunct comics conventions Events in Orlando, Florida Recurring events disestablished in 1994 Recurring events established in 1974 Conventions in Florida