The Pittsburgh Comicon, later known as Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh and since succeeded by Steel-City Con, was a

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 ...

convention held in

Monroeville, Pennsylvania Monroeville is a Home rule municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule municipality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It is located about 10 miles east of Pittsburgh. Monroeville is a suburb with mixed residential and commercial developments. As ...

, United States. It was founded in 1994 by Michael and Renee George. It was traditionally a three-day event (Friday through Sunday) and featured a fan-friendly experience that allowed the fans to interact with comic professionals at all levels. Though it primarily focused on comic books, the convention featured a large range of

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

elements, such as

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

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 unive ...

/fantasy, film/television, animation,

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

, toys,

collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...

s, video games,

webcomics Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be ...

, and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

novels. Given Pittsburgh's connection to

George A. Romero George Andrew Romero (; February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017) was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and actor. His ''Night of the Living Dead'' series of films about an imagined zombie apocalypse began with the 1968 film of the ...

zombie apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack hum ...

films (with Romero's '' Dawn of the Dead'' being filmed in the

Monroeville Mall Monroeville Mall is a shopping mall located in the municipality of Monroeville, Pennsylvania, east of Pittsburgh. It is located along heavily traveled U.S. Route 22 Business (US 22 Bus.) near the junction of Interstate 376 (I-376) and ...

), horror fans were also welcomed at the convention to meet and greet with the film's actors that regularly attended. The show also made a concerted effort to promote local-area talent and publishers. The show raised money for various charities; over the years the show had supported local literacy organizations, the Comic book Legal Defense Fund, local Food Banks, and had raised more than $250,000 for the Pittsburgh chapter of the

Make-A-Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqua ...

.Levin, Steve. "Charity Bombarded With E-Mails Over Fund-Raiser," ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' (09 May 2003), p. B-21.Machosky, Michael. "Pittsburgh Comicon brings fans, heroes together," ''Pittsburgh Tribune'' (24 Apr 2008).

History

Windber, Pennsylvania Windber is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States, about south of Johnstown. It was at one time a place of industrial activities which included coal mining, lumbering, and the manufacture of fire brick. In 1897, the community ...

-based comics retailers Michael and Renée George (proprietors of Comics World) staged the first Pittsburgh Comicon in April 1994Contino, Jennifer
"Conventioneers,"
Sequential Tart (June 2000). at the Radisson Hotel Pittsburgh ExpoMart in Monroeville. It was the first major show staged in Pittsburgh for the comic community since the 1970s. From the beginning, a major focus for the show has been giving to charity, the Make-A-Wish Foundation in particular, which is the primary beneficiary of the Annual Comicon Auction. The Pittsburgh Comicon hosted the

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that were ...

ceremonies from 2000–2002,Mervis, Scott. "Heroic comeback," ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' (27 Apr 2001), p. 22. with

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 ...

serving as master of ceremonies. Jeff Smith was the keynote speaker of the 2000 awards. Superstar creator

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on Daredevil (Marvel Comics ser ...

gave the keynote speech at the 2001 award ceremony in which he vilified the comic book speculating industry, in particular ''Wizard'' magazine. He ended his speech by tearing up a copy of ''Wizard''.Brady, Matt
"Baltimore Comic Con '08: 2008 Harvey Awards Announced,"
Newsarama (Sept. 27, 2008).

Tony Millionaire Tony Millionaire (born Scott Richardson in 1956) is an American cartoonist, illustrator and author known for his syndicated comic strip ''Maakies'' and the ''Sock Monkey'' series of comics and picture books. He lives in Yarmouth, Maine at Pleas ...

gave the keynote speech at the 2002 awards ceremony. In 2003, due to a cancellation from scheduled keynote speaker

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

, funding shortages forced a cancellation of that year's Harvey Awards ceremony and banquet (which had also been scheduled for the Pittsburgh Comicon), although award-winners were still named.Press release
"2003 Harvey Awards Banquet Cancelled, Awards Unaffected
Comic Book Resources (Jan. 24, 2003). The 2000 edition of the show raised $26,000 for the Pittsburgh chapter of the

. The 2003 show raised $27,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The 2007 show raised $30,000 for the

and $5,000 for the

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) is an American non-profit organization formed in 1986 to protect the First Amendment rights of comics creators, publishers, and retailers covering legal expenses. Charles Brownstein served as the organiza ...

.Gold, Mike
"Michael George and the Pittsburgh Comicon,"
ComicMix (Mar. 18, 2008). In 2006,

Comic Geek Speak ''Comic Geek Speak'' (CGS) is a Comic books, comics audio podcast that focuses on current mainstream and small-press comic books, featuring creator interviews, reviews, commentary on the comic book craft and industry, comic-related movie discuss ...

was named the Official Comics Podcast for the Pittsburgh Comicon and has held that title ever since. In 2009, the show moved from the defunct Pittsburgh ExpoMart to the new Monroeville Convention Center, welcoming

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 ...

as their guest of honor to inaugurate their first show in the new venue. In 2015, Pittsburgh Comicon was acquired by

Wizard World Wizard, the wizard, or wizards may refer to: * Wizard (fantasy), a fictional practitioner of magic * Wizard (supernatural), a practitioner of magic Art, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Wizard (Archie Comics), a comic book supe ...

, becoming Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh. In addition, the convention moved to the

David L. Lawrence Convention Center The David L. Lawrence Convention Center (DLLCC) is a convention, conference and exhibition building in downtown Pittsburgh in the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is served by two exits on Interstate 579. The initial David L. Lawrence ...

in Pittsburgh. Wizard World held the convention there for two years, but did not hold one in 2017 or 2018. The convention returned to Pittsburgh in 2019. After the 2019 show, the official website URL, PittsburghComicon.com, redirected to the Steel City Con, held at the Monroeville Convention Center, leading to the assumption that the Pittsburgh Comicon was defunct.

Dates and locations

Events

Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, there were previews of upcoming feature films, portfolio review sessions with top comic book and video game companies, and such evening events as a

costume contest "Costume Contest" is the sixth episode of the The Office (U.S. season 7), seventh season of the American comedy television program, television series ''The Office (U.S. TV series), The Office'', and the show's 132nd episode overall. Written by Jus ...

, featuring dedicated cosplayers who put great effort into their costumes and props. Traditional events included gaming and hours of other programming on all aspects of comic books and pop culture. One popular annual event was the

Quick-Sketch, which usually raised between $5,000 to $6,000 per show. Other charity events taking place during the Pittsburgh Comicon were the annual "Casino Night," and various drawings and donations from attendees. These events benefited such charities as

The Hero Initiative The Hero Initiative, formerly known as A Commitment to Our Roots, or ACTOR, is the first federally recognized not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping comic book creators, writers and artists in need. Founded in late 2000 by a consortiu ...

and local food banks. Like most comic-book conventions, the Pittsburgh Comicon featured a large floorspace for exhibitors. These included media companies such as

movie studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...

s and TV networks, as well as 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. Like most comics conventions, the Pittsburgh show included an autograph area, as well as the Artists' Alley where comics artists could sign autographs and sell or do free sketches. Despite the name, Artists' Alley could include writers and even glamour models.

Charity

The Pittsburgh Comicon supported many charities through its fund raising efforts. The primary charity of the Comicon was the

. Since the show's inception, the Comicon had raised enough funds to fulfill a number of wishes. The show's Annual Charity Auction was main fundraising event during the show for this charity. It had been privileged over the years to be the recipient of the works of many of our talented guests willing to provide artwork and other items to be auctioned off to benefit this deserving charity. The Comicon also held 'Charity Quick Sketch' events featuring numerous guests that volunteered to attend the hour-long events and provide original art, usually created in front of a live audience, for the event. During the event, raffle tickets could be purchased by attendees for a sum, which was donated to the charity featured at the event, and each piece of art created during the event was raffled off by picking a ticket from those sold.

Gallery

File:Pittsburgh Comicon 2007 woman dressed as Spider-Girl.jpg, Spider-Girl File:Ghostbuster ennui - Pittsburgh Comicon.jpg, Sad

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...

File:Pittsburgh Comicon (476354417).jpg,

Cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...

File:Batman and Blade at Pittsburgh Comicon.jpg,

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. Although the character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in ...

versus

Blade A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historic ...

File:Pittsburgh Comicon Peter Mayhew.jpg,

Peter Mayhew Peter William Mayhew (19 May 1944 – 30 April 2019) was a British-American actor. He was best known for portraying Chewbacca in the ''Star Wars'' film series. He played the character in all of his live-action appearances from the 1977 origin ...

at the 2007 Pittsburgh Comicon. File:Pittsburgh Comicon (476352449).jpg, A

kilt A kilt ( gd, fèileadh ; Irish: ''féileadh'') is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Hi ...

cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...

er File:Pittsburgh Comicon (476339244).jpg, Bloody dude File:Mike Grell Pittsburgh Comicon.jpg,

Mike Grell Mike Grell (born September 13, 1947) is an American comic book writer and artist, known for his work on books such as '' Green Lantern/Green Arrow'', '' The Warlord'', and '' Jon Sable Freelance''. Early life Grell studied at the University of W ...

in 2007. File:Kane Hodder Pittsburgh Comicon.jpg,

Kane Hodder Kane Warren Hodder (born April 8, 1955)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Americ ...

in 2007 File:Marc Singer at Pittsburgh Comicon.jpg,

Marc Singer Marc Singer (born January 29, 1948) is a Canadian-born American actor best known for his roles in the '' Beastmaster'' film series, as Mike Donovan in the original 1980s TV series '' V'', and as Matt Cantrell in ''Dallas''. Early life Singer wa ...

in 2007 File:Gigi Edgley Pittsburgh Comicon.jpg,

Gigi Edgley Gigi Edgley (born 16 November 1977) is an Australians, Australian actress, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her roles as Chiana (Farscape), Chiana on the series ''Farscape'' and Lara Knight in ''Rescue: Special Ops''. Early life Ed ...

in 2007

References

External links

* {{Authority control Comics conventions in the United States Defunct multigenre conventions Defunct gaming conventions Defunct science fiction conventions in the United States Recurring events established in 1994 Culture of Pittsburgh Tourist attractions in Pittsburgh 1994 establishments in Pennsylvania Conventions in Pennsylvania