Rhode Island Comic Con (RICC) is a three-day comic convention held during November at the

Rhode Island Convention Center The Rhode Island Convention Center is an exposition center in downtown Providence, RI. Opened in 1993, it is the largest convention center in Rhode Island, with about of exhibition space, including a exhibit hall. It is connected by skybridges ...

, Amica Mutual Pavilion, and

Omni Providence Hotel The Omni Providence Hotel (formerly The Westin Providence) is a Neo-Traditionalist skyscraper in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. At , it became the fourth-tallest building in the city and the state on 15 February 2007, when the nearby slightl ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. The convention was Rhode Island's first

Comic Con 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 con ...

. Organizers also run Terror Con, a horror convention at the same location.

Programming

The convention typically offers artists, celebrity guests, cars, comic book authors, a costume contest, gaming, kids-con, professional wrestlers, vendors, video game tournaments, and voice artists. In 2013, the convention also hosted several wedding ceremonies. The 2018 event brought an estimated $4.2 million to the area's economy.

History

Rhode Island Comic Con held its first event in 2012 at the

and took two years to prepare.

David Anders David Anders Holt (born March 11, 1981), known professionally as David Anders, is an American television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Julian Sark on ''Alias'', as Adam Monroe on ''Heroes'', as John Gilbert in the TV series '' ...

Anthony Michael Hall Michael Anthony Hall (born April 14, 1968), known professionally as Anthony Michael Hall, is an American actor best known for his leading role as Johnny Smith in '' The Dead Zone'' from 2002 to 2007. He also rose to fame starring in films with ...

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, Jett Lucas,

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, Chanel Ryan, and

Raphael Sbarge Raphael Sbarge (born February 12, 1964) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Jake Straka on ''The Guardian'' (2001–04), Jiminy Cricket / Dr. Archibald Hopper on ''Once Upon a Time'' (2011–18) and Insp ...

could not make it to the 2013 convention due to the 2013 Los Angeles International Airport shooting. A Halloween party was held on Friday before the convention in 2014. The fire marshal shutdown RICC temporarily on Saturday due to over capacity caused by poor attendance flow. Rhode Island Convention Center has a maximum occupancy of 17,000 and attendance at the time of shutdown was over 20,000. It was the first time in Rhode Island Convention Center history a shutdown due to over capacity occurred. An estimated 1,500 or more attendees were unable to enter the convention. Many were attendees who left the convention but could not re-enter. The attendees in line suffered from poor weather conditions and chants for refunds began. Attendees were later allowed to enter in small groups (100 people) or could exchange tickets for Sunday. Refunds were later issued for attendees who purchased tickets but could not enter the convention. Crowding was also caused by the convention's 50 percent growth, not using all available space, and the convention center not being prepared for attendees to stay so long. Sunday did not experience the same levels of crowding and ticket sales were capped. Prior to the 2015, RICC changed its press policy due to concerns that it limited negative free speech about the event. The convention made several changes to prevent overcrowding issues in 2015. The changes included expanding to the

Dunkin' Donuts Center The Amica Mutual Pavilion (originally Providence Civic Center and formerly Dunkin' Donuts Center) is an indoor arena located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1972, as a home court for the emerging Providence College men's ...

, increasing to three days, ticket scanning to accurately know attendance figures, a 17,000 ticket sales cap per day, and increased vendor food supply.

Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983). She reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last ...

cancelled her 2015 appearance due to illness.

Jorge Elorza Jorge O. Elorza (born November 24, 1976) is an American law professor and mayor of Providence, Rhode Island. He defeated former mayor Buddy Cianci in the 2014 mayoral election and on January 5, 2015, was sworn in as mayor of the city. Early lif ...

, the mayor of Providence, participated in the Comic Con's opening ceremony. Saturday's ticket sales for Rhode Island Comic Con stopped at 10:30 a.m. The convention in 2015 had over 500 volunteers. Before 2016's convention,

Kate Beckinsale Kathrin Romany Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress and model. After some minor television roles, her film debut was ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993) while a student at the University of Oxford. She appeared in British costume ...

canceled her appearance due to work commitments. Friday and Saturday tickets sold out for the 2016 convention. "Rhode Warrior", the conventions comic book, launched at the 2016 event. Due to issues with photo ops after 2016, a different company was used in 2017, and RICC added ballroom space (Narragansett Ballrooms) in the

. Additional line space was added in a large tent behind the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Several major guests cancelled before the 2017 convention, including

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Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (; born Dreyfus; October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Jaws'' (1975), ''Close Encounters of the T ...

Lennie James Lennie Michael James (born 11 October 1965) is a British actor, screenwriter, and playwright. His work includes playing Morgan Jones in the television series, '' The Walking Dead'' and in its spin-off, '' Fear the Walking Dead'', and starring ...

, Tom Payne,

Khary Payton Khary Payton (born May 16, 1972) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as King Ezekiel on the horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' and Dr. Terrell Jackson on the soap opera '' General Hospital'', as well as voicing Cyborg across v ...

Norman Reedus Norman Mark Reedus (born January 6, 1969) is an American actor best known for starring as Daryl Dixon in the AMC (TV channel), AMC horror drama series ''The Walking Dead (TV series), The Walking Dead'' (2010–2022). He also starred as Murphy Mac ...

, and

Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...

. Several Walking Dead guests had to cancel their appearance due to shooting delays on the season finale. The convention's ticket sales were limited to 17,000 per day, with Saturday being sold out. RICC also added the Geekfest film festival and a

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...

concert at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. The convention used the Omni Providence Hotel for almost all panel content in 2018. An additional entrance was also added to the convention to reduce wait times. Rhode Island Comic Con 2020 and Rhode Island Comic Con Summer Edition 2021 were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The 2021 convention had mask requirements, but enforcement was poor.

Event history

References

External links

Rhode Island Comic Con
{{coord, 41, 49, 27, N, 71, 25, 1, W, region:US-RI_type:event, display=title Comics conventions in the United States Recurring events established in 2012 2012 establishments in Rhode Island Annual events in Rhode Island Festivals in Rhode Island Tourist attractions in Providence County, Rhode Island Culture of Providence, Rhode Island Tourist attractions in Providence, Rhode Island Conventions in Rhode Island