CBR: Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo to Debut in 2010

[CBR News]

Reed Exhibitions, the creator of New York Comic Con, has today announced the
launch of Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) which will take place
April 16 – 18, 2010 at McCormick Place in downtown Chicago.


Full article here.

[DonC]

I'll have to look into this.

Hopefully they won't be charging for some pros' autographs like they do in New York. (Who the hell is Matt Fraction and why would someone pay $20 for his autograph?)

[WW Doctor]

Two questions: Can Chicago support "two" major comic book conventions? Also, since Chicago already has a Wizard World, why not try a different city to hold this in?

Truth be told, I'm not sure that Chicago (or any other city for that matter) can really support two major comic cons. Sure, this new con will be held in April and Wizard World is in the summer, but you're drawing from the same group of fans. Some may choose to attend this con, others Wizard World. Others may attend each show, but only for single days to save money.

As for my second question, one does have to wonder why Reed Exhibitions couldn't have tried starting a show in a different part of the country. Outside of California (shows in San Diego and San Francisco), the Northeast (New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore) and Chicago, there's a real lack of major comic book shows in large portions of the country. That's why the loss of Wizard World Texas was such a big deal to many, for comic fans in that part of the country that was their only major show.

Reed could have tried Texas again, as the April date would have been much better than a dreadful November date that Wizard stuck Texas with. Outside of Texas, other potential cities without major cons include Atlanta, Denver and Boston (though this one's pretty close to New York) . Or they could have possibly looked into partnering with some of the existing medium sized cons like Heroes in Charlotte, Mega Con in Orlando or the Emerald Con in Seattle, pushing those shows into "major" con status.

After all, not every comic fan lives in California, the Northeast or in the Chicago area or can afford to travel to these shows. Considering the lack of shows outside of these three areas, there's a lot of opportunity out there for a major show if it's done correctly.

Reed filled a "need" with the New York Comic Con. I don't see a "need" for a second major comic con in Chicago, so in the end I think either this show will survive or Wizard World survives.