Indianapolis Finally Gets a Comic-Con: What Can We Expect?

Posted 7 years ago by Stuff

Indy

I have long disparaged my hometown for its lack of a comic book convention. Indianapolis is a great Midwestern city with lots of advantages but it doesn’t offer one of the increasingly popular comics festival.

Indy is 12th largest city in the country. It’s also one of the leading convention destinations for various industries and associations. Just the moniker “The Crossroads of America” would lead you to believe we can handle a comic-con. Smaller cities like Charlotte, NC and Columbus, Ohio have celebrated events devoted to comics—but not us. Instead we have semi-regular shows at a budget motel which are more like glorified garage sales than an actual con.

I had written off any hope of Indy ever hosting an event when the announcement came on Thursday. Lo and behold, Indianapolis is getting a comics convention.

On March 14-16, 2014, there will be an official Comic Con-style event at Indianapolis’ Convention Center. It’s from Action3, the same promoters that put on events in Tampa, Orlando, and Nashville.

What to Expect?

Having never attended an event of this type, I’m very much looking forward to finally getting the opportunity to celebrate with my geek brethren. It’ll be a chance to tangibly experience the culture outside of the local comic book shop each Wednesday.

More exciting than reveling with my fellow fans is the chance to meet some comic book creators. This year’s Tampa show has great guests: George Perez, Ken Kelly, Greg LaRocque, Pablo Marcos, and others. The Orlando event, also produced by Action3, will have a less impressive roster: actor Drake Bell, Paul Gulacy, and Keith Pollard to name a few. The Nashville Comic Expo has a solid lineup: actresses Lauren Cohan and Emily Kinney from The Walking Dead TV series along with Drake Bell. Nashville’s comic creator guests are also more impressive: Jim Steranko, Dennis Calero, Bob Camp, Pablo Marcos, Don Rosa, and Herb Trimpe. Trimpe has long been a hero of mine.

These celebrities are a good indication of the talent we can expect for the Indianapolis show. It’s no where near as impressive as the famous San Diego or New York Comic-Cons or even the underrated (from what I understand) Heroes Convention in Charlotte.

Honestly, I can’t complain about the possible caliber of next year’s Indianapolis con. I’m glad the comic book gods have smiled upon the Circle City. It will be a legitimate con; I will put my money where my mouth is and gladly attend.

Certainly our readers are not comic convention noobs. What advice can you share from your own experiences? I’m dying to get suggestions on what to expect.
  • Zhao Shu

    Is that the first comic con in Indianapolis? I’m so glad that I can go to see it~

  • TravelerMR

    There were legitimate comic cons in the 70s and 80s but they died off due to low attendance and lack of interest. ASHcon may seem like a garage sale to you but they started up when there was no alternative and fans missed the old NapCons. I’m glad that there’s a renaissance of interest in the genre and comic culture, much of it linked to television versions.