The Macon Opus Con was founded in 1986 by comics retailer Roland Castle, owner of Comics Castle in
Macon, Georgia. Castle was president of the
Bloom County Fan Club (thus the name "Opus," in honor of the Bloom County
character); he hoped (and ultimately failed) to get
Bloom County creator
Berkeley Breathed as the con's guest of honor. Castle created a nonprofit, the Middle Georgia Society for Fantasy and Science Fiction, under which to run the show, and the first MOC was held April 18–20, 1986, at the Macon Hilton. Official guests included
Doctor Who stars
Jon Pertwee and
Louise Jameson, along with
Star Trek actor
James Doohan, authors
Marion Zimmer Bradley and
Andre Norton and artist
Phil Foglio. In addition to panels and guests, the convention featured popular activities such as
filk singing, two
masquerades with the PG version being televised throughout the hotel closed circuit television, 24 hour gaming and gaming tournaments, Japanese anime, a video room, "
con suite" and "a large huckster room". The second MOC moved locations 100 miles to
Columbus, Georgia, where it was co-organized by retailer Pat Robinson, owner of Columbus Book Exchange. It took place March 27–29, 1987, at the Columbus Ironworks Convention Center. That edition of MOC became notorious because of the death of
Doctor Who actor
Patrick Troughton. Although he had been warned by his doctors before leaving the UK not to exert himself because of his heart condition, Troughton appeared to be in good spirits and participated vigorously in the day's panels, and was looking forward to a belated birthday celebration, which was planned for the Saturday evening, as well as a screening of the
Doctor Who story
The Dominators, which Troughton had requested personally, on the Saturday afternoon. Troughton suffered a heart attack at 7:25 AM the next day, just after he had ordered his breakfast from the hotel staff. According to the paramedics who were called, Troughton died instantly. MOC 3, now officially known as Magnum Opus Con was held March 25–27, 1988, at the Columbus Ironworks Convention Center. For MOC 4, held March 17–19, 1989, the convention shifted locations 250 miles to
Greenville, South Carolina, and the Hyatt Regency, where it stayed for six years. MOC 5, held March 23–25, 1990, focused on Star Trek, Doctor Who, comics, and film (featuring
anime and a "cinema contest"). The convention included an art show and live role-playing games. MOC 7, held March 26–29, 1992, expanded to four days, from Thursday–Sunday. By this time, organizer Roland Castle felt that the Atlanta-based
Dragon Con (est. 1987) was impinging on his territory, and that DC employees, including organizer
Edward E. Kramer, were disrupting MOC. By all reports, MOC 10A returned to the debauchery of previous Magnum Opus Cons, with the Slave Auction, Bimbo Pageant, and Mr. Macho Contest all returning to prominence. Total attendance was reported to be around 450 people. MOC 11 was held June 13–16, 1996, at the Downtown Radisson, in Atlanta, Georgia, again in competition with
Dragon Con (which took place the following weekend). MOC 12 returned to its traditional March schedule, staying in Atlanta, and featuring comics guests like
Keith Giffen,
Alan Grant, and
Simon Bisley. It also downsized a bit, returning to a three-day event. By this time, attendance at MOC was declining, in many ways due to competition from
Dragon Con. (In June of that year, Castle publicly accused Dragon Con of sabotaging his convention and poaching MOC guests.) For MOC 13, held March 20–22, 1998, the convention moved 75 miles to
Athens, Georgia. and the History Village Inn, where it stayed for the next three years. That year, Castle organized "MOCtoberfest '98," held October 30–November 1, 1998, also at the History Village Inn in Athens. MOC 15, held March 31–April 2, 2000, was Roland Castle's final show as convention chairman; he stepped down early the next year due to stress-related health reasons. Magnum Opus Con's new co-chairmen were Monnie Robinson and Greg Bell, who had both been involved in MOC for many years. Robinson and Bell dubbed MOC 16 " The Sweet Sixteen Party," which was held March 15–18, 2001, at the Ramada Plaza Hotel Perimeter North, in Atlanta. Despite the new leadership, the show was not a success, and MOC 16 turned out to be the convention's last hurrah.
Dates and locations == Guests ==