Antecedents Major comic book conventions in New York City prior to the Big Apple Comic Con included
Dave Kaler's
Academy Con, which ran annually from 1965 to 1967;
Phil Seuling's
Comic Art Convention, which ran annually from 1968 to 1983 (Seuling died in 1984); and the large annual
Creation conventions, usually taking place over the weekend following
Thanksgiving from 1971 to 1987. (Creation sometimes put on as many as a half-dozen smaller New York City shows per year). From 1993 to 1995, promoter Frederic Greenberg began hosting
Great Eastern Conventions shows annually at venues including the
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. (Great Eastern also ran shows in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.) Other companies, including Dynamic Forces, held New York City conventions, but all were on a smaller scale than the Seuling shows. Changes in the industry, popular culture, and the resurgent city itself since the troubled 1960s and '70s made large-scale comic-book conventions difficult to hold profitably.
Birth of the show On February 29, 1996, just two days before it was to start, Fred Greenberg cancelled might herald a successor to the 1968–1983
Comic Art Convention. On the spur of the moment, comic book retailers Michael Carbonaro, Vince Gulla, The gathering — dubbed "ChurchCon," "
Hallelujah Con," or "The Show Must Go On" Con — attracted over 4,000 attendees, most of whom had been planning to attend the scheduled Great Eastern Show. In 1998, Big Apple held three conventions, in March, April, and October. In November 1999, (after a typical March show held at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle), Big Apple inaugurated the three-day "National Expo", held at the
Metropolitan Pavilion on West 18th Street in Manhattan. The National Expo brought "together the National Comic Book, Comic Art and Fantasy Convention and the New York Toy, Sci-Fi and Collectible Show;" the larger annual National shows were held every year from 1999 until 2008; other shows (until 2004) continued to be held at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle. Over the years, the Big Apple con attracted many comics creators and pop culture figures. Big Apple Comic Con was characterized as being in "growth mode" in 2005–2006, with five shows per year and an average attendance of about 8,000 guests per show.
Acquisition by Wizard Entertainment In 2009, the Big Apple Comic Con was purchased by
Gareb Shamus of
Wizard Entertainment; Michael Carbonaro was retained as a senior adviser. The first show under Wizard was held October 2009 at Pier 94 in Manhattan. The acquisition of Big Apple Comic Con was part of a concerted push by Wizard's CEO
Gareb Shamus to dominate the North American convention circuit, including acquiring the
Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon. As part of that strategy, Wizard initially scheduled the 2010 Big Apple Comic Con for October 7–10, the exact same dates as the previously scheduled 2010
New York Comic Con, run by
Reed Exhibitions. After a public outcry, Wizard later moved the dates of its 2010 New York convention to October 1–3. Wizard held a new "Wizard World New York City Experience" show on June 28–30, 2013.
New York Comic Book Marketplace In 2009, Michael Carbonaro established his own independent one-day convention known as the
New York Comic Book Marketplace which ran annually through 2014. The guest of honor was
Stan Lee; other guests included
George Pérez,
Joe Sinnott,
Dick Ayers,
Carmine Infantino,
Jim Steranko,
Irwin Hasen,
Mike Royer,
Arthur Suydam,
Bob McLeod,
Rich Buckler, and
Johnny Brennan, and Captain Zorikh's costume contest. Mr. Carbonaro held another NYCBM at the
Hotel Pennsylvania on April 13, 2013.
Reacquisition by Mike Carbonaro/Big Apple CC Corp (BACC) Mr. Carbonaro, as front person for the newly formed Big Apple CC Corp reacquired the convention from Wizard in 2014. The first show after regaining the BACC name, dubbed the "20th Anniversary Return of the Big Apple Convention," was held March 7, 2015, at the Penn Plaza Pavilion. In December 2015, BACC partnered with Frank Patz to produce the
New York Winter Comic & Sci-Fi Expo, was held at the
Resorts World Casino New York in
Jamaica, New York. With the holiday-themed December 2019 iteration of the show, the Big Apple Comic Con moved locations to the
New Yorker Hotel. The 2020 show, scheduled for April 4–5, was canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. == Criticism ==