Mid-Ohio-Con May Be Wizard’s Next Show Acquisition
- Posted by Johanna on November 8, 2010 at 7:11 am
- Category: Comic News
KC went to the Mid-Ohio-Con comic convention this past weekend, and while we were catching up, he mentioned that the gossip of the show — there are always rumors floating around when that many people in the same business get together — was that the show was going to be one of the very many Wizard-branded conventions next year.
I’ve lost track of just how many conventions carry the Wizard name these days. Their web page lists 17. Many are local shows that, once “acquired”, end up still run by the same people, just with a group brand (that means a lot less than it used to) attached and more media guests (who appeared in geek-friendly stuff 20 years ago) invited. Mid-Ohio was run for years by Roger Price, until he sold it in 2008. At that point, it moved from its traditional Thanksgiving weekend timeslot to earlier in October.
Anyway, when KC told me about this rumor, I googled and quickly found a page with the straight-forward URL of www.wizardworld.com/midohio.html. It’s since been taken down, but Heidi posted a copy. It included the logo shown here and the dates of October 22-23, 2011.
I Twittered the link, which spurred Heidi’s article, which apparently drove the removal of the page, since Wizard hasn’t made an official announcement yet. Comments at Heidi’s post show that attendees aren’t particularly excited about the change. On Twitter, Gus Dahlberg pointed out that the listed prices meant that the cost for a one-day pass would be doubled.
It appears that the comic con scene is shaking out in two ways. Established conventions either grow larger (perhaps too large, as with the New York Con) or become part of Wizard’s less-comic-focused pop culture shows. If you have the opportunity to visit one of the major shows that are still about comics — Heroes Con, Baltimore, Emerald City — I encourage you to do so. It’s not necessary to feature movies and video games to have a great comic show!
6 Responses to “Mid-Ohio-Con May Be Wizard’s Next Show Acquisition”
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November 8, 2010 at 8:26 AM
Wondering what next year’s C2E2 in Chicago will be like (last year’s seemed successful, as an alternative to Chicago’s only other major convention, an older one Wizard took over).
November 8, 2010 at 8:32 AM
Hmmm. Good thing Can-Con‘s reorganized here in Ottawa, then…
(Admission of personal bias: I’m doing volunteer duty as designer of posters, badges and suchlike for the organizing committee of Can-Con 2011.)
November 8, 2010 at 9:38 AM
Anthony, I think the second year is going to be a significant indicator of C2E2′s potential. Lots of people turned out for year one, but exhibitors were reportedly disappointed by their sales due to the high costs to participate. So it’ll be interesting to see how many return. I hope it does well, myself — I’d like to keep going, but it’s got to be worth the trip across the country for me.
November 9, 2010 at 11:37 AM
[...] Conventions | Wizard Entertainment has announced its acquisition of Central Canada Comic Con in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which will become Central Canada Comic Con. Johanna Draper Carlson also picks up on rumors that the company is adding Mid-Ohio-Con to its growing stable. [press release, Comics Worth Reading] [...]
November 9, 2010 at 1:15 PM
I’m not sure why WW would take over Mid-Ohio-Con – it’s primarily a comic book convention with little gaming or other events going on, almost the direct opposite of a WW event where they do a whole lot of everything.
I’d find it easier to believe that WW was taking over Origins, to be honest.
November 14, 2010 at 1:53 PM
[...] week after the news broke (and everyone at the show was already talking about it), Heidi posts that Wizard has confirmed that [...]