The Baltimore Comic-Con is a
comic book-oriented
fan convention held annually in Baltimore since 2000.
Each year, the show features marquee-name
comic book creators past and present,
publishers, charitable organizations, and vendor booths offering genre-related items, including comic book back-issues, limited edition collectible items such as Toon Tumblers and clothing, videos/DVDs, etc. Panel discussions throughout the day feature industry names presenting information on current and upcoming industry events, past hallmarks in comic book history, and information on the industry and how to be a part of it.
The show continued to grow in size, and in 2002, it show moved to the
Baltimore Convention Center in downtown Baltimore, across from
Camden Yards and down the street from
Geppi's Entertainment Museum, and was extended to a two-day show. In 2014, responding to demand from attendees and exhibitors, the show moved to a three-day event, from September 5 to 7.[citation needed]
An annual Yearbook, featuring renderings by attending artists, became a part of the show in 2012, featuring
Frank Cho's Liberty Meadows characters, followed by
Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo in 2013 and
Matt Wagner's Grendel in 2014. A scavenger hunt is also associated with the Yearbook, where attendees who get a pre-defined number of contributor autographs receive prints that were not part of the book, featuring characters from that year's theme by other attending artists.[citation needed]
The 2020 Comic-Con was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic and rescheduled for the same dates as a virtual event.[4]
October 23 – 25, 2020 — cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic; rescheduled as a virtual event[4]
Comics industry awards venue
In 2006, the 19th Annual
Harvey Awards, named for comics creator
Harvey Kurtzman, and developed to honor comic book industry professionals and companies singled out by their peers, moved from the
Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) in
New York City to the Baltimore Comic-Con, with
Kyle Baker as Master of Ceremonies.[34] The Harvey Awards were held every year at the Baltimore Comic-Con from 2006 to 2016, when they moved to a new venue.[35] The Harvey Awards were replaced with the creation of the
Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards, or Ringo Awards", beginning with the September 2017 convention.[36]