FanX: The History Of Salt Lake Comic Con

Comic Con

FanX: The History Of Salt Lake Comic Con

comicconIn fall of 2013, Salt Lake City saw its first ever Comic Con. From September 5-7, at the Salt Palace, this was to be Utah’s first step into the world of comic book conventions. As I spoke to friends in other states who had attended San Diego Comic-Con, they found the idea of a Salt Lake Comic Con to be quaint and amusing.

“It was cute,” says Dan Farr, co-founder and producer of Salt Lake Comic Con, describing the attitude taken toward the convention. Two years and four cons later, Salt Lake Comic has as the largest per-capita comic con event in North America.

No one is dismissing it as cute anymore.

The inaugural con was a record breaking event, attended by over 72,00 people. To put that in perspective, the previous record holder for largest attended convention in Utah was only attended by 27,000 people. Guests for Comic Con included William Shatner, Adam West, Burt Ward, Lou Ferrigno, David Prowse, Ray Park, Kevin Sorbo, Manu Bennett, Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict and Henry Winkler.

Robert Easton, a 31-one year-old Magna resident who co-hosts “Hold 322,” a local podcast, described his experience at the con.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” he says of the press conference kicking off the convention. “The Jazz Bear was driving around on his motorcycle and Dan Farr was introducing Lou Ferrigno. I did my wookie impression for Peter Mayhew, who advised me now to quit my day job . . . it was surreal stuff.”

Salt Lake Comic 2013 ended with two things that we expect from every MARVEL movie: an appearance by Stan Lee, and the promise of a sequel. And it came sooner than anyone expected, as the next April saw the first Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience.

FanX featured an amazing line up of guests that included almost the entire original cast of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, including a last minute appearance by Sir Patrick Stewart. Along with them came a return appearance by William Shatner, who moderated a panel of the cast members. At the panel, an audience member who introduced himself as “Feet” explained that he lost both of his legs as a soldier in Iraq.

“I suffer from PTSD. For real,” Feet said. “And I tell you, the thing that has pulled me from my darkest of darkest of craziest places has been this cast right here.”

The entire cast left the stage to embrace the man in as the audience stood in a thunderous ovation as William Shatner, who was visibly moved to tears, said that this was one of the most emotional experiences he had ever been connected to at a convention. Other guests included Nathan Fillion, Karl Urban, Billy Dee Williams, Edward James Olmos, Jason David Frank, William Baldwin and Karen Gillan. FanX saw over 120,000 attendees. Salt Lake Comic Con was here to stay, so it seemed.

A potential obstacle to this arose on July 25th, 2014, when a cease and desist ordered was sent by San Diego Comic-Con over the use of the term “Comic Con.” Salt Lake Comic Con responded with a press release citing their legal position and unwillingness to comply to the cease and desist letter, stating the position that the phrases “Comic Con,” “comicon” or “comic-con” are generic abbreviation for comic book conventions that have been in use since 1964, six years before San Diego Comic-Con even existed.
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The second Salt Lake Comic Con event in 2014, took place on September 4–6, 2014. The event was sold out with over 120,000 attendees and was closed down on several occasions by the fire marshall for safety reasons.Salt Lake Comic Con broke its own record as the best-attended convention in Utah and the largest per-capita comic con in North America. Special guests included Stan Lee, Stephen Amell, John Barrowman, Ron Perlman, Danny Glover, Bruce Campbell, Barbara Eden and Alan Tudyk. Stan Lee declared Salt Lake Comic Con to be “the greatest comic con in the world.”

All of this leaves FanX organizers with a monumental task in simply creating an event that lives up to its predecessors. They are off to a good start, with the biggest attraction, “Doctor Who: The Ultimate Experience” already sold out. The panel brings together Matt Smith, the eleventh doctor, and former companions, Karen Gillan (returning from last year’s FanX) and Billie Piper.

If you’re not a “Doctor Who” fan, no problem. FanX is bring in multiples guests from “Game of Thrones”, “Star Wars” and even the voice of Winnie The Pooh, Jim Cummings.

“FanX is all about the fans,” says Chris Provost, Assistant Director of Events and MC for Comic Con and FanX. “We are making this experience a little more intimate for the fans. The reason FanX is so fun is that all cultures are represented: movies, TV shows, authors and artists. Everyone can find something they like at FanX.”

Projections for attendance at FanX are in the range of 50,000 people.

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