2019 REVIEW OF SAN ANTONIO COMIC CON
This year commemorated the 50th year of the first-ever comic con – San Diego Comic Con. What started out in the basement of the U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego with 300 fans has turned into one of the biggest cultural gatherings in the world, amassing more than 130,000 attendees. This comic con was just the beginning of what would result in nerd culture becoming pop culture. More and more comic conventions have sprung up over the years with different focuses in various cities – San Antonio included! If you missed out on attending a comic con this year, don’t worry; we’ve put together a short review of San Antonio’s premier comic con in 2019 to get you excited for the return of the big event happening in June 2020.
Celebrity Fan Fest
Since its inception in November 2018, Celebrity Fan Fest has welcomed several dozen celebrity guests such as two-time Academy Award® winner Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Jason Momoa, Zachary Levi and Anthony Mackie. In 2019, Celebrity Fan Fest put on not 1 – but 2 events! Both took place at the Freeman Expo Halls & Coliseum, a major location change from the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. This change allowed for the expansion of attending comic artists, illustrators, vendors, experiences and guests. This also included the addition of a Hollywood car show featuring film favorites like the 1989 Batmobile and ECTO-1 from “Ghostbusters” and Heroes Hall filled with amazing life-sized superhero figures.
June’s Celebrity Fan Fest drew over 36,000 attendees, over a 350% increase from 2018. Celebrity guests included not only famous movie and television stars, but also WWE superstars! Although Jason Momoa made an appearance at the debut of Celebrity Fan Fest in 2018, he remained the most popular celebrity. Becky Lynch signed autographs for six hours, making her the second most popular celebrity of the whole con. She jokingly called out Momoa on Twitter, saying, “Aquaman, THE Man is coming for your crown next time.” Another highlight of the June event occurred during an “Aquaman Live” panel in which a fan proposed Momoa team up with Peter Dinklage (a former “Game of Thrones” co-star) to do a remake of the 1988 comedy “Twins.” Momoa’s replied with “Tell me where to sign!”
Then on September 17, 2019, an exciting announcement was made – Celebrity Fan Fest would host a “Preview Con” on October 26-27, 2019. Fans who purchased their June 2020 tickets could get into “Preview Con” for FREE including FREE photos and autographs at the fall event. Several celebrities were announced including Zachary Levi, Brendan Fraser and Antony Starr from Amazon Prime’s hit subscription television series, “The Boys.” Unfortunately, due to season 2 filming conflicts, Antony Starr had to cancel his appearance at the October show. However, the event proved to be a great success.
Celebrity Fan Fest has since announced new dates for its next pop culture fan fest happening from June 11-14, 2020, with guest appearances starting to roll in. In case you haven’t heard the good news, Antony Starr is making good on his promise to attend Celebrity Fan Fest! He, along with most of the cast from “The Boys,” will be available for pictures and autographs. In addition, cast members from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Star Trek: Picard” including Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, Jonathan Frakes and Denise Crosby will also be in attendance.
If you haven’t already purchased tickets, for a limited time, get 25% off ALL admission (multi-day passes, VIP passes and Fan Fiesta Passes) with code SAVE25.
San Antonio’s Premier Comic Con
Stay tuned for additional announcements and updates for San Antonio’s premier comic con – Celebrity Fan Fest 2020. Don’t forget to “like” our Facebook page for the latest news, schedules, celebrity info and more!