Phoenix Fan Fusion
33°24′N 112°06′W / 33.4°N 112.1°W
Phoenix Fan Fusion | |
---|---|
Status | Active |
Genre | Speculative fiction |
Venue | Phoenix Convention Center |
Location(s) | Phoenix, Arizona |
Country | United States |
Inaugurated | 2002; 20 years ago |
Attendance | 57,853 in 2018 |
Organized by | Square Egg Entertainment |
Website | phoenixfanfusion |
Phoenix Fan Fusion (formerly Phoenix Comicon and Phoenix Comic Fest) is a
Originally showcasing
History and organization
The first Phoenix Comicon was held in June 2002 as Phoenix Cactus Comicon. It was a one-day convention lasting six hours held at a Best Western in
In 2006, the convention was held at the Mesa Convention Center in Mesa, Arizona, for the first time in its history. It also became a two-day convention, with a Friday preview night, and featured guests such as voice actors Johnny Yong Bosch and Greg Ayres. The exhibitor room was dramatically expanded, as was the amount of programming offered. This was the first convention to expand beyond comic books into the greater pop culture community, including anime, manga, sci-Fi, fantasy and cosplay. Over the weekend, there were over 2,600 attendees. From 2007 to 2009, the convention was held in January at the Mesa Convention Center, where attendance jumped past 3,200. The convention first forayed into media guests in 2007, when Feedback, the winner of Stan Lee's Who Wants to Be a Superhero? attended. In 2009, the event was expanded to 3 days, with a Thursday preview night. It was also announced at the 2009 convention that due to an overwhelming attendance of around 7,000 people that year, the convention in 2010 would be moved to the Phoenix Convention Center the next year and that the dates would be moved to the end of May.
Starting in 2010, the convention was held on Memorial Day weekend at the Phoenix Convention Center and Grand Hyatt Hotel in Phoenix. This change was due to the large increase in attendance and the availability of funds to hold the convention in a larger venue. Increasingly popular celebrities such as Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, and Stan Lee also attended the convention as special guests. One of the highlights of the 2013 event included the world premiere of "Pilgrim of Eternity", the first full-length episode of the award-winning Star Trek Continues fan film web series and a sequel to "Who Mourns for Adonais?". In 2014, due to a scheduling conflict, the convention was moved to the first week of June as opposed to Memorial Day weekend. The convention also expanded its presence into the South and West buildings of the convention center, as well as nearby hotels including the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Marriott Renaissance Hotel and Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel. The 2015 and 2016 convention took place the weekend after Memorial Day weekend at the Phoenix Convention Center, and further utilized the convention facilities, including expanding to the third level ballroom in order to accommodate a larger amount of attendees for popular media guests.
Beginning in 2017, the convention again took place on Memorial Day weekend at the Phoenix Convention Center, with the same being true through 2022.
On May 25, 2017, the first day of the 2017 convention, a man was arrested at the convention after posting his intent to kill police officers to Facebook and was found in possession of several firearms and knives. The man believed he was the Punisher, and intended to kill bad police officers, along with actor Jason David Frank, who was attending the convention as a guest. Security changes were made to the event, including a ban on prop weapons resembling any sort of gun which included those constructed from cardboard and foam. Other prop weapons needed to be deemed safe by security. Although vendors were still allowed to sell toy weapons, they were to be sealed and to be taken off the premises immediately after purchase. These new rules resulted in the cancellation of several panels focused on making prop weapons. The attendance for the convention declined steadily in the following days.[1]
In January 2018, the convention was renamed Phoenix Comic Fest. This was done to avoid use of the term "comic con", which is a response to
The 2020 Phoenix Fan Fusion was cancelled due to the
Events
Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, evenings at the convention include events such as themed prom parties, the annual Masquerade costume contest, and a Film Festival with several different prize opportunities.
In 2014, Phoenix Comicon also began a partnership with
Like most comics conventions, Phoenix Fan Fusion features a large floor space for exhibitors. These exhibitors include media companies, as well as comic-book dealers and collectibles merchants. The exclusive collectibles sold include merchandise of licensed movie, comic book, and animation characters. Also like most comics conventions, Phoenix Fan Fusion includes an autograph and photo opportunity area, as well as the Artists' Alley, where comics artists can sign autographs and provide free or paid sketches.
For the first time ever, Phoenix Comicon held a separate event in December 2014, titled Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest, at the
Locations and dates
Phoenix Fan Fusion/Comicon/Comic Fest
No. | Dates | Location | Attendance | Special Guests |
---|---|---|---|---|
1[8] | June 9, 2002 | Best Western Hotel, Ahwatukee, AZ |
432 | None |
2[8] | April 13, 2003 | Glendale Civic Center | 780 | None |
3[9] | April 2004 | Glendale Civic Center | 690 | None |
4[9] | April 2005 | Glendale Civic Center | 680 | Todd Nauck, Marv Wolfman |
5[10] | September 23–24, 2006 | Mesa Convention Center | 2,600 | Christine Auten, Greg Ayres, Josh Blaylock, Johnny Yong Bosch, Shannon Denton, Eyeshine, Christy Lijewski, Jen Quick, Armand Villavert Jr. |
6[11] | January 27–28, 2007 | Mesa Convention Center | 3,200 | Amy Reeder Hadley , among others.
|
7[12] | January 26–27, 2008 | Mesa Convention Center | 5,200 | Maral Agnerian, Peter Mayhew, Ed McGuinness, Dawn "Kaijugal" McKechnie, Angel Medina, Michelle Ruff, Armand Villavert Jr., Mark Waid, Wil Wheaton , Andrew Wheelan, among others.
|
8[13] | January 23–25, 2009 | Mesa Convention Center | 7,000 | David Beaty, Lou Ferrigno, Tiffany Grant, Erin Gray, Matt Greenfield, Reuben Langdon, Yuri Lowenthal, Tara Platt, Christophe Tang, Wil Wheaton, among others. |
9[14] | May 28–30, 2010 | Phoenix Convention Center, Hyatt Regency Hotel |
13,988 | Stan Lee, Wil Wheaton, Lou Ferrigno, LeVar Burton, Felicia Day, Jonathan Frakes, Genie Francis, James Marsters, Philip Tan, Greg Capullo, Mike McFarland, John Scalzi, among others. |
10[14] | May 26–29, 2011 | Phoenix Convention Center, Hyatt Regency Hotel |
23,001 | Stan Lee, Wil Wheaton, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Sandeep Parikh, Jeff Lewis, Cassandra Peterson, Billy Dee Williams, Paul McGillion, Todd McFarlane, Max Brooks, Bruce Boxleitner, Jaime Paglia, Aaron Douglas, Alex Albrecht, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Vic Mignogna, Kazha, Brina Palencia, Ernie Hudson, John Scalzi, Cherie Priest, Robert J. Sawyer, among others. |
11[14] | May 24–27, 2012 | Phoenix Convention Center, Hyatt Regency Hotel |
32,127 | Colin Ferguson, David Finch, Garth Ennis, Craig W. Chenery, Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Lou Ferrigno, Jon Bernthal , among others.
|
12[14] | May 23–26, 2013 | Phoenix Convention Center, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Marriott Renaissance Hotel |
55,313 | , among others. |
13[14] | June 5–8, 2014 | Phoenix Convention Center, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Marriott Renaissance Hotel, Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel |
77,818 | , among others. |
14[14] | May 28–31, 2015 | Phoenix Convention Center, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Marriott Renaissance Hotel, Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel |
75,501[15] | |
15[14] | June 2–5, 2016 | Phoenix Convention Center, Hyatt Regency Hotel |
106,096[17] | George Perez, Kara Ashley, Ksenia Solo, Lee Majors, Lindsay Wagner, Martin Kove, Maurice LaMarche, Neve McIntosh, Nolan North, Ralph Macchio, Robert Beltran, Sean Astin, Tony Todd, Troy Baker, William Zabka, Mike Zeck , among others.
|
16[14] | May 25–28, 2017 | Phoenix Convention Center, Hyatt Regency Hotel |
80,703[14] | Dick Van Dyke, Alan Tudyk, Karen Gillan, Bonnie Wright, Jon Bernthal, Elden Henson, Kevin Conroy, PJ Haarsma, Gabriel Luna, Curtis Armstrong, Danny Trejo, Anthony Michael Hall, Vic Mignogna, Sean Schemmel, Christopher Sabat, Todd Haberkorn, Teddy Sears, Karen David, John de Lancie, Osric Chau, David Anders, Sean Maguire, Rachel Skarsten, Michael Rosenbaum, Neal McDonough, Ciara Renée, Garrett Wang, Robert Duncan McNeill, Jason David Frank, Osric Chau, Ryan Hurst, Peter David, Robin Hobb, Terry Brooks, Michael A. Stackpole, Arthur Suydam, Norm Rapmund, Dan Jurgens, Diane Pershing, Diana Gabaldon, Kevin J. Anderson, Timothy Zahn, Dan Wells, Jim Shooter, Jae Lee, Frank Beddor, Sam Sykes, Myke Cole, Pierce Brown, Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, among others. |
17[14] | May 24–27, 2018 | Phoenix Convention Center | 57,853 | L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Mercedes Lackey, Sylvain Neuvel, Aprilynne Pike, Chuck Wendig, Delilah S. Dawson, Jeffrey Brown, Joseph Nassise, Michael A. Stackpole, Larry Dixon, Yvonne Navarro , among others.
|
18 | May 23–26, 2019 | Phoenix Convention Center | Phi Phi O'Hara, Ray Park, Robin Lord Taylor, Samantha Ireland, Steve Cardenas, Summer Glau, Tom Kenny, Walter Koenig , among others.
| |
19[18] | May 27-29, 2022 | Phoenix Convention Center | Billy West, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Christopher Eccleston, Doug Jones, Felicia Day, Jim Cummings, Jodi Benson, John DiMaggio, Katie Griffin, Linda Ballantyne, Heartless Aquarius, James A. Owen, among others. | |
20 | June 2-4, 2023 | Phoenix Convention Center |
Phoenix Fan Fest
References
- ^ Leatherman, Benjamin (26 May 2017). "Gunman Arrested at Phoenix Comicon Claimed He's The Punisher and Wanted to Kill Jason David Frank". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- ^ "The Other Side: Phoenix Comicon Proactively Changes Names To Avoid San Diego Comic-Con Bully". Techdirt. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
- ^ Frigerio, Josh (May 27, 2018). "Another name change: 'Phoenix Comic Fest' to become 'Phoenix Fan Fusion' in 2019". ABC 15. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
- ^ Robinson, KiMi. "Phoenix Fan Fusion 2020 canceled due to COVID-19. Plus: Updates on other local geek cons," Arizona Republic (Jan. 24, 2020).
- ^ Robinson, KiMi. "Phoenix Fan Fusion 2021 is canceled. Here's what ticketholders and other fans should do," Arizona Republic (Mar. 1, 2021).
- ^ Robinson, KiMi. "Phoenix Fan Fusion 2022 is postponed. Here's when the convention plans to return". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
- ^ Frigerio, Josh (June 4, 2018). "Here is why Phoenix Fan Fest was canceled". ABC 15. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
- ^ a b Leatherman, Benjamin (May 27, 2022). "Phoenix Fan Fusion: A Geek's History of Arizona's Biggest Pop-Culture Event". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ a b http://phoenixcomicon.com/images/comiconforms/phoenixcomiconconventionhistory.pdf[bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Phoenix Cactus Comicon 2006 Convention Information @ AnimeCons.com". AnimeCons.com.
- ^ "Phoenix Cactus Comicon 2007 Convention Information @ AnimeCons.com". AnimeCons.com.
- ^ "Phoenix Cactus Comicon 2008 Convention Information @ AnimeCons.com". AnimeCons.com.
- ^ "Phoenix Comicon 2009 Convention Information @ AnimeCons.com". AnimeCons.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Phoenix Fan Fusion May 27-29 2022". Phoenix Fan Fusion. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ "Phoenix Comicon". www.facebook.com.
- ^ "Guests - Phoenix Comicon". www.phoenixcomicon.com.
- ^ "Phoenix Comicon". www.facebook.com.
- ^ "Phoenix Fan Fusion - Pop Culture Convention | May 27-29, 2022". Phoenix Fan Fusion. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
- ^ "Phoenix Comicon - Phoenix Comicon". www.phoenixcomicon.com. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ^ "Phoenix Fan Fest". www.phoenixfanfest.com. Retrieved November 12, 2017.