If anyone needs another example of how hot comics have become, more than 6000 would-be attendees at the Denver Comic Con were turned away on Friday when organizers were confronted with a turnout that they “never could have imagined.” Of course Comic Cons are about more than just comics these days, but it is hard not to see the cumulative effect of all those successful comic book movie adaptations and TV shows that feature scenes at Comic Cons full of colorful cosplayers as the prime factors in producing the hard to handle surge of attendance at the Denver Comic Con.
Overwhelmed by the turnout on the first day of the Denver Comic Convention, organizers admitted that they had too few security personnel and too few doors open to accommodate the crowd that showed up on Friday. More than 15,000 fans were lined up outside the Denver Convention Center, and while all those who had tickets were able to get in, 6000 would-be attendees were turned away.
The Denver Comic Con is only in its second year of operation. The show’s first year was the second biggest inaugural comic convention yet, but organizers were still unprepared for the turnout on Friday. Comic Con co-director Charlie La Greca told the Denver Post, "We could never have imagined that it was going to be this big of a turnout. We hope those who didn’t get in will come back tomorrow." The show was remained open for an extra hour on Friday to accommodate those who had waited for hours and didn’t get in until late in the day.
The primary beneficiary of profits from the Denver Comic Con is Comic Book Classroom, a free after school program that uses comics and graphic novels to improve literacy among fifth through eighth grade students.
Attendance Way More Than Expected
Posted by ICv2 on June 1, 2013 @ 10:08 pm CT