“This is, in a very strange way, my love letter to the city of Boston saying, ‘Thank you so much, let’s have some fun, and let’s do comics.’”
While many comic conventions contain the barrier of paid admission, the upcoming WICKED Comic Con will be free to enter.
Bob Shaw, founder and co-owner of the convention since its inception in 2022, said he made the decision after finding himself “miserable” at 2024’s iteration of the show, and because of a “lack of free events,”
“Sometimes the cost of a show became prohibitive to people going to that show to enjoy with their family,” said Shaw.
Though paid admission in previous years led to Shaw having to organize flights, hotels, sales, panels, the costume contest, and having a show that lasted two days in a larger space, this year will be relieving his workload. While the show will remain free going forward, not every change will be permanent, as events like the costume contest and panels will return in May as well as a larger room for the convention itself.
After 20 years of working for convention organizations such as Left Field Media and Altered Reality Entertainment, Shaw has built up enough goodwill to have guests willing to come to the show without any sort of large deposit required, even if it means the guests won’t be mainstream movie stars.
Some of the 16 announced guests include comic book creators Dave Manak, Ed McGuinnness, Ming Doyle, Neil Cicierega, Joseph Schmalke and Rich Woodall. The convention will have nearly 50 exhibitors, including comic book stores, toy stores, gaming stores and charity groups.
“They believe in what we’re doing, which is more than I could ever ask for,” said Shaw.
While Shaw said his long career of conventions can cause them to blur together in memory, the first free WICKED Comic Con in April restored his faith in the show after previously considering closing it. Shaw said the prior show’s planning stressed him out and resulted in him losing money due to low attendance, while the first free show doubled it.
“When the show happened it was probably the happiest I had been at a show in probably 10 years”
Hosting free conventions has managed to be only slightly profitable, but Shaw said his motivations are “100% not about money,” After working for Boston Comic Con for a decade before it was purchased by Fan Expo’s parent company, Informa Canada, Shaw said he wanted to “bring a comic show back to Boston,”
“I’ve gotten a pretty good life out of comics for 20 years,” said Shaw. “This is, in a very strange way, my love letter to the city of Boston saying, ‘Thank you so much, let’s have some fun, and let’s do comics’.” when talking about the show’s lack of an admission fee.
Since most conventions have large price barriers, Shaw said that this convention’s absence of that is “such a foreign concept to everybody,” with even exhibitors not believing it. He feels that this gives visitors the chance to get something “actually tangible” instead of merely paying for entry at all.
With any money he made from the last free convention, he’s putting it towards sponsoring other shows being free, such as WICKED Comic Con co-creator, Randy House’s own convention, Southern New Hampshire Comic Bash the day prior.
Though Shaw understands that not every convention can make the push for free admission, it’s a choice he’ll be sticking with for every WICKED Comic Con going forward.
“It really is the smartest, dumb idea I’ve ever had,” said Shaw.
A lifelong fan of comics, Shaw said he can be found on the convention floor, digging through comic book boxes, talking to artists and high-fiving visitors.
WICKED Comic Con is happening on Sunday, Oct. 5 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Westin Boston Seaport District hotel, 425 Summer Street in Boston. Admission is free.
This article was produced for HorizonMass, the independent, student-driven, news outlet of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and is syndicated by BINJ’s MassWire news service.
