Drawing attendees and vendors back year after year, ITHACON has been taking place on Ithaca College’s campus for 49 years and counting, acting as the second-longest-running comic convention in the nation.
This year, ITHACON drew over 1,000 guests to Emerson Suites, comprising approximately 850 attendees and around 150 staff members, vendors, and volunteers.
Camaraderie and community
Joe Orsak, art director of Mastergraphics Studios and writer for Ahoy Comics, has been attending Ithacon for 40 years, first participating in the convention in 1984 at Ithacon 9.
“This place has become like home; everyone here is a member of my family, Orsak said. “We’re all friends, and it’s always great to see them every year. I’ve seen friends today that I haven’t seen in a while, and it’s been wonderful.”
Vendors return yearly
Orsak is not the only vendor/attendee who revisits ITHACON each year, as a majority of the guests are returning from previous years of the convention.
“We have a lot of people who have been here since the first ITHACON, or since four or five, a lot since ITHACON 10. But they keep coming back year after year,” said junior Addison Wells.
While some attendees have been coming to the convention since its beginnings, some comic writers have recently discovered ITHACON within the last five years. Comic book artist Glen Whitmore has been in the comic field his whole life, but started attending the event about four years ago.
Glens’ most notable work includes coloring Superman for ten years during the 90s, along with publishing his own comic book titled Captain Clockwork. Whitmore discussed why he loves the convention and the dynamics that keep him returning every year.
“This particular convention is different because it’s got the passionate, hardcore fans who know their stuff, but it’s also a small convention,” Whitmore said. “It’s also long-running. So it’s got a nice, unique feel to it.”
Unsung heroes
The two-day event is planned and produced primarily by 41 Ithaca College students taking the ITHACON course, taught by Professor Ed Catto and assisted by Teaching Assistant Addison Wells.
“The class is divided into teams, and each team has a different focus. We have marketing and public relations, social media, volunteers, guests, panels, vendors, and it just keeps going,” said Wells. So everybody has their role, but we’re all working together collaboratively to really pull together the event.”
For vendors, the most notable part of the convention was widely considered to be the sense of community and camaraderie that comes from seeing comic colleagues and friends yearly.
“It almost feels like every year that I’ve done it, it’s like a college reunion to a college that I never went to,” Whitmore said.
Distances traveled
Not all vendors attending ITHACON live locally; in fact, many of them travel across state lines to attend the convention.
“We’ve got people coming from all over the place, so even though it’s kind of small here on campus, it’s really built up a reputation among the community,” Wells said.
ITHACON has been a consistent event for comic writers and enthusiasts to look forward to each year, and the relationships formed keep community members from all over the nation coming back for more.
“We have people fighting for tables because everybody wants to be here,” Wells said. “We only have so much space, and it’s so popular for the guests and the vendors to be a part of this show that we see them fighting over these spots.”
Next year marks ITHACON’S 50th anniversary, and according to Wells, the convention is already expected to be the biggest year yet.
