A man who declined to give his name bags up a comic book in his store’s booth at the Las Vegas Comic Expo Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 | 2 a.m.
San Diego’s Comic-Con International will have some competition this summer, thanks to a new comic book and fantasy convention heading to Las Vegas in June.
The Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con will be June 14-16 at the South Point, featuring guest speakers, exhibitors and comics-centric programming geared toward hardcore fans and casual enthusiasts.
"Las Vegas is this amazing comic book city. It has some really fantastic stores that are nationally recognized -- Alternate Reality, Maximum Comics, the list goes on and on," says convention organizer Jimmy Jay, whose Jay Company Comics has been a retailer at the San Diego Comic-Con for nearly a decade.
Jay has launched similar comic conventions in other cities, including the successful Amazing Arizona Comic Con, which drew 20,000 people to Phoenix for its third year in January. The success of that event inspired Jay and his team, who hail from Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas, to expand elsewhere in the Southwest.
The Las Vegas event has no affiliation with the popular San Diego convention nor the Las Vegas Comic Expo, which returned to Las Vegas after an eight-year hiatus last September.
While Jay is a fan of Comic-Con International, he organized his regional conventions to provide a more intimate experience for fans that caters to a local audience.
"It's hard to get tickets to the San Diego event. It's completely overcrowded, it's like the most stressful vacation you can take. What we wanted to do is pare that experience down to an event where fans can actually talk to creators and go to panels without having to camp out for three days on the pavement," he says.
The Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con will feature around 30 exhibiting publishers, artists and comic book professionals. Featured guests include Marvel Comics writer Rick Remender, Marvel cover artist Skottie Young, renowned Batman artist Greg Capullo and cosplay superstar Jessica Nigri, among many others. Fan events and activities will also be held throughout the weekend, including a fan cosplay meet-up for the hit Cartoon Network series “Adventure Time” and family-oriented events.
"Our feeling is that there’s something for everyone, whether that's a mom and dad out with their kids, hardcore fans or that person in a cubicle at the workplace who’s into games and pop culture," Jay says.
Ticket cost $25 for Friday, June 14; $35 for Saturday, June 15 and $25 for Sunday, June 16; weekend passes cost $50 and VIP passes cost $150; kids 10 and under are free. Tickets are slated to go on sale later this week online and at the South Point box office. For more details and information about the convention, visit Las Vegas Comic Con’s website.
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