Treasure Valley Comic Con Will NOT Return for 2018
Shortly before I went running down Capitol Boulevard and into Space Bar on Saturday night, I was telling my girlfriends how much I'd enjoyed Comic Con last year and hoped they'd come with me this year.
UPDATE: April 6 - Wizard World has now unveiled it's first celebrity guests for the Boise convention. Click HERE to see the list.
The inaugural Treasure Valley Comic Con took place at the Nampa Civic Center last July and attracted some huge names from The Walking Dead (Cooper Andrews/Jerry,) Breaking Bad (Charlie Baker/Skinny Pete,) Shameless (Emma Kenney/Debbie Gallagher) and more. The event drew more than 4,000 attendees who had a chance to attend Q&A sessions with the celebrity guests, participate in the Cosplay costume contests, go head to head in gaming competitions, grab a photo with their favorite Star Wars character and otherwise just get in touch with their inner nerd.
I'll be honest, the day after the three day event wrapped up was bittersweet for me. It felt really strange going back to my regular job, in regular street clothes instead of being dressed up as my favorite Mario Kart 64 character of all time, Yoshi. I was really looking forward to doing it again in 2018.
Unfortunately, none of us will get that opportunity. On Monday morning, Spectra Venue Management, the venue management company for the Nampa Civic Center, announced that the convention is off for 2018. In the announcement, they explained the decision was driven by a national Comic Con, announcing that it was coming to the market this summer the week after they planned to hold the local event.
To remain in good financial standing by not competing against such a large event, they've decided to postpone the second annual Treasure Valley Comic Con and let the national event shine. Once it's over, the organizers behind the local event will re-evaluate the opportunity to host their event in 2019.
Still want to get your fill of fantasy fun in 2018? Check out these other conventions coming to the Treasure Valley over the next few months.
Wizard World
July 13-15 | Boise CenterBased on the dates of last year's Treasure Valley Comic Con, this appears to be the national convention that would've been competing against our local event. At this time, there's no guests or attractions announced for the Boise show. However, if the line up for their Portland show (April 13-15) is any indication, there could be some big names coming.
The line-up for Portland (these are NOT confirmed guests for the Boise convention) include Dave Bautista (Drax the Destroyer/Guardians of the Galaxy,) Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley/The Harry Potter Series,) Chris Sullivan (Toby/This is Us and Taserface/Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,) Ezra Miller (The Flash/Justice League,) Ian Somerhalder (Damon Salvatore/Supernatural,) Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Multiple Marvel Comic Universe movies) and Henry Winkler (Fonzie/Happy Days.)
Boise Comic Arts Festival
Agust 25-26 | JUMP BoiseFormerly known as the Library Comic Con, the Boise Comic Arts Festival moves to JUMP in Downtown Boise this year. It features internationally-recognized comic creators, panels, workshops, cosplays and more.