Chicago Comic Book and Science Fiction Expo

Science Fiction Convention
Name:	Chicago Comic Book and Science Fiction Expo
Dates:	May 31-June 2, 1991
Frequency:	never
Location:	O'Hare Expo Center, Rosemount, IL
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Focus:
Organization:
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Founding Date:
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Chicago Comic Book and Science Fiction Expo is a convention that did not take place.

It was heavily advertised and subsequently dismantled very shortly before it was to have occurred.

Lee Tennent and Eric Parnes were the organizers -- Admission: $20 a day. Scheduled guests included Ron Perlman, George Takei, James Doohan, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Harris, and Mark Hamill. Stephanie A. Wiltse reports in Pipeline v.4 n.8/9 that this convention was canceled when it reportedly lost its hall space less than a week before its scheduled opening.

Comments by Peter David

June 28, 1991:

I was contacted two months ago by a retailer friend of mine in Chicago, Lee Tennant. Lee told me of a convention that was being put together by an organizer who had run, not too long before, a convention featuring Adam West (and, as an aside, I’ll mention that the most depressing thing I ever saw was at a convention with West several years back when he was parading around on stage in the Batman costume.

[...]

I didn’t know the promoter from a hole-in-the-wall, but Lee swore that he was going to be keeping a wary eye on him, and also asked for my help in obtaining other guests. I managed to rope in Dale Keown, George Perez and Larry Stroman, not to mention Bill Mumy and Miguel Ferrer when Mark Hamill canceled out (the force obviously being with him), all of whom I publicly apologize to now for having gotten their names associated with this thing.

The money from the convention to reimburse me [for my air fare] was supposed to show up ten days before the convention.

Then it got trimmed to seven days, and then five…

By this time my spider-sense was tingling and, sure enough, three days before the convention–and me with my nonrefundable airline tickets sitting on the shelf–Lee called to inform me that the convention had died.

I say canceled. They say postponed. I’m sorry, no. The San Francisco/Oakland World Series was postponed. The Chicago Comic Expo was canceled. If they manage to get their act together and stage it again a couple months later, more power to them. Just don’t expect to see me there.

The reason, I was informed, was that ostensibly the credit line with the bank had suddenly evaporated. Allegedly, the promoter went to the bank to draw the checks that would pay for the air tickets, speakers fees, etc. And he was informed by the bank that, apparently due to spill-over from the S&L difficulties, the bank had lost its line of credit. That there was suddenly no more money to be had.

Is it true? I don’t know for sure. It’s not impossible, but it’s curious. At best, it shows an appalling lack of planning on the part of the promoter, who waited until the very last minute to obtain funds that abruptly weren’t there. At worst, it’s…well, since I can’t prove it, it would be libelous.

What I am positive of is that Lee Tennant was caught as much by surprise as anybody, and that he was dealing with everyone–dealers, guests, everyone–in good faith. He worked for two months on the convention without any compensation at all, the money he was promised going the way of my airline fare.

So there I was with the nonrefundable plane tickets and babysitters lined up for the weekend. Deciding “What the hell,” Myra and I went to Chicago anyway. The Cubs had the discourtesy to be out of town (and I’m not interested in the Sox), but we wound up spending two days retracing all of Ferris Bueller’s steps during his day off (although I wasn’t quite sure of exactly where he lip synched “Twist and Shout,” a moment that is Matthew Broderick’s film career highlight. And by the way, has anyone ever met a real person named “Ferris”?)

Also, to try and salvage something of the weekend from a fan point of view, I did a personal appearance at Lee’s store from 3 to 5 on Saturday, along with Chuck Fiala. Granted, three days notice isn’t a lot of time to beat the drums, but since Lee had people stationed at the convention center informing frustrated con-goers of the cancellation, and also of the signing at the store, I thought we might pull in a few people.

Another great David incorrect thought. At any given time, Chuck, Lee and I outnumbered the number of people in the store coming for autographs. Maybe seven showed up in all. That was a lot of fun.

So the moral of the story is…oh hell, I don’t know. Don’t do conventions anymore? That’s no fun. No, the moral is, get it in writing, or don’t do it.

Fan Comments

My main activity in con-dom, outside of appearances at Dragon*Con, has been publicity director for gaming cons in Orlando. I have made one thing clear to everyone who has “great ideas” for publicity. It is a slogan learned, with great difficulty, in my job at a TV station.

The rule: If you lie to your customers, you may get them in the door – once. Never again.

Simple rule, but it has implications. You always put “scheduled to appear” with guests, and you say “appearances subject to availability.” You never, ever print anything until the entire staff reads it and agrees this is what they want said.

And sometimes you have to stand over the staff’s shoulders and force them to read it, and REALLY read it. They often say “That’s a real pretty lettering font, and that’s a great picture” and completely ignore that the text says “Peter David will write the life story of everyone who attends in his own blood!” Which is not what the con paid for, and not what he will do without a substantial fee increase.

You never promise anything you can’t deliver, and aren’t prepared to deliver or make good. That’s a life lesson from advertising that many newbie con organizers haven’t learned.