Fantasy Symposium 1980
| Science Fiction Convention | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Fantasy Symposium 1980 |
| Dates: | August 16-17, 1980 |
| Frequency: | |
| Location: | San Jose State University, Student Union |
| Type: | |
| Focus: | |
| Organization: | |
| Founder: | |
| Founding Date: | |
| URL: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Fantasy Symposium 1980 was held at San Jose State University, Student Union.
Con Report
Banking of the success of a previous Fantasy Symposium held by a different group of people the only thing the two conventions had in common were the same name. This convention attracted many people expecting the same high quality of entertainment. A great deal of people were sadly disappointed. Funded, not by the original group but by a comic shop, the emphasis was not on the celluloid media but rather slanted towards comic books and panel discussions.
With a few exceptions, the dealer's room was composed of wall-to-wall comic dealers . The art room consisted of works and exhibits left over from July's Baycon. The movies selected were above average for a comic convention with such titles as "Enter the Dragon, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Fantastic Animation Festival" to occupy the members bored with the other convention activities.
The panel discussions had such interesting subjects such as: Philippine Comic Art, Women in Fantasy-Media, and The Comic Dealer: Good Guy or Bad Guy.
As with the Science Fiction Festival, this Fantasy Symposium did have a magnet to attract people. Their special guest was Buster Crabbe, the original Flash Gordon. He was available in the dealer's room to sign autographs. Later that night he gave a talk about his early film days at the Montgomery Theater. This event caused quite a stir. Earlier in the day it was announced that this program, which also included a costume contest and a late night showing of "Halloween" was extra and would require a $2.50 ticket. Many thought that the talk should have been included in the convention membership and had second thoughts about attending. The fact that the Montgomery Theater was several blocks away from the convention was an added irritation. As Saturday morning rolled on it was announced that the price was now reduced to only a dollar. As the time for the event grew nearer it was announced that the event was now free.
Stressing comic books rather than cinema magic, this Fantasy Symposium was a pale copy of the first one. At best this could be considered as a continuation of Baycon. [1]