UnCommonCon
Encyclopedia
UnCommonCon was a short-lived comics
and science fiction convention
held in the Dallas, Texas
area on Thanksgiving
weekend. James Echols was the show chairman and president of event sponsor Uncommon Solutions. This combination of media, comics, and literary guests with gaming, art, anime, and film was an ambitious attempt to create a large convention with regional and national appeal. UnCommonCon suffered financial collapse just before the 2001 event.
. This event was hurriedly put together and "inherited" a number of guests from the UnCommonCon roster who had already completed travel plans for this Thanksgiving weekend. Con organizer Meri Hazlewood later claimed a paid attendance of "about 540 people (not counting dealers and staff)."
Heritage Comic Auctions held its "million dollar" comics and movie poster auction, as scheduled, at the Wyndham Anatole. They provided free vendor space to vintage comics and art dealers to advertise the now-smaller event and encourage more people to attend the auction in person. 703 of the 845 lots sold at auction bringing in a total of $960,649.05
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
and science fiction convention
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
held in the Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
area on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
weekend. James Echols was the show chairman and president of event sponsor Uncommon Solutions. This combination of media, comics, and literary guests with gaming, art, anime, and film was an ambitious attempt to create a large convention with regional and national appeal. UnCommonCon suffered financial collapse just before the 2001 event.
UnCommonCon 2000
- The first UnCommonCon, UnCommonCon 2000, was held November 24-26, 2000, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel-DFW Airport located by Terminal C at Dallas-Fort Worth International AirportDallas-Fort Worth International AirportDallas/Fort Worth International Airport is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas...
. Guests included author Aaron AllstonAaron AllstonAaron Allston is an American game designer and novelist of many science fiction books, notably Star Wars novels. His works as a game designer include game supplements for several role-playing games, several of which served to establish the basis for products and subsequent development of TSR's...
, author Tracy HickmanTracy HickmanTracy Raye Hickman is a best-selling fantasy author, best known for his work on Dragonlance as a game designer and co-author with Margaret Weis, while he worked for TSR...
, author P.N. Elrod, actor Ted RaimiTed RaimiTheodore "Ted"/"Half Ted" Raimi is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as Lieutenant Tim O'Neill in seaQuest DSV and Joxer the Mighty in Xena: Warrior Princess/Hercules: The Legendary Journeys...
, Melissa Benson, Babylon 5Babylon 5Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
actor Jason CarterJason Carter (actor)Jason Brian Carter is an English actor, best known for his role as Ranger Marcus Cole on the science fiction television series Babylon 5....
, "Hulk" actor Lou FerrignoLou FerrignoLouis Jude "Lou" Ferrigno is an American actor, fitness trainer/consultant, and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles, and appeared in the bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron...
, actor Victor LundinVictor LundinVictor Lundin is an American character actor who often bills himself as the first Klingon on the original Star Trek. He is also a singer / songwriter and has two albums to his credit.-Biography:...
, artist Bryan TalbotBryan TalbotBryan Talbot is a British comic book artist and writer, born in Wigan, Lancashire, in 1952. He is best known as the creator of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright and its sequel Heart of Empire.-Career:...
, and many more. Screenings included Babylon Park and Laughing Boy. Organizers were reported to have expected attendance of around 4000 but only 1200 people actually attended.
UnCommonCon 2001
- The second UnCommonCon, UnCommonCon 2001, was scheduled to be held November 23-25, 2001, at the Wyndham Anatole Hotel in Dallas, TexasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. Scheduled guests included author Aaron AllstonAaron AllstonAaron Allston is an American game designer and novelist of many science fiction books, notably Star Wars novels. His works as a game designer include game supplements for several role-playing games, several of which served to establish the basis for products and subsequent development of TSR's...
, artist Sergio AragonesSergio AragonésSergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer....
, author Lee Martindale, and author Michael Stackpole. The first major auction by Heritage AuctionsHeritage Auction GalleriesHeritage Auction Galleries is the world's largest collectibles auctioneer and the third largest auction house, with over $700 million in annual sales and 600,000 online bidder-members...
was scheduled to be held in conjunction with the convention. There were several factors, including a sharp drop in domestic travel after 9/11, that led to cancellation of the event roughly two weeks before the second convention was to occur but organizers publicly blamed slow dealer tables sales and their failure to meet room block commitments resulting in a $60,000 invoice from the hotel.
Aftermath of failure
When UnCommonCon failed unexpectedly due to financial difficulties, A-Kon sponsors Phoenix Entertainment stepped in with ItzaconItzacon
Itzacon is a one- or two-day science fiction convention held occasionally in the Dallas, Texas area, mostly on Thanksgiving weekend. The organizers described Itzacon as "an occasional event meant to serve as a party, a mini-con, a chance to hang out, and just have fun, a multi-genre relax-a-con...
. This event was hurriedly put together and "inherited" a number of guests from the UnCommonCon roster who had already completed travel plans for this Thanksgiving weekend. Con organizer Meri Hazlewood later claimed a paid attendance of "about 540 people (not counting dealers and staff)."
Heritage Comic Auctions held its "million dollar" comics and movie poster auction, as scheduled, at the Wyndham Anatole. They provided free vendor space to vintage comics and art dealers to advertise the now-smaller event and encourage more people to attend the auction in person. 703 of the 845 lots sold at auction bringing in a total of $960,649.05