New York Comic-Con moves yet again for 2010 and organizers planning Chicago Comic Expo at McCormick Place

Reed Exhibitions announced today the launch of the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), which will take place April 16 – 18, 2010 at McCormick Place in downtown Chicago. The new show will be structured in the spirit of New York Comic Con (NYCC) which was launched by Reed Exhibitions in 2006 and saw attendance grow from 33,000 in its first year to 67,000 in 2008, making it the fastest growing comic and pop culture event in the U.S. Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo comes in response to significant customer demand. Reed officials note that customers of New York Comic Con have frequently and repeatedly asked Reed Exhibitions to bring a major pop culture event to downtown Chicago.

“We are delivering this event for the industry and for the fans,” notes Lance Fensterman, who is Vice President and Show Manager for NYCC and who will also be overseeing C2E2. “We have heard their wishes and we are thrilled to bring what we hope will be another massive comic and pop culture event, in the spirit of New York Comic Con, to an eager audience in Chicago and the entire Midwest. With April dates in place for Chicago, this has also provided us with a perfect opportunity to balance the sequence of our events by moving New York Comic to permanent dates in the fall.”

This year’s New York Comic Con takes place this weekend, on February 6 – 8, 2009, at Jacob K. Javits Center. The next New York Comic Con will take place October 8 – 10, 2010. Officials confirm that the October time for New York Comic Con is sustainable and will be permanent to avoid shifting dates from year to year. Most importantly, the new dates will afford substantial growth opportunity within the Javits facility itself.

Reed officials note that their ability to confidently launch C2E2 is an indication of how deeply embedded all aspects of pop culture have become in our society. In addition to New York Comic Con, Reed Exhibitions launched the New York Anime Festival in 2007 and it entered a strategic partnership with Penny Arcade (PAX) in 2008. Reed Exhibitions will be working closely with PAX on the launch of PAX East in Boston in 2010.

The show will have a web site that can be found at www.chicagocomicandentertainmentexpo.com.

Find out more about New York Comic-Con at www.nycomiccon.com.