Ithacon 49 helps students combine pop culture and media management

Ithacon is one of the oldest comic book conventions in the country, now entering its 49th year. Held consistently on the Ithaca College campus, the convention is a celebration of comic culture, including the writers and artists that make them possible.

Originally hosted by the Comic Book Club of Ithaca, Ithacon’s partnership with IC began in 2014. Today, the convention is run largely by students through a class in the School of Business. Students are responsible for guest management, promotion, general convention organization and more. This allows students interested in event management to gain hands-on skills in administration, organisation and accounting.

Andrew Monahan, a senior cinema photography and economics student at IC, worked in the guest relations department, responsible for booking and managing guests from across the industry. He joined the class after a friend recommended it and said the experience allowed him to combine his love of comics with skills that will help him in future endeavors. Monahan said that while there was a lot of effort put into the convention, the outcome was worth it.

“There were so many times during the convention, as well as at the end, where we got thanks,” Monahan said. “Just seeing the guests have a positive experience brought a smile to me and the other two people on the guest team.”

Ithacon began in 1976, when Bill Turner and other members of the Comic Book Club of Ithaca put on a small convention in the Greater Ithaca Activities Center. The club, which still meets today, began the previous year as a way for local fans to connect over a shared interest.

Colin Lawless, a junior at IC, attended Ithacon for the first time this year. He said that he was impressed by both the staying-power of the small convention and the fact that it was put together by students.

“There’s people that have been going since before I was born,” Lawless said. “I think that’s really cool, that we still have this space for that ... It carries itself very well. It knows what it is and doesn’t preach itself to be bigger than that.”

Conventions have been a feature of nerd culture for decades, providing places for communities to gather and discuss interests that were, for many years, far from the mainstream. While they all share humble beginnings, many of the largest conventions today, like New York Comic Con or San Diego Comic Con, regularly draw hundreds of thousands of visitors across a single weekend.

In an online era, these conventions have continued to be a key part of fandom culture, providing a real-world space for fans to meet when attendees may otherwise be isolated from those who share their interests. A typical convention consists of several different components, including panels on a variety of topics, activities or watch parties and vendors selling art or other comic-related merchandise. Attendees are also encouraged to ‘cosplay’ – dressing up as their favorite characters.

Monahan plans to continue at IC for his master's in Entertainment and Media Management, a course which focuses on combining analytical business skills with the media and entertainment industry. He said the skills learned at the convention will help him in future endeavors.

“It was a great experience, managing a big media thing like this,” Monahan said. “So having this beginning hands-on experience is very helpful and very insightful. You work with a lot of people in group presentations in a lot of classes, but in this way you do have an encroaching deadline that is always there. It is bigger than just a class.”