'The nerds won': How Des Moines got comic con

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On a Monday morning that dripped with sticky heat last August, Spider-Man, Batman, Wolverine, Wonder Woman, Black Widow and a cadre of zombies gathered at the Des Moines airport.

As businessperson after businessperson walked by, members of the out-of-place crowd readied themselves for a special pair of arriving passengers, according to Greg Edwards, CEO of the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau. The superheroes struck their best poses; the zombies rumbled their deepest growls.

The motley crew had assembled to impress two specific people, both of whom worked for a company with the resources to bring celebrities and comic royalty to Des Moines.

They were waiting for the delegates of Wizard World.

A pop culture convention juggernaut, Wizard World plans to hold events in 26 cities in 2015. And the representatives were visiting to see if Des Moines could host one of their activity-packed cons (short for convention).

As it turns out, the city could — and it will.

Tens of thousands of pop culture fans are expected to descend upon the capital city June 12-14 for Wizard World Comic Con Des Moines, the first convention of its size to hit the city. Over three days, artists and celebrities will sign autographs, hawk wares, pose for pictures and sit on panels as excited fans — some dressed up as their favorite characters — take it all in.

In Iowa and the Midwest as a whole, comic culture is vibrant and ever-growing, according to interviews with comic shop owners and regular book buyers.

Many in the Iowa comic book community say they're excited for Wizard World, welcoming the opportunity to hang out with a convention center full of like-minded nerds. (Don't worry, "nerd," is no longer an insult; it's been reappropriated and is worn proudly by aficionados of everything from "Star Wars" to "Doctor Who.")

Ticket sales show support for the Iowa con, too. Weeks before the Des Moines event, Wizard World sold out of three-day passes and, as of this printing, Saturday tickets were close to selling out.

Or, to modify a line from HBO's "Game of Thrones," prepare, Des Moines, the con is coming.

'Geek chic' explodes

On a recent Wednesday, the day when comic publishers release new issues, regulars trotted in and out of Capes Kafe, a coffee/comic shop inside the Des Moines Social Club, a hub for art and culture.

Owned by brothers Curtis and Kyle Porter, the shop was alive with readers milling near shelves and customers leaning on the front counter for comic-centric conversations.

But comic stores haven't always been that way.

"I've seen interest in comic books explode," Curtis Porter said. "I've owned a comic book store for seven years and, in the beginning, it was sort of an insider thing, like just nerds in the back reading comic books, but now comics are cool. I mean you don't even have to read comics, just wearing a Batman or Superman shirt is cool."

"And it's not the same clique of people who are getting involved" with comics, Porter said later. "It's an influx of all different types of people."

Part of the growth in the "geek chic movement" can be attributed to the rise of the big-budget comic book action movie. "Avengers: Age of Ultron," the most recent film by Marvel, has raked in more than $1 billion at the box office so far. The studio will release its next movie, "Ant-Man," in July and has a tentative film release schedule planned through 2019.

"Over the years, comic culture has become more mainstream because Hollywood and other non-comic book readers began to embrace the culture," said Kevin McGarry, co-owner of ACME Comics & Collectibles in Sioux City.

Scott Wirth, event coordinator of the Iowa Comic Book Club, agreed: "I remember five years ago, Free Comic Book Day (a day when publishing companies release special comics for free) was low-key, and not a lot of people outside of the comic book reading world would attend. This year, one of the stores I went to had a line around the block and an hour wait to get into the store."

When it comes to comic series or characters, Midwesterners are people who stick around, who stay with their favorites for the long haul, said Elliott Serrano, a Chicago-based pop culture commentator. And the fact that we come along for that marathon is something comic book publishers pay attention to, McGarry said.

"The Midwest is where people go to find out where comic culture is at," McGarry said. "I knew some editors at DC who would say they didn't care about East Coast sales numbers; they wanted to know the numbers in the Midwest because those were the important numbers, those were the ones that would tell them whether they really had a hit or a miss. Unlike the coasts, we don't go for things that are hot or trendy. We go for things that we like most."

Securing Wizard

Getting any convention to choose Des Moines is like finishing a puzzle, said Edwards, and each piece has to fit together perfectly.

When it came to Wizard World, the visitors bureau and the Iowa Events Center really wanted the pieces to fit.

"We've seen the explosion of people attending Wizard World events in other cities," Edwards said. "We always thought, wow, if we could ever get that to Des Moines, that would be really great for the city…Now, they are on pace to sell 25,000 tickets, so, yes, it's going to be a huge, huge, huge thing for Des Moines."

Wizard World started as a magazine publishing company before reorganizing and going public as a convention company in 2011. Over the past five years, it seems to have made a concerted effort to expand to Midwestern cities. Since buying the Chicago comic con in 1998, Wizard World established Columbus in 2011, St. Louis in 2013 and Minneapolis in 2014.

Of the nine new sites this year, five are in the Midwest: Madison, Wis.; Indianapolis; Cleveland; a second show in Chicago and, of course, Des Moines.

"Our Chicago show has grown year after year, and while we've added shows in other regions also (Fort Lauderdale, Raleigh, San Jose), it's clear that fans in many Midwest cities have wanted us to come for years, and we're pleased that schedules have worked out," Wizard World CEO John Macaluso wrote in an email. "The feedback we get from fans, exhibitors, celebrities and local officials has been overwhelmingly positive."

Expanding the Wizard World brand to the Midwest makes sense given the region's intense fandom — and the over-saturation of comic cons on the coasts, Serrano said.

"The East Coast and West Coast cons are getting to the point where they can't really take on anymore," he said. "San Diego comic con sold out within a half hour of tickets being on sale. New York Comic Con reported record attendance and had to turn people away. More established shows on the coasts are getting bigger than they can handle, so things are turning inwards."

It's hard to pin down exactly why a convention chooses a city. In the case of Wizard World, a lot of factors were at play, said Macaluso. Dates, size of convention center and a good, active fan base were all things that had to be considered before anyone signed on the dotted line.

So sometimes, just to push your city over the edge, you have to go the extra mile — like bringing superheroes to an airport.

"In Des Moines, we are usually fighting above our weight for events," said Chris Connolly, general manager at the Events Center. "We are competing with Omaha, which is bigger, Kansas City, Minneapolis, St. Louis. And, by pure numbers, Des Moines is a smaller market. But we feel we are comparable to, if not better than those other cities…The creative things we do, bringing superheroes to an airport or having special treats, I don't think that is happening everywhere, and when we do that, people leave with a good feeling and a confidence that we will be able to execute their event."

The con is on

At a recent gathering of Iowa Cosplay, a group of Des Moines-area comic fans and cosplayers (fans who make and wear the costumes of their favorite characters), the conversation quickly turned to the upcoming Wizard World.

"I'm really excited and glad that a major comic con is coming to Iowa," said Shiloh Strawn, 28. "Sometimes I feel like this really is fly-over country and people don't think we like comics and don't appreciate the Midwest. It's so nice that they are reaching out."

"As soon as I heard it was official, I went to Quality Inn to book my room," added Jim Hawk, 47, a Des Moines resident who's staying at the hotel to be as close to the con as possible.

For many in the group, Des Moines getting Wizard World feels like a coup, especially because neither Kansas City nor Omaha has one. (Both cities have a comic con, but they don't have a Wizard World, an established national brand that hosts big cons and hot celebrities.)

Because of that, there is a bit of added pressure to make sure out of-town visitors have fun.

"I've been working with some people to build up the nerd culture in Des Moines ahead of Wizard," said Sean Eike, 34. "I don't want people to come here and see a fake nerd façade. I want them to come back after Wizard leaves, so we have to make sure they know that Des Moines is a great place to get together and talk fandom and talk cosplay."

Many shop owners said they've fielded questions about Wizard World recently and know customers who plan on attending.

"It's the hottest thing going," said Rob Josephson, co-owner of Mayhem Comics in Ames. "Everyday someone is bringing it up, and, for a lot of my customers, this is the first convention they're going to attend."

Porter, too, said he hears from regulars and non-regulars alike: "I had a grandma ask me about it the other day because she saw it on TV."

Then, he looked around and yelled out to a man waiting for coffee.

"Are you going to Wizard World?" he asked.

"Yeah," the man answered. "A good chunk of my friends are planning on going, too."

Porter silently pointed at the man as if to say, See? Even that guy is going.

"So, yeah, it's popular," he said before pausing and smiling.

"As I like to say, the nerds won."

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About the event

WHAT: Wizard World Comic Con Des Moines

WHEN: June 12-14. Hours: 3-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

WHERE: Iowa Events Center, 730 Third St., Des Moines

TICKETS: Three-day passes are sold-out, but single-day admissions, which cost $35 to $45, are available for Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Visit wizardworld.com/home-desmoines

ACTIVITIES: Photo opportunities, autograph signings, celebrity panels and, of course, a bunch of books and nerdy knickknacks available for purchase.

FOR A PRICE : Have a favorite celeb attending the event and a few hundred bucks to spare? See if Wizard World is offering a special "VIP experience," which normally includes three-day admission as well as a photo and autograph from your selected celeb..

COVERAGE: Follow @courtneycare and @JoeLawler for updates throughout the weekend.