After hiatus and ownership change, Youngstown Comic Con still a hit | News, Sports, Jobs

CANFIELD — The collectibles, cosplayers and celebrity appearances were just some of the attractions bringing 3,000 people to Youngstown Comic Con on Saturday after a four-year hiatus.

Youngstown Comic Con opened its doors at the Canfield Fairgrounds Event Center at 10 a.m., bringing in vendors and pop culture fans from all over the country. People were lined up at 9 a.m. to get inside, organizers said.

The event started as All Ameri-Con and was founded by Greg Bartholomew, owner of All-American Comics and Cards in Warren and Boardman. It was last held as Youngstown Comic Con in 2019 at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown.

Bartholomew spoke Saturday about what it was like being back and explained his health was his main reason for stepping away.

“I had health problems. COVID closed 2020, obviously. At the beginning of 2020, I had my sixth atrial fibrillation attack. From 2017 to 2019, I would have two near heart attacks, stress related. Haven’t done the show since 2020 and haven’t had a heart problem. I quit doing the show, and promised my guys I wouldn’t do it,” Bartholomew said.

“Corey Ward ran the toy show, and I asked him if he would like to pick up Youngstown Comic Con. I knew Corey because he had approached me about doing a toy show in the area and a common friend of ours said, ‘Well, you should talk to Greg because he used to run the comic book show.’

“About a year-and-a-half ago I asked him if he’d like to buy the Comic Con, and he said ‘Sure.’ And we talked about it, and I sold it to him last year.”

Bartholomew added that he was confident in the change of venue and is confident in Ward and his companies.

“Corey had run the toy show here, and he’s done a lot of other events here at the Canfield (Fair Event) Center, so he’s in good with them. Also, this footprint is nearly twice the size of the Covelli Centre, so he knew he could blow the show up by moving it to a bigger venue, and it just happened to be here,” Bartholomew said. “You tell people it’s at the Canfield Fairgrounds, and everyone knows where it’s at too.”

“I’ve been very happy with it so far and hopefully make sure we can continue this every year, and build momentum. We’re off to a great start here, but I’m very happy and I’m very confident in Corey and his company’s capabilities,” Bartholomew said.

Cosplayers dressed as various pop culture franchises at the event, taking pictures with franchise fans.

Jonathan Marian of Farmdale has been going to conventions for the past seven years, and he came to the event as Star Wars villain Darth Maul. He explained that while the process originally took him four hours, he managed to knock it down to 90 minutes on Saturday.

“First, I put on the horns, then I put on the black makeup and I go with the red, do the details and do the finishing touch up that I kind of missed,” Marian explained.

For some, this was their first time attending such an event. Kitty DeVengencie of Warren was a former Tribune Chronicle employee until her retirement in 2008, and she attended because it was local, she had family in town and her son and grandson go to various conventions every year.

The event also featured signings by actor Daniel Logan, who was best known for his role as kid Boba Fett in “Star Wars Episode II,” and comics historian and graphic artist Jim Steranko.

The show continues 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.

If you go …

WHAT: Youngstown Comic Con

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today

WHERE: Canfield Fairgrounds Event Center, Canfield

HOW MUCH: $10 (Kids 10 and under are free with paid adult)