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83-459: Jeff Albertson , commonly known as the Comic Book Guy ( CBG ), is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and Eisner -nominated spin-off comic book series Comic Book Guy . He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the second-season episode " Three Men and a Comic Book ", which originally aired on May 9, 1991. Comic Book Guy

166-614: A Xena: Warrior Princess cardboard figure. While part of an intellectual junta that briefly ran Springfield in " They Saved Lisa's Brain ", he proposes plans to limit breeding to once every seven years (a reference to the Vulcan blood fever of mating, called Pon farr ), commenting that this would mean much less breeding for most, but for him, "much, much more". He is a virgin well into his forties, but becomes sexually and romantically involved with Principal Skinner 's mother Agnes . He later dates Edna Krabappel after she leaves Skinner at

249-473: A Closing Ceremony to formally mark the end of the convention. Depending on the convention, this can be a major gathering of most of the membership, or it may be lightly attended or dispensed with entirely as members are occupied with packing up and checking out of the hotel. A Dealers' or Hucksters' Room is available, where merchants sell wares which may be of interest to fans. These include books, action figures , prop replicas and t-shirts. Similarly, there

332-400: A "talent show" rather than the "fancy dress ball" that the term suggests (although British fandom sometimes uses the term "fancy dress"). Anime fans might refer to the masquerade as cosplay , but there are notable and subtle distinctions between the terms. Some conventions feature award ceremonies, in which the best works and most notable individuals are recognized for their contributions to

415-520: A broad range of science fiction in media, such as Toronto Trek , and then there are conventions focused on a single body of work, such as " Celebration ," the official Star Wars convention; "Galaxyfest," the yearly event in Vulcan, Alberta dedicated to Star Trek ; and BotCon , the official Transformers convention. Most media conventions are commercial shows run for profit, though some are organized by non-profit fan groups similar to general science-fiction conventions. From comics and media fandom,

498-534: A category of "popular culture" conventions has emerged, such as Comic-Con International and Dragon*Con , featuring a wide range of "pop culture" events ranging from animation , drive-in movie theaters, old-time radio, horror movies, and cowboy celebrities . These events have become much larger than traditional SF conventions; nearly a hundred thousand people attend Comic-Con in San Diego each year. Although not all of them are commercial ventures, they tend to suffer

581-444: A combination of official and unofficial events, including concerts, dances, formal invitational dinners, and fandom-themed room parties. Additionally, other convention committees hold room parties in order to promote their own convention and to increase their membership. A bid party is a room party held to influence the choice of the location of a future convention (such as Worldcon) by advertising its advantages. Some conventions have

664-552: A contract. They are not obligated to play the role and have no guarantee of work. Actors on recurring status used to be referred to as day players . Science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction subgenre, science fiction . Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as films , television , comics , animation , and games . The format can vary but will tend to have

747-461: A convention may have an Artist GoH, Editor GoH, Filk or Music GoH, a Toastmaster, and Special Guests. A Memorial Guest of Honor (as at Readercon ) or Ghost of Honor (as at Worldcon 2008/Denvention 3 ) is a deceased individual who is selected as a focal point of the festivities. Potlatch , however, has an annual Book of Honor instead. Conventions provide a forum for fans to see first-hand and meet their favorite authors and artists. They also serve

830-530: A fat man falls. Real original." Despite his solitary life, in The Simpsons Movie , minutes before his anticipated death, Comic Book Guy says that his obsessive comic book collecting has been a "life well spent". However, in " Treehouse of Horror VIII ", when a nuclear missile homes in on him, he says to himself, "Oh, I've wasted my life", although the Treehouse of Horror episodes are not part of

913-804: A few fans have also worked professionally or semi-professionally in the field. At a small number of cons, there is a category for "Attending Professionals", professionals who are paying full con price to enter but also get a special name badge that proclaims them to be professionals in whatever field they are involved in. Panel-led discussions, or Panels , usually fill up the daytime hours of most conventions with typically one-hour discussions of topics related to science fiction , fantasy , and fandom in general. Some conventions have well-attended, scheduled panels starting as late as midnight. Panel members (even professionals) are not customarily paid for their appearance, although many North-American conventions waive membership fees for program participants or rebate them after

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996-592: A few similar features such as a guest of honour, discussion panels, readings and large special events such as opening/closing ceremonies and some form of party or entertainment. Science fiction conventions started off primarily in the United Kingdom and the United States but have now spread further. Several countries have their own individual conventions, as well as playing host to rotating international conventions. The Royal Albert Hall has asserted that

1079-490: A genuine Film Room, for presentation of actual movies on film instead of video. Game Rooms are also available at some conventions for attendees to play a variety of genre games, including collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering , role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons , miniatures games like Warhammer 40,000 , and board games like The Settlers of Catan . Easy, fast-playing card games, e.g. Apples to Apples , are popular as they don't require

1162-456: A large time commitment or deep knowledge of rules, thus allowing casual gamers to join in. At North American conventions, a convention hospitality suite or consuite is often provided as a room reserved for light refreshments, a quiet conversation, and a place to briefly rest. The refreshments typically include coffee, tea, juice or soda, and light meals appropriate for the time of day. Depending on local liquor distribution and liability laws ,

1245-422: A list of top five and bottom five people whom he liked and hated in the dorm and post it hourly. Azaria stated that he himself was always on the bottom five of the list because he complained about the playing of the music. Azaria "loves that the character is an adult who argues with kids as if they're his peers." Within the series, the character Comic Book Guy is often used to represent a stereotypical inhabitant of

1328-459: A name for him, and they called him "Comic Book Guy", with the intention of naming the character the next time they used him. However, they continually procrastinated. Finally, in the February 6, 2005 episode, " Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass ", Comic Book Guy nonchalantly tells Ned Flanders : "My name is Jeff Albertson, but everyone calls me 'Comic Book Guy'". Showrunner Al Jean remarked: "That

1411-454: A national Science-fiction organization or club. Before the age of inexpensive travel, regional conventions arose to attract fans from broad geographical areas. The oldest of these is Westercon , whose meetings are held on a rotational basis among regions in the western United States and Canada . Eurocon is held each year somewhere in Europe, often in eastern European countries where fandom

1494-427: A number of special interest conventions for anime , media, or other related groups. Some conventions move from city to city, serving a particular country, region, or special interest. Nearly every weekend of the year now has at least one convention somewhere and some conventions are held on holiday weekends where four or more days can be devoted to events. Worldcon, or more formally The World Science Fiction Convention,

1577-417: A point of pride. Most cons vary from the above outline in one or more important ways, and many have their own unique cultural characteristics. For example: Most cons will tend to evolve many of their own idiosyncrasies along these lines. To fans, these are often part of the charm each convention offers. A peace-bond is a conspicuous lock, tie, or mark which makes or identifies something unusable, such as

1660-526: A recurring character in the comic strip Li'l Abner , which eventually went on to appear in the TV cartoon series Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo and The New Shmoo . The Sherlock Holmes series of novels by Arthur Conan Doyle featured well-known recurring characters such as Inspector Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson . In American daytime soap operas , recurring characters are ones played by actors who do not have

1743-653: A recurring sketch go on to appear in other sketches, or develop into their own TV shows. For example, when The Carol Burnett Show was canceled the central character of a popular recurring sketch called The Family , Thelma "Mama" Harper , went on to have her own show Mama's Family . Also, recurring characters in sketch comedy shows can go on to have their own movies. This is especially true with Saturday Night Live which has had many recurring characters turn into movies such as Stuart Smalley , Wayne and Garth of Wayne's World , The Blues Brothers , and The Ladies Man . Recurring characters may even revisit shows long after

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1826-506: A science fiction convention and was primarily a fundraiser for the London Massage and Galvanic Hospital, one of a number of such events held with other, non-science fictional, themes put on by the hospital's founder Dr. Herbert Tibbits. (The event not only failed as a fundraiser, but led to Tibbits' personal bankruptcy. ) The precise time and place of the first science fiction convention is a matter of some dispute. The idea and form

1909-571: A similar number of local fans at the house of Milton A. Rothman . They subsequently declared that event to be the first "science fiction convention." This small get-together set the stage for a follow-up event held in New York, in February 1937, where "30 or 40" fans gathered at Bohemian Hall in Astoria, Queens . Attendees at this event included James Blish , Charles D. Hornig , Julius Schwartz , and Willis Conover . This event came to be known as

1992-406: A weapon may be disabled or secured in the way as real weapons. Peace-bonding helps security control the use or abuse of real weapons at a convention or other event: anything that looks like a weapon but which is not peace-bonded is immediately deemed to be suspicious. SF writer C. J. Cherryh writes on her website, "I was a witness of pre-peacebonding times, was narrowly missed, and assure you this

2075-418: A weapon, and shows that the owner's intentions are purely peaceful. At some conventions, attendees carry real weapons or costume props that appear to be weapons. To forestall concerns about mis-use of real weapons at such events, the security team "peace-bonds" anything that might look like a weapon. The event's "weapons policy" may offer objective criteria to determine what looks like a weapon. For example,

2158-521: A weapons policy may require a peace-bond for anything that a reasonable person might recognize as a weapon from a short distance in dim light. Real weapons, if allowed, are disabled, secured, and marked. For example, bright orange zip ties may be used to hold a sword in a scabbard or to hold a pistol in a holster. Simulated or costume props may require conspicuous marks, such as bright ribbons or zip ties, to show that security has deemed them safe to be carried. Simulated weapons or props which can be used as

2241-399: Is a general pattern to which most adhere. Most conventions have Guest(s) of Honor (GoH) . These guests are to some extent the headliners of the convention. A convention may have as many Guests of Honor as the convention committee wishes. Along with Author and perhaps Fan Guests of Honor (fans who are not necessarily celebrities but have made a significant contribution to the fan community),

2324-551: Is a member of the Springfield branch of Mensa . He is morbidly obese and has long hair, which he always keeps tied in a ponytail. His catchphrase is the declaration "worst/best [subject] ever", sometimes to the point of breaking the fourth wall . For example, in the episode " Saddlesore Galactica ", he wears a T-shirt saying " Worst Episode Ever ". Another example of breaking the fourth wall occurs in an episode when Comic Book Guy's chair collapses, and he sarcastically says "Ooh,

2407-596: Is a new phenomenon. A North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC) is held in North America in any year when the Worldcon is outside of North America. DeepSouthCon is held in the Southern United States , with a focus on Southern culture in science fiction. Local conventions, which are offshoots of the main regional conventions, draw fans from the immediate area in which the convention

2490-587: Is a science fiction convention that has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 through 1945, during World War II). It is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (or WSFS), an unincorporated body whose members are defined as "all people who have paid membership dues to the Committee of the current Worldcon" (i.e., that are either upcoming or currently under way). These members of WSFS vote both to select

2573-751: Is also a passenger in Road Rage . Comic Book Guy makes a cameo appearance in the season two finale of The Cleveland Show saying the line, "Worst. Cameo. Ever." Comic Book Guy makes a brief appearance in the Simpsons / Family Guy crossover episode " The Simpsons Guy " to say "Worst. Chicken Fight. Ever." Comic Book Guy makes a brief appearance as the clerk of "Karl's Komics" selling comics to Chip Flagston of Hi and Lois , March 25, 2018. Recurring character Recurring characters sometimes start out as guest stars in one episode, who then reappear in future episodes because creators or audiences found

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2656-512: Is an attempt to ease people back into the real world outside of the convention and can be an effective method of warding off the depression which is often associated with the end of a major event. A dead dog party can last until the following morning. Many con-goers take pride in being interesting and unusual, and naturally many cons are highly idiosyncratic. Cons often have activities, running jokes, organizational methods and other features that not only differentiate them from other cons but are often

2739-531: Is another example, originating on the Channel Four series The Eleven O'Clock Show . The character was such a huge success that Cohen got his own show as the original show was cancelled. Recurring characters are not limited to television. In the early 20th century, the Saturday Evening Post frequently had recurring characters in their cover art, such as Baby New Year . The Shmoo was

2822-547: Is being held, though these have very few attendees who have traveled from afar to attend the main convention. Some local conventions, including events run by student groups from high schools or colleges, draw their attendance solely from the student body and campus neighborhood. Others, such as those run by UK universities, may draw from a wider audience than just the university itself. Some conventions are focused on (audio-visual) "media", that is, science fiction on film and television. There are general media conventions covering

2905-720: Is exhibited for sale. This naturally leads to a wide variety of types of artwork, from professional illustrations to outsider art , with many amateur works. The subject matter is tailored to the interests of fandom, i. e. many spaceships , dragons , unicorns , vampires , cat girls etc. Art shows often permit sales by artists, these sales constituting a significant source of income for some artists. Traditionally, many conventions have had video rooms in which genre-related audiovisual presentations take place, typically commercial Hollywood movies , genre television show episodes, and anime . If there are multiple media rooms, each one may have themed content. Larger conventions may also have

2988-521: Is held to have been the first science fiction convention, American fans had organized sufficiently by 1939 to hold, in conjunction with the 1939 World's Fair , the first " World Science Fiction Convention ," in New York City . Subsequent conventions were held in Chicago in 1940 and Denver in 1941. Like many cultural events, it was suspended during World War II . Conventions resumed in 1946 with

3071-490: Is his sanctuary, where he holds some level of self-esteem, imperiously lording over pre-teen kids, like Bart Simpson and Milhouse Van Houten , using a heavily sarcastic tone and often banning certain customers for minor infractions. His store contains a lower level full of illegal videos (which include Mr. Rogers drunk, Alien autopsy , Illegal Alien Autopsy , a "good version" of The Godfather Part III , and Kent Brockman picking his nose). In " Husbands and Knives ",

3154-558: Is meeting celebrities, such as stars of science fiction TV show and movies, anime voice actors , etc. There are frequently very long lines of people waiting for autographs at commercial events; while famous actors like William Shatner of Star Trek are paid tens of thousands of dollars per convention, minor and obscure bit players pay to set up booths to sell autographs and memorabilia. Commercial events also tend to have less small-scale programming; panels will more often be composed of famous actors, directors, etc. on press junkets, where

3237-441: Is often an Art Show where genre-inspired art is displayed and usually made available for auction or purchase. Smaller conventions may simply have an informal Dealers' Row , a section of hotel rooms from which dealers sell goods, while larger conventions may have both an official dealers' room and an unofficial dealers' row. The Art Show is generally an open art exhibition ; that is, it is open to all comers and all art submitted

3320-519: Is the proprietor of a comic book store, The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop . He is based on "every comic book store guy in America" and represents a stereotypical middle-aged comic-book collector with a supercilious attitude and obsessive knowledge of pop culture minutia. He is known for his distinctive accent, disagreeable personality, and his catchphrase, "Worst [thing] ever!" Comic Book Guy (who states Jeff Albertson to be his real name in

3403-601: Is used for conventions which tend to be less about programming, and more about socializing within the fan community; this is quite different from "sercon" (SERious CONstructive discussion of science-fiction topics) conventions. An important distinction can be made between commercial events (often called "shows") – those run by dedicated companies who specialize in con organization, or by local for-profit firms – and volunteer-run cons. Usually run for profit, commercial events tend to charge for "tickets" or "admission" rather than having "memberships". A primary focus of commercial events

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3486-441: Is usually called "membership", thus emphasizing that the fans themselves are the ones who make up the con, rather than the staff who run commercial cons. A community of fans who run such conventions has developed, and many of them share their best practices and keep convention-running traditions alive, including at specialist con-running conventions such as SMOFcon . Although wide variations exist between different conventions, there

3569-558: The Itchy & Scratchy episode featuring Poochie, he immediately goes on the Internet and writes, "Worst episode ever" on a message board; a commentary on how the active audience nitpicks the episode. The writers respond by using the voice of Bart Simpson : Comic Book Guy : Last night's Itchy & Scratchy was, without a doubt, the worst episode ever. Rest assured I was on the Internet within minutes registering my disgust throughout

3652-805: The Vril-Ya Bazaar and Fete , a charitable event held at the Hall in 1891, was the world's first science fiction convention. The event was a multi-day fundraising bazaar themed around the popular 1871 science fiction novel The Coming Race by Edward Bulwer-Lytton , which involves the Vril-Ya, a subterranean race of winged superhuman beings. The event at the Royal Albert Hall featured elements similar to those of later science fiction conventions (in particular modern commercial events), such as special guests (although apparently none directly related to

3735-588: The "Second Eastern" and set the stage for the successful Third Eastern held in Philadelphia on October 30, 1937, and the subsequent Fourth Eastern held on May 29, 1938, which attracted over 100 attendees to a meeting hall in Newark, NJ and designated itself as "The First National Science Fiction Convention." It was at this event that a committee was named to arrange the first World Science Fiction Convention in New York in 1939; formalizing planning that had begun at

3818-685: The Blob ". Also Bart and Milhouse became managers of The Android's Dungeon for a time in " Worst Episode Ever ". Comic Book Guy was partly inspired by a clerk at the Los Angeles comic book shop who often "[sat] on the high stool, kind of lording over the store with that supercilious attitude and eating behind the counter a big Styrofoam container full of fried clams with a lot of tartar sauce ." Groening noted: I can't tell you how many times people have come up to me and said, "I know who you based that comic book guy on. It's that comic-book guy right down

3901-624: The Theosophical Hall in Leeds . Around twenty fans, including Eric Frank Russell and Arthur C. Clarke , attended. To this day, many fan historians, especially those in the United Kingdom , contend that the Philadelphia meeting was a convention in name only, whereas other fan historians point out that many similar gatherings since then have been called "conventions" without eliciting any disagreement. Regardless of what gathering

3984-518: The Third Eastern. The "First National", which included the participation of a number of well-known New York editors and professionals from outside fan circles, was a milestone in the evolution of science-fiction conventions as a place for science-fiction (SF) professionals, as well as fans, to meet their colleagues in person. On January 3, 1937, the British fans held their long-planned event at

4067-567: The actor who played them has left the cast, for example, the character Mary Katherine Gallagher was portrayed by Molly Shannon when she hosted Saturday Night Live in 2007, six years after she left the cast. Sometimes a recurring character from one show appears on another show, such as when Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis hosted Saturday Night Live in 1983 and portrayed Bob and Doug MacKenzie, or when Emily Litella (portrayed by Gilda Radner ) from Saturday Night Live appeared on The Muppet Show in 1978. Sacha Baron Cohen 's character Ali G

4150-866: The actors or storylines compelling enough to revisit. Sometimes a recurring character eventually becomes part of the main cast of characters; such a character is sometimes called a breakout character . Some notable examples of main characters who were originally recurring characters are: Eli Gold on The Good Wife ; Leo Chingkwake on That '70s Show ; Angel and Oz on Buffy the Vampire Slayer ; Marc St. James on Ugly Betty ; Vanessa Abrams on Gossip Girl ; Zack Allan on Babylon 5 ; Steve Urkel on Family Matters ; Donna Moss on The West Wing ; Steve Harrington on Stranger Things ; and Felicity Smoak on Arrow . In other cases, recurring characters have been given spin-off series of their own, such as Dr. Frasier Crane who originally

4233-409: The altar. They are nearly married at a science fiction convention with Skinner and Bart trying to stop the wedding, but Edna changes her mind, preferring not to be tied down to a relationship. Comic Book Guy is not particularly surprised by this, saying, "There are a million valid reasons, but which one did you pick?" When Edna gently explains "It's like I'm DC Comics , and you're Marvel ", he accepts

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4316-538: The audience could connect with. Usually they appear in their own sketch and the sketch itself can become a regular part of the show. Some notable examples include the Church Lady and Hans and Franz from Saturday Night Live , the Gumbys from Monty Python's Flying Circus , and Bob and Doug McKenzie from SCTV . However, the characters are not always limited to their own sketches. Sometimes, characters from

4399-439: The block." And I have to tell them, "No, it's every comic book store guy in America." Azaria based Comic Book Guy's voice on a college contemporary named Mark who went by the nickname "F", short for "Flounder" from the film National Lampoon's Animal House , and lived in the room next door to him at Tufts University . Hank Azaria further explained that "F" would listen to the song " 867-5309 " all day long and that Mark would keep

4482-471: The broad range of events (masquerade, dances, video room, etc.) that one would normally find at a general-interest convention. The World Horror Convention is an annual gathering of professionals of the World Horror Society and other interested parties. Up till 2009, all World Horror Conventions had been held in the United States or Canada, usually alternating between the east and west sides of

4565-467: The clichés that the player comes across during the game. Comic Book Guy has appeared in his own five-part comic book, in which his death influenced a nerd and geek gang war. The Simpsons Library of Wisdom includes a volume entitled "Comic Book Guy's Book of Pop Culture". Comic Book Guy appears in Hit and Run as a drivable character, the host for bonus mission level four and host for a level seven mission. He

4648-540: The company which produces a particular movie or TV show to run a convention about a particular movie or show. They have been known to aggressively go after fan-run conventions via their legal teams. Volunteer cons, on the other hand, tend to be smaller in scope and more intimate in character. Panels may be more lightly attended; however, it is the fans themselves who mostly take part in the panels. Although there are frequent autograph sessions, they tend to be less of an attraction for volunteer cons. Admission to volunteer cons

4731-428: The comparison without any rancor. In " Married to the Blob ", Comic Book Guy marries Kumiko Nakamura , a Japanese manga artist . As of " The Dad-Feelings Limited ", he and Kumiko are trying for a baby. Comic Book Guy is the owner of The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, a local comic book store. The comics, collectibles, and toys he sells are of wildly varying quality and often have very high prices. His store

4814-582: The convention "Opening Ceremonies" are often held, where organizers and marquee guests are introduced and speeches might be made. Sometimes, conventions will have a skits, musical performances, video clips, or other samples of the convention as part of the Opening Ceremonies. A costume contest called a masquerade is often held where persons go on stage and compete for nominal prizes based on their skill in assembling and presenting genre-inspired outfits. This, however, would be more accurately labelled

4897-420: The convention. Some program items are set presentations by experts. Science speakers are among the most popular program items at many conventions. Slides (either photographic or computer ), video clips, or handouts might be used for such presentations. Readings and "kaffeeklatsches" are program items where a single author either reads from their work or has an informal discussion with fans. The first night of

4980-670: The convention. Often these are performances by filkers , though other musicians may also appear at a con. A convention may have one or more auctions. The Art Auction is an event where the most popular items from the art show are sold to the most interested buyers at the convention. Many conventions also have auctions for charities, either formal or fannish; the latter would include auctions on behalf of TAFF (the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund ) or DUFF (the Down Under Fan Fund ). Evening entertainment often includes

5063-546: The country. The 2010 convention was held in Brighton in the UK , the first time it took place outside North America. The Horror Writers Association 's Bram Stoker Award ceremony has been held in conjunction with the convention for the last few years. A National Convention is usually held annually in a number of countries. The British Eastercon is the oldest of these. National conventions are often run by, or in association with,

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5146-447: The end of Cheers . On sketch comedy programs, recurring characters are generally a staple . For example, in the sketch comedy series Your Show of Shows , Sid Caesar used the concept frequently: As we were building and evolving our sketch comedy, we would look for new types of sketches that had legs (not caterpillar legs). We liked the idea of recurring characters and themes. It gave us something we could start with and something

5229-497: The episode " Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass ") is a nerdy, snobby and quarrelsome man. He is best known for his eloquence and crabby, sarcastic quips. He is obsessed with collecting comic books and is an avid science fiction buff. He holds a master's degree in folklore and mythology (having translated The Lord of the Rings into Klingon as part of his thesis ), as well as a degree in chemical engineering, has an IQ of 170, and

5312-498: The episode " Worst Episode Ever ". Comic Book Guy is featured as a prominent focal character of the Bart Simpsons spin-off comic-book-series Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book: The Death of Comic Book Guy! , nominated for an Eisner Award . Comic Book Guy is featured on the cover of the twelfth season DVD. He appears on other media as well, including T-shirts and drinking glasses. In The Simpsons Game , he explains all

5395-751: The field. Worldcon has several award ceremonies, most notably the Hugo Awards , but also the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and other awards. VCON in Vancouver, BC features the Elron Awards for dubious distinctions in science fiction, including an annual award for John Norman author of the Gor series. Just as art shows display the visual aspect of science fiction, many conventions include concerts or other music-oriented events as part of

5478-787: The hosting of the World Science Fiction Convention in Los Angeles, California . The first Worldcon held outside the United States was Torcon I in Toronto in 1948; since then, Worldcons have been held in Britain , Germany , the Netherlands , Canada , Australia , Japan , Finland , and Ireland although the majority of Worldcons are still held in the United States . Since the first conventions in

5561-421: The interests of authors, editors, and other publishing professionals, providing opportunities for networking, promotion, and a convenient location for contract negotiations and other business meetings. At traditional science-fiction conventions, there is little or no distinction made between the "pros" and the "fans". Many professionals in the field began as fans, and may still consider themselves fans; and more than

5644-399: The late 1930s, such as the first Worldcon , hundreds of local and regional science fiction conventions have sprung up around the world either as one-time or annual events. At these conventions, fans of science fiction come together with the professional writers, artists, and filmmakers in the genre to discuss its many aspects. Some cities have a number of science-fiction conventions, as well as

5727-458: The newsgroup alt.tv.simpsons . The first such instance occurred in the seventh-season episode " Radioactive Man ", in which Comic Book Guy is logging on to his favorite newsgroup alt.nerd.obsessive. David X. Cohen often read alt.tv.simpsons to gauge audience response to episodes. He decided to lampoon the passion and the fickleness of the fans. In the eighth-season episode " The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show " after Comic Book Guy views

5810-483: The normal Simpsons canon. In the 2008 episode " Any Given Sundance " it was revealed that he is also a writer and posts to his own site called "Ain't I Fat News", a take on the real-life movie review website Ain't It Cool News . Comic Book Guy was once married in an online role-playing game . He and his Internet wife contemplated having children, but that would have severely drained his "power crystals". In Season 16's " There's Something About Marrying ", he hopes to wed

5893-400: The novel or science fiction generally), special events and other performances, set pieces and special effects (such as flying "Vril-Ya" mannequins), costumes (essentially what later came to be called cosplay ), and stalls selling merchandise related to the event's theme and named using the Vril-Ya language as presented in the novel. However, the event was not contemporaneously referred to as

5976-406: The panels are held in very large rooms with very high attendance. The largest cons (in terms of attendance) tend to be commercial ones. Commercial events tend to be more likely to be about comics, manga, anime, and popular visual media than volunteer cons, and they also tend to attract the younger generation, but this is not absolute by any means. Some commercial conventions have official licences from

6059-498: The same drawbacks as commercial shows (long lines, overcrowding, etc.) due to the sheer size of the events. There are many conventions focused on particular special interests within science fiction. For example, Wiscon , in addition to being the Wisconsin Science Fiction Convention, is focused on feminist SF/fantasy and gender , race , and class issues/studies. Diversicon concentrates on

6142-555: The site of the Worldcon two years in advance and to select the winners of the Hugo Awards , which are presented at the convention. The rules for venue selection are deliberately drafted to ensure the convention occurs in a different city each year. Fantasy is usually considered alongside science fiction at conventions (the terms were used interchangeably for most of the period from 1926–1966). Conventions that are nominally science-fiction conventions, such as Worldcon , are also fantasy conventions in all but name. World Fantasy Convention

6225-441: The store was closed due to bankruptcy when a rival comic book shop opened across the road, run by an owner with significantly better customer service and social skills. Although his old store was bought by Marge Simpson in the same episode and not returned, Comic Book Guy continues running his store in future episodes and the rival store is usually not mentioned, though it was referred to again when its owner showed up in " Married to

6308-474: The suite may serve alcohol. At conventions in the rest of the world, the hotel or convention centre bar typically offers the same social function. At conventions in the United Kingdom , the provision of cask ale is usual. Many conventions have a "dead dog party" in the evening of the last day of the convention, after closing ceremonies. This is the traditional winding-down party where the remaining attendees are unlikely to have huge amounts of energy. This party

6391-401: The title of the twelfth season episode " Worst Episode Ever ". The catchphrase can also be used for describing other things by saying, "Worst. (Noun). Ever." A long-running gag on the show was never to reveal the character's name, with other characters referring to him as "Comic Book Guy". The writers had intended to name the character as early as his first episode, but they could not think of

6474-434: The vastness of human diversity. Filking conventions such as Ohio Valley Filk Fest , FilkOntario, and GaFilk gather those interested in science fiction-related music . Costume-Con gathers people from around the world who are mainly interested in science fiction, fantasy, and historical costuming. Penguicon combines science fiction with technology, particularly Linux and open source software. The term " relaxacon "

6557-456: The world. Bart : Hey, I know it wasn't great, but what right do you have to complain? Comic Book Guy : As a loyal viewer, I feel they owe me. Bart : What? They've given you thousands of hours of entertainment for free. What could they possibly owe you? If anything, you owe them! Comic Book Guy : ...Worst. Episode. Ever. The catchphrase further appears on his T-shirt in the eleventh season episode " Saddlesore Galactica ", and as

6640-403: Was a recurring character on Cheers . Kelsey Grammer , along with fellow recurring actor John Ratzenberger were hired for seven episodes, to play Frasier Crane and Cliff Clavin respectively. Cliff was scheduled to recur during the 1982–1983 season, Frasier to recur during 1984–1985 season. Both actors were subsequently upgraded to the main cast, and Crane continued in his own series following

6723-454: Was begun in 1975, and has since been held on an annual basis. The World Fantasy Convention, however, is less oriented toward the fan community, and is primarily a professional gathering (for writers, editors, publishers, etc.). Many of those who attend "World Fantasy" also attend Worldcon. However, this convention is more focused on authors and publishing, with a much higher proportion of authors in attendance; as such it does not usually include

6806-625: Was clearly anticipated in Robert Bloch's short story about a large convention of writers, "The Ultimate Ultimatum" ( Fantasy Magazine , August 1935), "It was a big convention. Lovecraft was there." Sometime in 1936, a group of British fans made plans to have an organized gathering, with a planned program of events in a public venue in early 1937. However, on October 22, 1936, a group of six or seven fans from New York City , including David Kyle and Frederik Pohl , traveled by train to Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , where for several hours they visited

6889-743: Was specifically done to make people really mad. We just tried to pick a generic name. It was also the Super Bowl show. We did it so the most people possible would see it." Groening stated that he had originally intended him to be called Louis Lane and be "obsessed and tormented by" Lois Lane , but Groening was not present when the writers chose the name. His name is also mentioned in The Simpsons Game . Hank Azaria has won several Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his work on The Simpsons , winning one in 2001 for voicing Comic Book Guy and various other characters in

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