FanX

40°36′7.812″N 111°53′0.7794″W

FanX Salt Lake
StatusActive
GenreMulti-genre
VenueSalt Palace Convention Center
Location(s)Salt Lake City, Utah
CountryUnited States
InauguratedSeptember 5, 2013 (2013-09-05)
Founders
Attendance127,000 (September 2015)
Organized byDan Farr Productions
Filing statusFor-profit
Websitewww.fanxsaltlake.com

FanX Salt Lake (formerly Salt Lake Comic Con) is a semi-annual multi-genre pop culture expo held in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is produced by Dan Farr and Bryan Brandenburg[1] under Dan Farr Productions and is Utah's most attended convention according to the Governor's Office of Economic Development.[2][3][4][5] The first convention took place at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.[6] The second event, Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience, was inaugurated in April 2014.[7][8]

History

The first Salt Lake Comic Con was held September 5–7, 2013 and included special guests including Adam West, William Shatner,[9] and Stan Lee with attendance over 70,000.[10][11] People attended with ticket sales that exceeded 50,000.[12][13][11][3][14] Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience, the first of two Salt Lake comic conventions in 2014, took place on April 17–19, 2014.[15] FanXperience was attended by over 100,000 people.[16]

On July 25, 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International sent Dan Farr Productions a cease and desist letter over the use of the word "Comic Con."[17] Convention organizers responded with a press release citing their legal position and unwillingness to comply to the cease and desist letter.[18] In December 2017, a San Diego jury found San Diego Comic-Con does hold a trademark on the term "Comic Con," but also found Salt Lake organizers Dan Farr and Bryan Brandenburg did not willfully or intentionally violate it. They awarded SDCC $20,000 in damages, less than the $12 million the non-profit wanted. Subsequently, Farr and Brandenburg re-branded the convention under the name FanX.[19] On January 16, 2018, Farr and Brandenburg filed a motion for a new trial.[20]

In March 2016, Dan Farr Productions partnered with POP Life to expand FanXperience to Asia.[21] Bryan Brandenburg stepped aside in May 2018 in response to criticism of how he handled a sexual harassment complaint.[22][23][24] In 2019, Brandenburg devoted himself full-time to Zenerchi, a biotech company he founded in Salt Lake City.[25][26][27]

List of events
Dates Location Attendance Notable guests Notes
September 5–7, 2013 Salt Palace Convention Center 70,000-80,000[28] Adam West, Burt Ward, Claire Coffee, David Prowse, Dean Cain, Dirk Benedict, Glenn Morshower, Henry Winkler, John de Lancie, Kevin Sorbo, Lou Ferrigno, Manu Bennett, Peter Mayhew, Ray Park, Richard Hatch, Sofia Milos, Stan Lee, Weta Workshop, William Shatner, and over 100 other guests.[29] Salt Lake Comic Con was the largest convention ever held in Utah. The first Salt Lake Comic Con brought roughly $31 million to the state of Utah.[28]
April 17–19, 2014 Salt Palace Convention Center,[30] The Gateway,[31] Salt Lake Marriott Hotel Downtown at City Creek Center,[32] Utah State Capitol[33] Over 100,000[34][35] Aaron Douglas, Adam Baldwin, Billy Dee Williams, Bob Layton, Brent Spiner, Cassandra Peterson, Chandler Riggs, Charles Fleischer, Denise Crosby, Dexter Vines, Ed McGuinness, Edward James Olmos, Gates McFadden, Ioan Gruffudd, James Marsters, Jason David Frank, Jeremy Bulloch, Jon Bernthal, Jonathan Frakes, Julie Benz, Karen Gillan, Karl Urban, Kelly Hu, Laurie Holden, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, Micky Dolenz, Nathan Fillion, Neal Adams, Patrick Stewart, Peter David, Sean Patrick Flanery, William Shatner, and over 100 other guests.[29] Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience was the largest convention ever held in the state of Utah.[3]
September 4–6, 2014 Salt Palace Convention Center,[36] The Gateway,[37] Salt Lake Marriott Hotel Downtown at City Creek Center,[38] Radisson Hotels Salt Lake City Downtown[39] Over 120,000[40] Ernie Hudson, Bruce Campbell, John Barrowman, Sam Witwer, Cary Elwes, Eliza Dushku, Erin Gray, Lou Ferrigno, Kevin Sorbo, Michael Rosenbaum, Jason David Frank, Giancarlo Esposito, Vic Mignogna, Simon Helberg, Stephen Amell, Manu Bennett, Jon Heder, Neal Adams, Brandon Sanderson, David Farland, Weta Workshop, Barbara Eden, Alan Tudyk, James Hong, Hulk Hogan, Danny Glover, Charisma Carpenter, Kevin Conroy, Gigi Edgley, Matt Frewer, Patrick Warburton, Eve Myles, Craig Parker, Johnny Yong Bosch, Veronica Taylor, Eric Roberts, Colin Baker, Paul McGann, Grant Imahara, Ian Ziering, Ron Perlman, Leonard Nimoy (via Skype), Stan Lee[29] and over 100 other guests.
January 29–31, 2015 Salt Palace Convention Center[41] Over 50,000[42] Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Billie Piper, Carrie Fisher, Christopher Lloyd, Felicia Day, Tom Felton, Steven Yeun, Emily Kinney, Laurie Holden, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brandon Routh, Ray Park, Paul Wesley, Phoebe Tonkin, Nichelle Nichols, Anthony Michael Hall, Mark Pellegrino, Alaina Huffman, Ralph Macchio, Glenn Morshower, RJ Mitte, Jim Cummings, Jess Harnell, Rob Paulsen, and over 100 other guests.[29]
September 24–26, 2015 Salt Palace Convention Center[43] 127,000[44] Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Ian Somerhalder, Felicia Day, James and Oliver Phelps, John Barrowman, Jenna Coleman, Arthur Darvill, Sean Astin, Anthony Daniels, Scott Wilson, Marina Sirtis, Denis O'Hare, Dean O'Gorman, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Robbie Amell, Walter Koenig, Richard Hatch, Emma Caulfield, Linda Blair, Daniel Cudmore, Vic Mignogna, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Christopher Gorham, Austin St. John, Joel Hodgson, Bill Corbett, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Jim Butcher, Timothy Zahn, James Dashner, R. A. Salvatore, Terry Brooks, Dee Bradley Baker, Jess Harnell, Rob Paulsen, Richard Paul Evans, Kevin Hearne[29] and over 100 other guests. The third annual Salt Lake Comic Con event broke its previous attendance records with 127,000 attendees.[44] Salt Lake Comic Con 2015 also helped contribute to record breaking Utah Transit Authority ridership numbers with 567,892 boardings on TRAX (light rail) and FrontRunner. The event broke the Guinness World Record for the Most People Dressed as Comic Book Characters in one location with 1784 participants.[45] Salt Lake Comic Con 2015 hosted the POP! Life World Tour Exhibition presented by Funko and Toy Tokyo.[46]
March 24–26, 2016 Salt Palace Convention Center[47] Over 50,000 Buzz Aldrin, Gillian Anderson, Matt Smith, Jason Isaacs, Summer Glau, Chandler Riggs, Alex Kingston, Tom Kenny, Alan Tudyk, LeVar Burton, Mitch Pileggi, Dean Cain, Sylvester McCoy, Peter Davison, Bill Farmer, Jess Harnell, Paul Blackthorne, Charlotte Ross, Curtis Armstrong, Gary Lockwood, Michael Traynor, Don Shanks, Grey DeLisle, Erica Carroll, William B. Davis, Kate Beckinsale, Nick Carter, Tony Anselmo, Danai Gurira, Joey Fatone, Jeremy Renner, and over 100 other guests.[29] The sixth Salt Lake Comic Con event and the third annual FanXperience event.
September 1–3, 2016 Salt Palace Convention Center Over 120,000 Mark Hamill, William Shatner, Stephen Amell, John Cena, Evanna Lynch, Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, Robert Englund, Lou Ferrigno, Michael Rooker, Famke Janssen, Arthur Darvill, Billy Boyd, Millie Bobby Brown, Jim Beaver, John Schneider, Tom Wopat, Catherine Bach, Manu Bennett, David Ramsey, Jason David Frank, Jeremy Bulloch, Vic Mignogna, Phil LaMarr, Steve Blum, James Arnold Taylor, Fred Tatasciore, Jess Harnell, Liam McIntyre, Troy Baker, and over 100 other guests.[29] The fourth annual Salt Lake Comic Con event.
March 17–18, 2017 Salt Palace Convention Center 45,000 - 50,000 (est) Stan Lee (via Skype), Cary Elwes, Wallace Shawn, Michael Cudlitz, Chris Sarandon, "Weird Al" Yankovic, John Rhys-Davies, Tara Strong, Khary Payton, Jess Harnell, Adrian Paul, Judge Reinhold, Bonnie Wright, James Roday, Dulé Hill, Jason Momoa, Emilie de Ravin, Holly Marie Combs, Josh McDermitt, Sean Maguire, Greg Grunberg, Verne Troyer, Adrienne Wilkinson, Brian Krause, Jennifer Hale, Amy Gumenick, Sam J. Jones, RJ Mitte, Zachary Levi, Christopher Lambert, Jeff Bennett, Marv Wolfman, Richard Paul Evans, Brandon Mull, and over 100 other guests.[29] The fourth annual FanXperience event and the first Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience event to be held for two days.
September 21–23, 2017 Salt Palace Convention Center 75,000 - 100,000 (est) Val Kilmer, John Cusack, Jon Bernthal, Christopher Lloyd, Richard Dean Anderson, John Barrowman, Catherine Tate, Wil Wheaton, Michael Rooker, Thomas F. Wilson, Ross Marquand, Eliza Dushku, Joonas Suotamo, Sean Gunn, Michael Rosenbaum, Nolan North, Christopher Sabat, Sean Schemmel, Eoin Macken, Jewel Staite, Corbin Bernsen, Will Friedle, Vic Mignogna, Jess Harnell, and dozens more.[48] The fifth annual Salt Lake Comic Con event.
September 6–8, 2018 Salt Palace Convention Center Approximately 110,000[49] Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Ian Mcdiarmid, Rainn Wilson, David Tennant, Evangeline Lilly, Chuck Norris, Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Jennifer Morrison, Gaten Matarazzo, Brent Spiner, John DiMaggio, Lucy Lawless, Karl Urban, Tim Curry, Mark Sheppard, John Wesley Shipp, Kevin Sorbo, Jason David Frank, Robby Benson, Amy Jo Johnson, Paige O’Hara, Tricia Helfer, Elizabeth Daily, and more were announced. The sixth annual FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention event. The first event for which the expo has used the words "Comic Convention" instead of "Comic Con", following a lawsuit with San Diego Comic-Con International.
April 19–20, 2019 Salt Palace Convention Center 45,000 - 50,000 (est) Clark Gregg, Pom Klementieff, Mike Colter, Tye Sheridan, Lynda Carter, Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Aimee Garcia, John Cleese, Ricky Schroder, Austin St. John, and Angela Kinsey were announced. FanX Spring was held in April as a two-day event with FanX Fall scheduled for the first week of September 2019.
September 5–7, 2019 Salt Palace Convention Center 85,000 - 95,000 (est) Tom Holland, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Ross Marquand, Jason Isaacs, Rebecca Mader, Keifer Sutherland, Megan Follows, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, Lana Parrilla, Kel Mitchell, Linda Ballantyne, Billy Zane and Patrick Renna were announced.
September 17–19, 2020 Salt Palace Convention Center Cancelled Alan Ritchson, Keegan Connor Tracy, Jaleel White, Peter Cullen FanX 2020 was originally scheduled to be held September 17–19, but was cancelled on July 10 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[50]
September 16–18, 2021 Salt Palace Convention Center Will Friedle, Christopher Eccleston, William Zabka were announced.

See also

References
  1. Ty Kiisel (February 5, 2014). "The Superhero's Superhero: Salt Lake Comic Con". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  2. Cheryl Conner (September 18, 2013). "Salt Lake Comic Con Sets Record By Leveraging Social Marketing Trends". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  3. Salt Lake Comic Con organizers have San Diego in their sights September 9, 2013
  4. Katie Harmer (September 4, 2013). "Shatner, Lee and record-breaking crowds: Inaugural Salt Lake Comic Con ends with a bang Today". Deseret News. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  5. "Salt Lake Comic Con Draws An Unexpected Crowd". KUTV. September 5, 2013. Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  6. Green, Mark (September 8, 2013). "Massive crowds set several records at 2013 Salt Lake Comic Con". Fox 13. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  7. Christensen, Aaron (April 18, 2014). "Star Trek TNG at FanX". Deseret News. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  8. Taylor, Amanda (April 17, 2014). "On the scene at Comic Con FanXperience". KSL-TV. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  9. William Shatner, Adam West make history at Comic Con September 6, 2013
  10. At the 11th hour, Salt Lake Comic Con inks icon Stan Lee September 4, 2013
  11. Massive crowds set several records at 2013 Salt Lake Comic Con September 8, 2013
  12. SLC Comic Con wraps up with over 50K tickets sold September 8, 2013
  13. Families introduce kids to Comic Con culture while defending against adult themes September 7, 2013
  14. Salt Lake Comic Con Sets Record By Leveraging Social Marketing Trends September 18, 2013
  15. Two Comic Con Events Planned for 2014 November 20, 2013
  16. Crowds to flock to Salt Lake City this weekend April 18, 2014
  17. "Battle of the Cons: SD vs. Salt Lake City". UTSanDiego.com. July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  18. "San Diego Comic-Con International vs All Comic Cons". saltlakecomiccon.com. July 26, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
  19. "Salt Lake Comic Con might drop 'comic con' from its names". fox13now.com. December 15, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  20. Cullins, Ashley. "San Diego Comic-Con Trademark Fight Rages On After Jury Verdict". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  21. Romero, McKenzie (March 14, 2016). "Salt Lake Comic Con sends FanX to the Far East, brings zombies to Utah". Deseret News. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  22. Green, Rebecca (May 24, 2018). "FanX co-founder Bryan Brandenburg stepping aside amid criticism of handling of harassment complaint". Fox 13 Utah. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  23. "FanX co-founder to step aside due to harassment complaint controversy". News4Utah. May 24, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  24. Stauffer, McKenzie (May 24, 2018). "FanX co-founder taking leave of absence after harassment complaint controversy". KUTV. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  25. "FanX's Bryan Brandenburg Unveils 'Zenerchi' That Aims to Change the Way In Which We Visualize Human Physiology". GritDaily.com. November 19, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  26. "In Their Words: Bryan Brandenburg". Business.Utah.gov. December 4, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  27. "This Visualization Technology Could Change How You See Yourself". Forbes. December 28, 2019.
  28. Salt Lake Comic Con Sets Record by Leveraging Social Marketing Trends September 18, 2013
  29. Salt Lake Comic Con Alumni Page July 29, 2014
  30. Salt Lake Comic Con Home Page July 29, 2014
  31. Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience 2014 Anime Festival July 29, 2014
  32. Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience 2014 Jason David Frank Meet-N-Greet July 29, 2014
  33. Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience 2014 Zombie Invasion Ball July 29, 2014
  34. Elvira at Comic Con: The Mistress of the Dark makes her way to Utah Archived April 10, 2014, at the Wayback Machine April 7, 2014
  35. Nerdy is the norm: Utah ranks first in country as nerdiest state April 20, 2014
  36. Salt Lake Comic Con Home Page September 9, 2014
  37. Salt Lake Comic Con 2014 Film Festival September 9, 2014
  38. Salt Lake Comic Con 2014 Jason David Frank Meet-N-Greet September 9, 2014
  39. Smash Comic Con Tournament September 9, 2014
  40. Over 120,000 attend Salt Lake Comic Con September 7, 2014
  41. Salt Lake Comic Con Home Page November 19, 2015
  42. Streamlined FanX event is a win for Salt Lake Comic Con January 31, 2015
  43. Salt Lake Comic Con Home Page May 4, 2015
  44. How Many Fans??!! New York Comic Con Sets Attendance Record October 15, 2015
  45. "SLC Comic Con sets world record for costumed comic book gathering | KSL.com". Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  46. Funko presents Pop! Life World Tour at Salt Lake Comic Con September 24, 2015
  47. Salt Lake Comic Con Home Page October 6, 2015
  48. "Master Guestlist – SLCC 2017". Salt Lake Comic Con September 21–23, 2017. April 21, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  49. "KSL FanX Judgment". October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  50. Means, Sean P. "Utah’s FanX convention is axed for 2020, because of COVID-19," Salt Lake City Tribune (July 10, 2020).
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