Florida Supercon was created by Mike S. Broder, a film industry professional and former comic book store owner. Seeking to bring a large-scale comic book convention to south Florida, Broder organized the first Florida Supercon in Hollywood, Florida, in late 2006. The event drew about 2,000 attendees and was followed by Anime Supercon in Fort Lauderdale, as well as other conventions in the Fort Lauderdale and Miami metropolitan areas.
In subsequent years, Supercon expanded to other states, including Georgia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. In 2019, however, Broder sold the flagship convention, Florida Supercon, and the “Supercon” trademark to ReedPop. ReedPop is a subsidiary of the British multinational company RELX that owns and organizes multiple pop culture events, including PAX, New York Comic Con, and MCM Comic Con. The events not sold to ReedPop were rebranded as GalaxyCon.
ReedPop maintained Florida Supercon’s identity as one of Florida’s premier fan events while integrating the convention into its international portfolio. Florida Supercon is traditionally held over three days in early July at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Like most multi-genre fan conventions, it celebrates all things pop culture, including comic books and graphic novels, anime and manga, video and tabletop gaming, cosplay, science fiction, fantasy, professional wrestling, and related fandoms.
One of the main attractions at Florida Supercon is its celebrity guests, who include actors from popular television series and films, as well as voice actors from animation and video games. Other guests include comic book writers and artists, professional wrestlers, authors, illustrators, and online content creators. Events featuring these guests usually include Q&A panels, meet-and-greets, autograph sessions, and photo ops.
Of course, Florida Supercon’s program offers many other events besides meetings with celebrity guests. There are numerous panels, workshops, fan meetups, costume contests, gaming tournaments and demonstrations, and more. For attendees’ convenience, many of these events are held in themed spaces. For example, Pop Asia is for Asian fandoms (anime, manga, and K-pop); Literary Central is for authors and literary workshops; Cosplay Central is for cosplayers; and Side Quest is for gamers. Other themed areas include Family HQ for families with children and Beer Garden for adults over 21. Once the main program is over, the After Dark party begins.
Florida Supercon also has an Artists Alley where hundreds of independent creators sell original artwork, prints, and handmade crafts. In addition to already available art, visitors can purchase commissions and custom sketches. The convention’s exhibitor hall features various vendors, including toy companies, game developers, publishers, and retailers, who sell comic books, manga, action figures, board games, trading cards, clothing, collectibles, artwork, and other merchandise.
Photo: floridasupercon.com
