was the template for a new kind of convention that shifted its focus from actual comic books to ancillary elements of pop culture fandom: celebrity performers, films, television, video games, and toys - "comic conventions" almost in name only. By 2006, Wizard World Chicago boasted a weekend attendance of over 58,000 people.

In May 2002, Wizard branched out from Chicago and produced Wizard World East at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. And in 2003 the company produced