for a per-item fee. Commercial conventions are usually quite expensive and are hosted in hotels. This represents a change for comic book conventions, which were traditionally more oriented toward comic books as a mode of literature, and maintained less differentiation between professional and fan.

The first official comic book convention was held in 1964 in New York City and was named New York Comicon. Early conventions were small affairs, usually organized by local enthusiasts (such as Jerry Bails,