Whether or not this news excites you will probably depend on your location. In a nutshell: CCI may be producing a new Con, still in California, in 2013.
Currently CCI puts on 3 cons annually: WonderCon in San Francisco, APE (Alternative Press Expo) in the Bay Area and our favorite, San Diego Comic Con. However, this year WonderCon had to relocate to Anaheim due to construction in their SF venue, the Moscone Center. For spring 2013, that construction will still be an issue, so WonderCon will once again be held in Anaheim.
BUT the Moscone Center may be able to accommodate a Con in the fall 2013 - which could mean that CCI will create a fourth Con. However - this is where it gets confusing - if this is the case, then that autumn Con in San Francisco will become WonderCon, and the spring Con in Anaheim will become the new, as yet unnamed one.
In other words, we'll either have WonderCon in Anaheim in March 2013, or we'll have a new Con in Anaheim in March 2013 and WonderCon in San Francisco in fall 2013. When will we know for sure? October.
Now you may well be thinking, why do I care about this, all I care about is San Diego, but this is exactly the kind of juncture that may become the long-anticipated day when San Diego Comic Con cracks in half. For years now, people have been fervently wishing that San Diego could split into two separate cons, with Hollywood on one side and comic books on the other.
Is it really that simple? No, the fans intersect in all kinds of ways, and any split would leave some people dissatisfied. But it's still a very possible outcome as the Con bulges at the seams -and creating a fourth Con (and a SoCal one, no less) might be seen as an experiment and possible relief valve over these next 3 years that we are contractually stuck in San Diego.
We'll just have to wait and see if this fourth Con materializes. If it does, it is brand new territory, unshaped by expectations, and could theoretically be tipped toward any sector - sci fi, comic books, cosplay, anything. It could become an attractive option for people sick of the crowds and hassle of San Diego, or it could be seen as small potatoes and not attract many fans at all. (Feelings about WonderCon at Anaheim this year were mixed.) In any case, CCI seems to think the call is there. I don't always have much confidence in their business vision, but I'll be watching to see if they're right.
Publishers Weekly
ETA: No new Con in 2013! WonderCon will be held in Anaheim March 29-31.
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