The Baltimore Comic-Con was held on October 28-30, 2022, at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland. While many other conventions with “comic” in the title have become dominated by pop culture and celebrity guests, Baltimore Comic-Con is well established for keeping its focus on comic books. This was proven once again in 2022 when they welcomed a huge guest list of comic creators, comic dealers, auction houses, and exhibitors.

The creators in attendance included John Beatty (Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars), Russ Braun (The Boys), Brett Breeding (Superman), Jim Calafiore (Aquaman), Chris Campana (Venom), John Cassady (Star Wars), Howard Chaykin (American Flagg!), Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows), Amy Chu (Red Sonja), Katie Cook (Adventure Time), Terry Dodson (Harley Quinn), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Tony Fleecs (Stray Dogs), Brendon and Brian Fraim (The Three Stooges), Kami Garcia (Teen Titans: Raven), José Luis García-López (Superman), Mike Grell (Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters), Cully Hamner (Detective Comics), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Jamal Igle (Molly Danger), Tom King (Batman), Greg LaRocque (Web of Spider-Man), Jim Lee (X-Men), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Ron Marz (Silver Surfer), Bob McLeod (The New Mutants), Frank Miller (Sin City), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Fabian Nicieza (Deadpool), Jerry Ordway (Superman), Rachel Ordway (Chainmail Bikini), Steve Orlando (Midnighter and Apollo), Khoi Pham (Teen Titans), Tom Raney (Uncanny X-Men), Afua Richardson (Black Panther: World of Wakanda), Alex Saviuk (Web of Spider-Man), Louise Simonson (Superman: The Man of Steel), Walter Simonson (Ragnarok), John K. Snyder III (Fashion in Action), Jim Starlin (Thanos: The Infinity Revelation), Joe Staton (All Star Comics), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Jill Thompson (The Scary Godmother), Billy Tucci (Shi), Fred Van Lente (Action Philosophers), Lee Weeks (Batman), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Gene Luen Yang (Dragon Hoops), and Thom Zahler (Love and Capes). (Check out our interviews with Brett Breeding, Cully Hamner, Fred Van Lente, Jim Starlin, and Russ Braun.)   

Celebrity guests were Disney princess voice actresses Jodi Benson (The Little Mermaid), Judy Kuhn (Pocahontas), Linda Larkin (Aladdin), and Paige O’Hara (Beauty and the Beast). Spawn and Romeo + Juliet star John Leguizamo was also among the celebrity guests.

Geppi Family Enterprises was represented by Diamond/PREVIEWSworld, Diamond International Galleries, Gemstone Publishing, and Hake’s Auctions. Third party graders CBCS and CGC were in attendance, as were auction houses like ComicConnect, ComicLink, Goldin Auctions, and Heritage Auctions, and the charity organization, The Hero Initiative.

Cards, Comics and Collectibles and Third Eye Comics had a large presence at the convention. Basement Comics, Captain Chuck’s Comics, Dave & Adam’s Card World, Golden Age Comics, Graham Crackers Comics, Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find, Highgradecomics.com, MycomicShop, Reece’s Rare Comics, and Superworld Comics were also in attendance.

In addition to the comic dealers and auction houses, Baltimore Comic-Con also hosted tons of small press publishers like A Wave Blue World, Aftershock Comics, AWA Studios, Hero Tomorrow Comics, Insight Studios, Mad Cave Studios, Source Point Press, TwoMorrows Publishing, and newcomers, VISI8.

The comic booths were joined by collectible dealers who sold action figures, vintage toys, Funko Pops, cosplay supplies, apparel, art prints, Legos, leatherworks, and much more.

On Saturday night, Baltimore Comic-Con hosted the Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards. The professional jury and fans voted Something is Killing the Children as the best series of the year, James Tynion IV won best writer, Filipe Andrade won best artist, and Dave McCaig won best colorist. Steve Geppi was given the Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award and Scott Dunbier won The Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year Award.

Baltimore Comic-Con is a great destination for comic collectors looking to fill holes in their collections, upgrade to better copies, and connect with other collectors. Along with finding the keys and $1 back issues, its thriving presence of independent comic creators and small press publishers gives comic readers tons of fresh material that they might not find elsewhere.

Comic dealers, creators, and collectibles vendors, all reported having successful weekends. The 2022 convention was another successful entry for Baltimore Comic-Con.

To see more photos from Baltimore Comic-Con, jump to our In the Limelight section.