Highs and lows Phoenix Comicon’s attendance soared like Iron Man in the mid-2010s, peaking at 106,096 in 2016. Though more than 80,000 people showed up in 2017, the numbers haven’t hit the record turnout since. That same year, a series of unforeseen issues began plaguing the event. In 2017, local resident Matthew Sterling smuggled a cache of firearms into the convention center, aiming to kill Power Rangers actor Jason David Frank, a guest that year. Thanks to a police tip, Sterling was apprehended before a poten- tial tragedy could unfold. In response, Square Egg Entertainment, the event’s parent company, imposed stricter security, banning all cosplay weapons and props at the behest of Phoenix Convention Center officials. Con-goers faced long delays under 110-degree heat due to thorough screenings. (Square Egg has since relaxed its policies.) Then, after San Diego Comic-Con began taking legal actions over the “comic-con” name against competing geek events nationwide, Square Egg preemptively rebranded their event as Phoenix Comic Fest in 2018, before settling on Fan Fusion. For some, it will always be Phoenix Comicon, even though its signage says otherwise. “It’s called Fan Fusion now, but I still refer to it as Comicon,” Hinds says. Fan Fusion’s biggest setback came in 2020, courtesy of the pandemic. Like many annual Arizona events, Square Egg was forced to pull the plug for multiple years. The con finally returned in 2022 and local geeks have been legion at the Phoenix Convention Center each year, though nowhere near record-breaking levels. Boudrie says attendance hit around 48,000 people in 2023 and “just under 52,000” last year. That’s a solid turnout and well above other local cons, but still only half of 2016’s zenith. Boudrie says record-breaking atten- dance is something he’d “love to see again someday,” but admits Fan Fusion will have to do much more growth and expansion. The good news? There’s evidence of both in recent years, including at this week- end’s edition. Anime, gaming and grappling If there was a silver lining to the pandemic, it was giving geeks everywhere time to find new obsessions. Case in point: anime and both tabletop and video gaming. Each pursuit has exploded in popu- larity. Anime blew up like Vegeta going Super Saiyan. Demand for the genre on digital platforms more than doubled between 2020 and 2022, per Parrot Analytics, a data research firm. Tabletop and video gaming saw a similar boom, with the latter hitting $27 billion in 2023 and projected to pass $49 billion by 2029. “Since people were limited as to what they could get out and do, playing game with friends was something easy to do,” Boudrie says. More people are rolling dice, painting minis and binge-watching anime than ever, and Fan Fusion’s embracing that momentum. (They’re not the only local geek event to do so, as the number of anime cons in Arizona has tripled in recent years and the annual Game On Expo has doubled in size.) Anime programming and voice actor appearances at Fan Fusion have increased threefold since 2019. Boudrie says the Gametopia area and Arcade Oasis areas have already doubled in size since being introduced in 2022. “Tabletop gaming culture has been exploding over the last few years, and we’ve wanted to lean into that,” Boudrie says. “With Gametopia, we’re moving into a bigger hall (at Phoenix Convention Center). We’ve got about a 45% to 50% growth in that area in the number of play tables and exhibitors. We also added another 46 video game cabinets this year.” Another fandom getting a bigger spotlight at Fan Fusion? Professional wrestling. The con is tag-teaming with local indie promotion Phoenix Championship Wrestling to create the Slam Fusion Arena inside a large Phoenix Convention Center ballroom. Matches will take place daily and con- goers can stage their own over-the-top WWE-style entrances, complete with music. Move over, Macho Man. “The last couple of years, we’ve added live wrestling to the show,” Boudrie says. “I honestly was very surprised at how popular it has been, so we’ve put it into a bigger space this year.” Boudrie says longtime Fan Fusion attendees shouldn’t expect any dramatic changes to the event under his leader- ship as convention director. “I’m not planning on it. I feel like the directions we’re going, the strategic moves we’ve made over the last couple of years have been strong,” Boudrie says. “Stuff like developing the tabletop gaming area, that’s resonating with fans. We’re seeing a lot of excitement. So we’re going with stuff like that. I’m not sure what new things might be on the horizon, but we’ll handle them as they come.” Fan Fusion will remain firmly rooted in geek culture, he adds, even as it welcomes more pop-culture stars like Marisa Tomei, who has played May Parker, Spider-Man’s aunt, in five Marvel films since 2016. “Everybody that’s involved with the show are geeks ourselves,” Boudrie says. “And we love it so much that it’s always going to be in our DNA.” The numbers for Fan Fusion 2025 are looking good — weekend full event passes have sold out for the first time in recent memory. “We’re doing well for this year, and hopefully the folks will decide to come out,” Boudrie says. “It’s difficult to judge until we actually get into the show days what attendance is going to be like.” Ultimately, he hopes Fan Fusion offers more than just panels and photo ops. “There are many people out there looking for something fun and a way to get together and kind of shut out all the crazi- ness and chaos of the real world right now,” Boudrie says. “Just somewhere to be with their own community, be them- selves and not have to worry about anything except having a good time.” (PHOTO BY CARLOS ARIAS) >> p 16 Ronin Kasai as DC Comics’ Hawkman, left, and Kyle Appel as The Lich King from “World of Warcraft.”
