BotCon
Annual convention
BotCon, previously known as the Official Transformers Collectors' Convention (OTFCC), is an annual convention for fans and collectors of the Transformers multimedia franchise and related merchandise.
The first BotCon was held in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States in 1994. It had 120 attendees. In 2015, BotCon was recognized by Guinness World Records as the "longest-running Transformers convention".
Featured BotCon guests are usually involved in the creation of Transformers media in some respect, whether as voice actors from the animated series, artists or writers from the comic books, or Hasbro employees. Fun Publications held the convention for a number of years, with 2016 being its final year. BotCon remained defunct until returning in 2022.
BotCon has had numerous event-exclusive toys, including the first version of the character Apelinq. Apelinq debuted at BotCon 2000 and was designed by organizer Glen Hallit. The character would later appear in the 2023 film Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
01Event history
BotCon
BotCon Japan
| Year | Date(s) | Venue | City | Guests | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | June 8 | Science and Technology Hall | Tokyo, Japan | N/A | |
| 1998 | December 12-13 | Sevencity Hall | Hirotaka Suzuoki | ||
| 2000 | December 17 | Tokyo Trade Center Taito Hall | Tesshō Genda |
BotCon Europe
| Year | Date(s) | Venue | City | Guests | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | August 13-14 | St. Barnabas Center | London, England | Simon Furman | |
| 2002 | November 3 | Wolsey Hall | Cheshunt, England | Simon Furman, Neil Kaplan, and Wayne C. Lewis |
Official Transformers Collectors Convention
BotCon was renamed the Official Transformers Collectors Convention in 2003 after organizers Jon Hartman and Karl Hartman had departed 3H Productions.
| Year | Date(s) | Venue | City | Guests | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | July 25-July 27 | Hyatt Regency O'Hare | Rosemont, Illinois | Vince DiCola, Gregg Berger, Garry Chalk, David Kaye, Josh Blaylock, Mike Norton, Clayton Brown, Mark Brooks, Simon Furman, Jerry Jivoin, Eric Siebenaler, and Aaron Archer | |
| 2004 | July 31-August 1 | Donald E. Stephens Convention Center | Michael McConnohie, Dan Gilvezan, Scott McNeil, Bob Budiansky, Simon Furman, Andrew Wildman, Vince DiCola, Greg Lombardo, Aaron Archer, Eric Siebenaler, and Tony Beard | This would be the last convention organized by 3H Productions before filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “BotCon”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- BotCon 2011 - Transformer cosplay robot girls (5802072687).jpg by The Conmunity - Pop Culture Geek from Los Angeles, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0
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