Stephen Shamus joined New York City’s ACE Universe as company president in 2016. The world’s longest tenured Comic Con showrunner, Stephen Shamus has produced more than 175 Comic Con events throughout the United States.
The first Comic Con was held in New York City in July, 1964. The event drew just 100 attendees, a very small foreshadowing of the international phenomenon Comic Con would soon grow to be. However, even the first Comic Con had its share of celebrities. In fact, the first-ever ticket sold to a Comic Con event was purchased by none other than a young George R.R. Martin. At the time, the comic book enthusiast was already appearing in the letters sections of popular comic books like Fantastic Four and contributing to various magazines.
Martin, of course, is now a staple of the Comic Con scene, having produced countless novels, short stories, and on screen projects in areas of fantasy and science fiction. He is best known for his A Song of Ice and Fire book series, source material for the popular and critically acclaimed HBO series Game of Thrones. Martin was only 15 at the time of the first comic book convention, but his anecdote of having made the first Comic Con ticket purchase was verified in 2013 by Brian Cronin in Comic Book Legends Revealed.
The first Comic Con was held in New York City in July, 1964. The event drew just 100 attendees, a very small foreshadowing of the international phenomenon Comic Con would soon grow to be. However, even the first Comic Con had its share of celebrities. In fact, the first-ever ticket sold to a Comic Con event was purchased by none other than a young George R.R. Martin. At the time, the comic book enthusiast was already appearing in the letters sections of popular comic books like Fantastic Four and contributing to various magazines.
Martin, of course, is now a staple of the Comic Con scene, having produced countless novels, short stories, and on screen projects in areas of fantasy and science fiction. He is best known for his A Song of Ice and Fire book series, source material for the popular and critically acclaimed HBO series Game of Thrones. Martin was only 15 at the time of the first comic book convention, but his anecdote of having made the first Comic Con ticket purchase was verified in 2013 by Brian Cronin in Comic Book Legends Revealed.
