'I organised the first Comic Con'

Summary

Witness History — "I Organised the First Comic Con" (July 30, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode of Witness History, host Jane Wilkinson brings listeners the inside story of the world’s very first Comic Con, held in 1964 in New York. Through personal testimony from organizer Bernie Bubness and anecdotes from participants, including a young George R.R. Martin, the episode explores how a group of comic-loving teenagers sparked a now-global pop culture phenomenon. The episode delves into the origins, challenges, and legacy of Comic Con, underscoring how a simple idea among friends evolved into a billion-dollar industry.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Bernie Bubness’s Personal Background

• Family Challenges and Comic Escapism
  • Bernie describes a difficult childhood, using comics to escape his troubled home life:

    "I hid in my rooms at an early age to be away from my father who...would drink. And for a while I would hide. And I enjoyed comic books. I guess I just wanted to get as far away from the reality that I had when I opened that door."
    (01:38 - 02:08)

• Early Aspirations and Responsibilities
  • His interest in becoming a comic artist was curtailed after his father’s death left him responsible for the family mortgage, prompting him to work full-time:

    "My father passed away, left us a lot of bills and my mother gave me the mortgage to pay. Just keeping a roof over our heads."
    (02:01 - 02:08)

2. Genesis of Comic Con

• The Fanzine Spark
  • Bernie created a fanzine, and in its first issue wrote about the fantasy of a comic convention, foreshadowing its eventual creation:

    "I published my own fanzine...and I wrote a article about what the first comic convention would be like."
    (02:15 - 02:30)

• Timing with the World’s Fair
  • The 1964 New York World’s Fair provided the perfect opportunity, drawing large crowds into the city:

    "People would be coming to New York because of the World's Fair. And I thought that would be the perfect time for this thing to happen."
    (02:47 - 02:54)

3. Making It Happen Despite Obstacles

• Teens Step Up
  • When adults couldn’t organize a convention, Bernie and friends decided to do it themselves at the age of 16:

    "It turned out nobody could really pull it together. So I just said, hey, we should do this ourselves. This is ridiculous. And that's it. At that moment, we became a team of three."
    (02:59 - 03:11)

• Securing a Venue
  • After initially booking a YMCA in Newark for $25, a participant’s family helped move the venue to New York’s Workmen’s Circle building in Greenwich Village—highlighting the haphazard, adaptive organization behind the event:

    "So then I got a call from a guy called Ethan Roberts...his father was in a union and they had a building called Workman's Circle in New York City in Greenwich Village. And he said that we could use that for the convention."
    (05:09 - 05:31)

4. Logistics and Hurdles

• Promotions and Guest Woes
  • Bernie advertised widely in fanzines, hand-drew maps, and used his own money. A major blow occurred when they lost their headliner, Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko:

    "He says, boy, I got a deadline. I'm not going to be able to make it...I left his office. I must have been in tears at that point."
    (04:12 - 04:30)

• Changing Dates and Locations
  • There was confusion over both the venue and the date, causing anxiety for organizers:

    "The craziest part is that we had already telling everybody we're going to be in New Jersey, and we didn't even give them the exact date."
    (05:31 - 05:40)

5. Naming and Branding

• The Comic-Con Name Is Born
  • Original attempts at branding led to overly long names, but necessity forced a concise, now-iconic title:

    "We were calling ourselves Tri State Convention...and the original Tri State convention was too big. So...Comic Con, 1964, and that'll be it. And you know what? 60 years later, it's so iconic. And I almost trampled on that."
    (06:00 - 06:27)

6. The Big Day

• Anticipation and Surprise Guests
  • The boys were nervous, unsure if anyone would attend—until the doors opened:

    "There's no question. We really didn't know how many people were going to come."
    (06:38 - 06:42)

• First Attendee: George R.R. Martin
  • Fantasy author George R.R. Martin recalls being “the first person ever to attend New York Comic Con”:

    "I was writing for comic fanzines, and of course, I was a comic fan. So I sent in my $50, and then when they printed it, had my name published as number one George Martin. That was pretty cool."
    (06:49 - 07:04)

• The Arrival of Steve Ditko
  • The event’s emotional high was achieved when Steve Ditko, despite earlier withdrawing, walked in:

    "You never saw 60 heads turn around this quick in your life. Everybody knew what he looked like. Nobody sees him, never shows up anywhere. It was an amazing moment."
    (07:20 - 07:51)

7. Legacy and Reflection

• Comic Con’s Explosive Growth
  • The episode traces Comic Con’s transformation from a small “dopey idea” into a global phenomenon, epitomized by pageantry and massive audiences:

    "Comic Cons way beyond what was a little dopey idea." (08:35)

• Personal Growth and Courage
  • Bernie reflects on how his difficult upbringing and loss shaped his determination:

    "If you're brought up in a low end part of life, you learn a lot about standing up straight. And that's why I guess I had to finish what I started." (08:55 - 09:06)

• Enduring Passion
  • Though Bernie never became a comic artist, he found a successful career elsewhere and still loves comics.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Bernie Bubness on Anxiety and Determination:

  "What insanity did I think this was going to work?" (04:57)

• Arrival of Steve Ditko:

  "It couldn’t possibly have been the first convention. Unless somebody of that stature showed up." (07:51 - 08:01)

• On Choosing the Name Comic Con:

  "...Comic Con, 1964, and that'll be it. And you know what? 60 years later, it's so iconic." (06:14 - 06:27)

• On The Event’s Impact:

  "It opened the door for everything that rapidly followed." (09:49)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:38 – 02:08: Bernie’s early life and comics as an escape
• 02:47 – 02:54: World’s Fair timing and opportunity
• 04:12 – 04:30: Steve Ditko pulls out, Bernie devastated
• 05:09 – 05:31: New York venue secured, scramble to adjust plans
• 06:14 – 06:27: Comic Con name chosen by necessity
• 06:49 – 07:04: George R.R. Martin, first attendee, speaks on his Comic Con experience
• 07:51 – 08:01: Steve Ditko’s surprise arrival
• 08:35 – 08:38: Recognition of Comic Con’s growth beyond original scope
• 08:49 – 09:06: Bernie’s personal reflection on courage and finishing what he started

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Tone and Language

The episode maintains an enthusiastic, nostalgic, and reflective tone—mixing awe for the scale of what Comic Con has become with candid storytelling about its humble, improvisational origins. Both Jane Wilkinson and her guests are informal, heartfelt, and direct, reminiscing with warmth and humility.

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Summary Takeaway

"I Organised the First Comic Con" offers a compact yet vivid oral history of a cultural turning point, as told by those who were there. From late-night planning and personal loss to witnessing the arrival of legends like Steve Ditko and future stars like George R.R. Martin, the story highlights the power of youthful passion and imagination to spark global movements. For comic lovers and pop culture enthusiasts, it’s a snapshot of history with enduring resonance.

Transcript

[Narrator]

Foreign.

[Jane Wilkinson]

Welcome to Witness History from the BBC World Service with me, Jane Wilkinson. If you've heard us before, just feel free to skip on a few seconds, but if you haven't, then thanks for joining me. We're the podcast that brings history to life in just nine minutes through the eyes of one key witness and lots of truly amazing news archive. So if you enjoy it, please subscribe wherever you get your BBC podcasts. And now I want to tell you a story that's not widely known.

[Bernie Bubness]

This is the only time I've ever spoken to anybody about this in this way.

[Jane Wilkinson]

Oh, thank you, Bernie.

[Bernie Bubness]

You said to me, why did you do it? And that really caught my attention.

[Jane Wilkinson]

Meet Bernie Bubness. He's in his late 70s now, but as a teenager, he helped kickstart what

[Narrator/Reporter]

became a cultural phenomenon around the world and a billion dollar industry. Here's CBS News first day of New

[Bernie Bubness]

York Comic Con, a celebration of comics, TV, movies, gaming and more.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In 1964 in New York, Bernie and a group of his mates organized the first official Comic Con. And they were just 16.

[Bernie Bubness]

We were kids and what seemed like a great idea the moment we said, let's do it. When you then put yourself out there, boy, oh boy, that's scary. And for many years, it was almost

[Ethan Roberts]

forgotten that we even did it first.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Let's go back a little further.

[Jane Wilkinson]

It's Long Island, New York, and Bernie

[Narrator/Reporter]

is having a tough time.

[Bernie Bubness]

I hid in my rooms at an early age to be away from my father who. Who were scary. Well, he'd drink and for a while I would hide. And I enjoyed comic books. I guess I just wanted to get as far away from the reality that I had when I opened that door. I wanted to become a professional artist. I wanted to draw comic books. But that wasn't going to be. My father passed away, left us a lot of bills and my mother gave me the mortgage to pay. Just keeping a roof over our heads.

[Jane Wilkinson]

Bernie gets a job, so selling coats. But he hasn't forgotten his love of comics.

[Narrator/Reporter]

A world where good battles evil.

[Bernie Bubness]

I published my own fanzine, being a small, self produced little booklet that fans would do to talk to other fans. So in the first issue of that, I wrote a article about what the first comic convention would be like.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And in 1964, there's a real life backdrop to Bernie's dream.

[Narrator]

All's fair but the skies in Flushing Meadow for the opening of the New York World's Fair. The steel Unisphere, 12 stories high and light as lace, is the focal point of the great international exposition.

[Bernie Bubness]

People would be coming to New York because of the World's Fair. And I thought that would be the perfect time for this thing to happen.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But making the idea a reality proves difficult, at least for the adults.

[Bernie Bubness]

It turned out nobody could really pull it together. So I just said, hey, we should do this ourselves. This is ridiculous. And that's it. At that moment, we became a team of three.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Our comic book heroes, Bernie and his fanzine friends, Len Wein and Ron Fradkin.

[Bernie Bubness]

We were an 18. We couldn't sign a contract, but I always looked a little older than I should. And plus we had cash. We were looking for places for it to be. And they say you can have a room at a YMCA in Newark, New Jersey. So we gave him 25 bucks. And from that moment I started putting ads into to fanzines that this comic con was gonna happen.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So they've got a venue, now they have to fill it.

[Bernie Bubness]

My only thought was that we had to have dealers, people who were in the business of selling older comic books. And we wanted to give away original art artwork before it becomes a comic book. We also had told everybody that a certain person was gonna be there, a fellow called Steve Ditko.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Steve is a legendary American comic book artist, best known as co creator of Spider man and Doctor Strange. He's also notoriously reclusive.

[Bernie Bubness]

So I'm in his office, I go in and he says, boy, I got a deadline. I'm not going to be able to make it. Jane, I'm telling you. To this day I can remember just falling apart. I'm dead. You can't do this to me. You can't do this to me. I left his office. I must have been in tears at that point.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But the boys can't back out now. And besides, Bernie's been using his own money to fund the plans.

[Bernie Bubness]

I would work till seven, eight o' clock at night, come home, and I'd work for another four hours, five hours. The mail was like three or four cents per letter and I was mailing out 150, 200 of these things. I actually drew maps, hand drawn maps of Newark, how to get there. What insanity did I think this was going to work?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Because so far they don't know who's coming, they've not fixed a date, and their star guest has just pulled out. But at least they've got their venue sorted.

[Bernie Bubness]

So then I got a call from a guy called Ethan Roberts. One year younger than we were, his father was in a union and they had a building called Workman's Circle in New York City in Greenwich Village. And he said that we could use that for the convention. So here we are, maybe a month or so from when we said we were going to do this thing. And I said, okay. But the craziest part is that we had already telling everybody we're going to be in New Jersey, and we didn't even give them the exact date.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So the venue moves to New York and our heroes get more help. As well as Ethan, there's art trip. At 19, a little older than the others, they nail down their plans. The date will be in late July. Admission, $1.50, and ticket holders will get a badge, or as Americans call them, buttons.

[Bernie Bubness]

We were calling ourselves Tri State Convention. They had to fit it on this two and a half inch button. And the original Tri State convention was too big. So when Tripp told us that can't do this. Oh, great, I'm glad. I don't want to do it anyway. But Ron said, no, no, we'll do it. Comic Con, 1964, and that'll be it. And you know what? 60 years later, it's so iconic. And I almost trampled on that.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The day finally arrives. The boys are in a large hall on the third floor of Ethan's dad's union building in Greenwich Village.

[Jane Wilkinson]

How are you feeling in the morning? Because are you absolutely terrified?

[Bernie Bubness]

There's no question. We really didn't know how many people were going to come.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The doors opened and people begin to arrive, including one excited 15 year old.

[George R.R. Martin]

I am the first person ever to attend New York Comic Con. I was writing for comic fanzines, and of course, I was a comic fan. So I sent in my $50, and then when they printed it, had my name published as number one George Martin. That was pretty cool.

[Jane Wilkinson]

You might not recognize the name in that 2025 interview with events organizer Reed Popping, but decades later, George R.R. martin would write a fantasy epic called Game of Thrones. Yeah, he's that George.

[Ethan Roberts]

Meanwhile, we had the introduction that we're here, Everybody's sitting down, 50, 60 people, whatever it is. It just seemed like a million people to me at that time. And everybody's asking questions, and the door of this old building, it slams open at who walks in but Steve Ditko. You never saw 60 heads turn around this quick in your life. Everybody knew what he looked like. Nobody sees him, never shows up anywhere. It was an amazing moment.

[Bernie Bubness]

We wouldn't be talking today if he didn't show up, because it couldn't possibly have Been the first convention. Unless somebody of that stature showed up

[Narrator/Reporter]

five hours later, the the first Comic Con is over. It's a success. And since then, the idea has grown. Today, millions of fans attend conventions around the world, mostly in costume.

[Event Commentator]

Where else but Comic Con can you stand at the feet of a 20 foot tall transformer named Optimus prime or see a grown man dressed as Kung Fu Panda? This event is geek powered and proud.

[Jane Wilkinson]

Have you ever dressed up?

[Ethan Roberts]

Oh, no, no. It never dawned on me that we

[Bernie Bubness]

should be dressing up. But you can see what's happened to

[Ethan Roberts]

Comic Cons way beyond what was a little dopey idea.

[Bernie Bubness]

It's amazing what's happened when you reflect

[Jane Wilkinson]

back a 16 year old boy. Are you amazed that you had the courage to do what you did?

[Ethan Roberts]

Yeah, I guess. Somewhere inside of me I think my

[Bernie Bubness]

father's passing relieved me of tension that I had.

[Ethan Roberts]

If you're brought up in a low end part of life, you learn a

[Bernie Bubness]

lot about standing up straight. And that's why I guess I had to finish what I started.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Bernie never did become a comic book artist.

[Jane Wilkinson]

Instead he went on to have a

[Narrator/Reporter]

successful career in advertising and sales and

[Jane Wilkinson]

he still enjoys comics.

[Narrator/Reporter]

He was talking to me, Jane Wilkinson for Witness History.

[Jane Wilkinson]

And if you've loved this, why not listen out for some of my other Witness History favorites. The story of Marvel Comics and the Fantastic Four, plus the Wonder Woman of DC Comics. Then tell your friends and remember. Hit subscribe wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Thanks loads and bye for now.

[Narrator]

We did something that no one else had ever done.

[Narrator/Reporter]

There was such a excitement and energy about this moment.

[Bernie Bubness]

It opened the door for everything that rapidly followed.

[Jane Wilkinson]

Witness History. History as told by the people who were there.

[Astronaut]

I was walking in space, the first man ever to do so. I felt almost insignificant, like a tiny ant compared to the immensity of the universe.

[Ethan Roberts]

Witness History from the BBC World Service.

[Jane Wilkinson]

Listen now. Search for Witness History wherever you get your BBC podcasts.