Comic Cons in California

What is coming up in California

The next shows in California: Tachi-Con (October 24, Lemoore), L.A. Comic Con (October 30 to November 1, Los Angeles), and PENCO TCG & Collectibles Card Show (October 31, Oakland).

The big ones, running three days or more at a named venue: L.A. Comic Con at Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, San Diego Anime Con at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in San Diego, and SacAnime Winter 2027 at SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento.

By kind, that is 7 pop culture, 6 comic, 2 anime, and 1 gaming.

Where the cons are

Los Angeles hosts the most, with 6 listings of the 45 we track in California. Sacramento (5), San Diego (5), Oakland (3), and Torrance (3) and others fill in the rest.

In all, 22 cities in California have hosted a con on our list, so there is usually one within a drive.

When to go

April and March are the busiest months for cons in California.

Shows that come back

We have 6 shows in California listed in more than one year, so they are a safe bet to return: Comic Con Oakland in Oakland, Comic Con Revolution Ontario in Ontario, The Nostalgia Con in Anaheim, and TouhouFest 2027 in Torrance.

How this list is made

Searching for a comic con near me from California? This page is that list. Every California con here was found on the organizer's own website and is re-checked weekly. A show that disappears from its source for three weeks in a row is hidden until it comes back, and the last update date is on the homepage. Dates and tickets always come from the official site, linked on every event page.

A bit of California con history

San Diego Comic-Con began on March 21, 1970 as the Golden State Comic-Minicon, founded by a group that included Shel Dorf, Richard Alf and Ken Krueger. It fills the San Diego Convention Center and drew more than 135,000 people in 2022. Source

Anime Expo, the largest anime convention in North America, was first held in July 1992 at a hotel in San Jose with 1,750 attendees. It now runs at the Los Angeles Convention Center, organized by the nonprofit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, and passed 107,000 attendees in 2017. Source