Fan Expo Philadelphia 2026
Fan Expo has been bridging the gap between comic fans and their favorite creators for 26 years now. Philadelphia is known for it’s passionate fan bases, and that could not have been clearer walking into the Philadelphia Convention Center on May 30th. You're immediately surrounded by incredible cosplays and animated conversations about the day ahead. The energy was high and with perfect weather—the entire city was filled with excited fans ready for the day ahead.
An unbelievable array of celebrities were in Philadelphia this past weekend for the convention, such as David Tennant, Ron Pearlman, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, and so many more. The signing floor was a sea of people who were eager to get photos, but always kind enough to let others through.
This year’s attendees would have noticed that there were no longer paper maps and schedules supplied, and traditionalists may have been disappointed, the app was helpful, fast to update, and easy to use.
Fan Expo’s panels are always a draw as a chance to learn from talents across multiple industries and get a chance to hear the nitty gritty of the creation process for some of their favorite works. An important but understated note is how well managed the panels are. While there is always real time troubleshooting at live events, it’s always clear the speakers have everything they need, the moderators are genuinely engaged, and the spaces are never too small or too big.
There was no fan uncatered to this weekend with a myriad of cosplay events, wrestling matches, literature meetups, card tournaments, game shows, and educational content featured on the schedule.
One panel that was run by Tim Smyth, an Eisner award winning comic creator, discussed the importance of bringing comics in the classroom. Comic fans are the last people that need to be told the emotional impact comics can have on a person, but looking at its from an academic perspective points out just how incredible of a tool comics can be when attempting to connect children and young adults with reading.
“Not only do comics completely eliminate any kind of language barrier and or limited reading ability, but it forces the students to sit and think deeply about what they're seeing… Comics are the perfect solution to connect students with dyslexia or aphantasia (the inability to visualize) to stories due to the built-in visual scaffolding of the medium.” - Tim Smyth
From learning about the importance of the comics that inspire us, to learning from the people that inspire us, there were multiple incredible panels on creating comics on Saturday but two that truly stood out were “Comic Writers Assemble: with Tini Howard and Pornsak Pichetshote” and “Jim Lee - Live on Stage”.
Tini Howard, writer of the recent hit DC Sirens, and Pornsak Pichetshote, writer of the current fan favorite Absolute Green Arrow, had incredible chemistry and so much insight on what it takes to write comics.
“It’s really important to have your own voice, but it’s something that you grow into. As a baby writer, you doubt yourself so much and you always want to please your editor, so you shave things off that you shouldn’t. Catwoman was one of the first times I sat down and said, ‘I need this book to be mine, and people can love it or hate it, but it’s always going to be Tini Howard’ ” - Tini Howard.
“I 100% agree. Your voice is what is going to make people show up. Now, when working on a thing like a book for Marvel or DC, it becomes pertinent that you understand how those machines work to even say, 'okay how can I leave space for my voice?’ I have a relationship with my editors and my publishers so that I can do what I want while still making them feel comfortable that I won’t drive the Batmobile into Spiderman’s house.” - Pornsak Pichetshote
Attendees got to hear about just how many secrets are behind the writing of Absolute Green Arrow from Pornsak and the personal connection Tini has with the story of Marian Heretic. Fans were excited to hear that Marian isn’t going anywhere and we will be hearing more from the universe soon.
It was a big DC year as fans walked from hearing Pornsak and Tini speak on their respective titles into a room abuzz with excitement for Jim Lee. Lee is currently the president of DC but has influenced every inch of the industry over the years.
Fans were able to ask questions about his process while he worked on art of absolute Batman. Getting to see his process in real time.
One fan asked how being a comic artist influences how he handles being an executive of DC.
“100% the nice thing about the people at DC right now is that they all bring something different to the table. What I bring is knowing what its like to be on the other end of trying to hit that deadline. That's the kind of thing I like to share with our editors to say, look maybe we should let the artist have more say on this or on some of the deals we do, really considering how to credit them in our media productions. I am very sensitive to the fact that, if my work is reflected in a TV show or movie, it deserves to be credited.” - Jim Lee
Fan Expo runs all over North America and attracts incredible talent, but multiple creators could attest that Fan Expo Philadelphia attendees are uniquely welcoming and encouraging to both creators and other fans. If you are nervous about attending your first big convention or have been a regular in the scene for 10+ years, there will be place for you at Fan Expo 2027.
