Big Apple Comic Con

The Big Apple Comic Con is a New York City comic book convention, the longest-running comic book/science fiction/fantasy/horror/pop culture convention in New York City. It was started by retailer Michael "Mike Carbo" Carbonaro in March 1996 in the basement of the Church of St. Paul the Apostle. During its heyday from 2001–2008, the Big Apple Comic Con often featured multiple shows per year, with a large three-day "national" convention held in November, usually held at the Penn Plaza Pavilion. The show was owned by Wizard Entertainment from 2009 to 2013, but is now back in the hands of Carbonaro.

Over the course of its history, the convention has been known as the Big Apple Convention, the Big Apple Comic Book Art, and Toy Show, and the Big Apple Comic Book, Art, Toy & Sci-Fi Expo; with the November shows known as the National Comic Book, Art, Toy, and Sci-Fi Expo, the National Comic Book, Art, and Sci-Fi Expo, and the National Comic Book, Comic Art, and Fantasy Convention. After the show's acquisition by Wizard Entertainment, the convention was known as the Wizard World Big Apple Comic Con, and as the Wizard World New York City Experience. In 2014, the name "Big Apple Convention" was revived by Carbonaro for a show scheduled for March 7, 2015.

Though it primarily focuses on comic books, the convention features a large range of pop culture elements, such as professional wrestling, science fiction/fantasy, film/television, animation, anime, manga, toys, horror, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels. Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, the Big Apple Comic Con often features previews of upcoming films, and such evening events as the costume contest overseen by "Captain Zorikh" Zorikh Lequidre. The convention features a large floorspace for exhibitors, including comic book dealers and collectibles merchants. The show includes an autograph area, as well as the Artists' Alley where comics artists can sign autographs and sell or do free sketches. (Despite the name, Artists' Alley can include writers and even glamour models.)

In 2009, Michael Carbonaro established his own independent one-day convention known as the New York Comic Book Marketplace which ran annually through 2014.