Convention Recap: Steel City Con
The Steel City Con held their winter event on December 6-8, 2024, at the Monroeville Convention Center, located at 209 Mall Boulevard, Monroeville, PA. It was a cold weekend, but that didn’t stop thousands upon thousands of attendees from filling the convention center for the pop culture, comic, and toy convention.
The celebrity guest list was an eclectic mix that included Randy Quaid (Christmas Vacation), Annie Potts (Ghostbusters), Joe Manganiello (True Blood), Josh Gad (Frozen), Temuera Morrison (The Book of Boba Fett), Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse (Lisa Frankenstein), Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Heather Locklear (Melrose Place), Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, and Chris Owen (American Pie), Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), Matthew Lillard (Scooby-Doo), Selma Blair (Hellboy), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster), Spencer Charnas (Ice Nine Kills), Ashley Eckstein and Matt Lanter (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Ross Marquand (The Walking Dead), James and Oliver Phelps (Harry Potter), and Paul “Big Show” Wight, Torrie Wilson, and Mandy Rose (pro wrestlers), among others. Quaid did an in-costume photo op as Cousin Eddie and Nicholas dressed as his Rookie of the Year character for a special photo op.
The wrestlers, Star Wars: The Clone Wars voice actors, the Lisa Frankenstein duo, and the American Pie cast participated in panels. Other celebrity guests, including Howard, Potts, Manganiello, the Phelps brothers, Morrison, and Gad also did Q&As. Additional events included costume contests for multiple age groups and an artist quick sketch for charity. There was some concern over the panels being held in the event tent outside of the convention center, but it was heated so that both guests and attendees could stay comfortable despite the chilly temperatures.
One of the ways that Steel City Con sets itself apart from other pop culture-focused conventions is in the vendor room. They welcome hundreds of vendors with a focus on vintage collectibles (typically from the 1960s to ‘90s) and comic books, in addition to modern memorabilia and hand-crafted items. Steel City combines the treasure hunting experience of toy and comic collecting conventions with the excitement of getting celebrity autographs and photos.
Comic vendors are spread throughout the convention with some selling a table full of long boxes while others had large spreads with thousands of books. The bulk of the books were in the $1 to $20 range, with plenty of affordable keys in the $100s range. Some bigger keys were also present, particularly for Silver and Bronze Age first appearances. Superhero books were prevalent, but other genres were featured too, including Western, all-ages, romance, science fiction, and horror.
The collectibles included loads of vintage action figures, vehicles, and playsets from Star Wars, G.I. Joe, pro wrestling, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and several other properties. Vendors had vintage board games and puzzles, Little Golden Books, classic and new Barbie dolls, action figure card backs, and pop culture ornaments. Newer collectibles included the latest statues and busts, DC and Marvel action figures, anime and manga statues, and stuffed animals. Vendors had paperbacks, magazines, VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and vinyl. They sold t-shirts, hoodies, purses, blankets, and pillows.
Steel City hosts many artists who sold everything from postcards to large paintings, lots of prints, and some indie comics. Some had decorative ceramics, mugs, wine glasses, tumblers, and shot glasses. There were shadow boxes and dioramas, neon signs, stickers and patches, skateboards with comic characters, even pop culture-inspired pet toys.
Friday wasn’t as busy as their spring and summer shows, but things picked up significantly on Saturday when headliners like Temuera Morrison and Matthew Lillard joined the con. Several attendees shared that they waited in line for upward of four hours to meet some of the guests, and many declared that they were worth the wait. The Steel City Con fan page on Facebook has been filled with photos of attendees and celebrity guests, with many expressing how friendly the guests were.
Steel City Con closed out 2024 on a good note and they are already advertising guests for their con on April 4-6, 2025.
To see more photos from Steel City Con check out our In the Limelight coverage.
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Convention Recap: Steel City Con
The Steel City Con held their winter event on December 6-8, 2024, at the Monroeville Convention Center, located at 209 Mall Boulevard, Monroeville, PA. It was a cold weekend, but that didn’t stop thousands upon thousands of attendees from filling the convention center for the pop culture, comic, and toy convention.
The celebrity guest list was an eclectic mix that included Randy Quaid (Christmas Vacation), Annie Potts (Ghostbusters), Joe Manganiello (True Blood), Josh Gad (Frozen), Temuera Morrison (The Book of Boba Fett), Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse (Lisa Frankenstein), Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Heather Locklear (Melrose Place), Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, and Chris Owen (American Pie), Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), Matthew Lillard (Scooby-Doo), Selma Blair (Hellboy), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster), Spencer Charnas (Ice Nine Kills), Ashley Eckstein and Matt Lanter (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Ross Marquand (The Walking Dead), James and Oliver Phelps (Harry Potter), and Paul “Big Show” Wight, Torrie Wilson, and Mandy Rose (pro wrestlers), among others. Quaid did an in-costume photo op as Cousin Eddie and Nicholas dressed as his Rookie of the Year character for a special photo op.
The wrestlers, Star Wars: The Clone Wars voice actors, the Lisa Frankenstein duo, and the American Pie cast participated in panels. Other celebrity guests, including Howard, Potts, Manganiello, the Phelps brothers, Morrison, and Gad also did Q&As. Additional events included costume contests for multiple age groups and an artist quick sketch for charity. There was some concern over the panels being held in the event tent outside of the convention center, but it was heated so that both guests and attendees could stay comfortable despite the chilly temperatures.
One of the ways that Steel City Con sets itself apart from other pop culture-focused conventions is in the vendor room. They welcome hundreds of vendors with a focus on vintage collectibles (typically from the 1960s to ‘90s) and comic books, in addition to modern memorabilia and hand-crafted items. Steel City combines the treasure hunting experience of toy and comic collecting conventions with the excitement of getting celebrity autographs and photos.
Comic vendors are spread throughout the convention with some selling a table full of long boxes while others had large spreads with thousands of books. The bulk of the books were in the $1 to $20 range, with plenty of affordable keys in the $100s range. Some bigger keys were also present, particularly for Silver and Bronze Age first appearances. Superhero books were prevalent, but other genres were featured too, including Western, all-ages, romance, science fiction, and horror.
The collectibles included loads of vintage action figures, vehicles, and playsets from Star Wars, G.I. Joe, pro wrestling, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and several other properties. Vendors had vintage board games and puzzles, Little Golden Books, classic and new Barbie dolls, action figure card backs, and pop culture ornaments. Newer collectibles included the latest statues and busts, DC and Marvel action figures, anime and manga statues, and stuffed animals. Vendors had paperbacks, magazines, VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and vinyl. They sold t-shirts, hoodies, purses, blankets, and pillows.
Steel City hosts many artists who sold everything from postcards to large paintings, lots of prints, and some indie comics. Some had decorative ceramics, mugs, wine glasses, tumblers, and shot glasses. There were shadow boxes and dioramas, neon signs, stickers and patches, skateboards with comic characters, even pop culture-inspired pet toys.
Friday wasn’t as busy as their spring and summer shows, but things picked up significantly on Saturday when headliners like Temuera Morrison and Matthew Lillard joined the con. Several attendees shared that they waited in line for upward of four hours to meet some of the guests, and many declared that they were worth the wait. The Steel City Con fan page on Facebook has been filled with photos of attendees and celebrity guests, with many expressing how friendly the guests were.
Steel City Con closed out 2024 on a good note and they are already advertising guests for their con on April 4-6, 2025.
To see more photos from Steel City Con check out our In the Limelight coverage.
Popular Topics
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