For those of you who don't know Mike Broder, let me introduce you to the main man of the SuperCon event, who has resuscitated the lonely hearts of convention fans in South Florida. It has been a long time, at least over ten years, since South Florida has seen a gathering reviving classic genres like anime, animation, manga, comics and sci-fi. Thanks to Mike, along with his supporting staff, this year's show is going to be an even bigger and better multi-format extravaganza.

With over 60,000 square feet of convention space in a gorgeous location, encircled in Weston's stunning natural landscape, the Florida SuperCon (FSC) might just remain an ongoing guest at the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure Resort for several years to come.

"I like hotel shows better than convention centers," Mike admits, "I think in a hotel you're not being pushed out at a certain time. You can hang out all weekend... it's a more laid-back environment. Obviously you get more space in a convention center, but you give that up for the convenience of being in a cool environment like a hotel. I love the Hyatt; I think it's a great hotel. I definitely plan on being there this year and next year, and hopefully, for a couple of years after that."

Plus, hotels offer accommodations for guests who live farther away, or who come from out-of-state and even out of the country for these events. "I know already that we [have] sold several hundred tickets to people out of state, out of the country," Mike asserts. "I mean we've got people coming from Switzerland, England...from Canada. We get that. There seems to be more this time than others, but that just means the show is growing."

As to the extent to which Mike plans to expand the event in the future, whether he plans to reach the size of the ComicCon in San Diego or New York City, he argues the impossibility of that happening because those events are more like "trade shows."

"San Diego is clocking in about 140,000. They take up that whole convention center. And that thing's massive. And, nobody can ever replicate that, only because of geography. But down here, in the South, we can have something. There's room to grow here [in South Florida], but not to the San Diego level," he points out.

Mike is expecting somewhere around 4,000 attendees this year, and, hopefully, a little bit more, but no where in the ballpark that New York and California has to offer (at least not anytime soon). "Last year, it was just under three [thousand]. So, you know, with the Harry Potter guys coming in, we are expecting some more. Also, we are doing a lot more publicity this year and a lot more advertising."

Even if other comic conventions promise a bigger event with more attendance, Mike feels that his show brings something special to the local communities of South Florida. "It's a very local show, most of our fans, most of our patrons come from South Florida, and that's kind of the reason why we are doing the show here. There haven't been really any large genre events like this in South Florida in a long time. The last thing we had was Screamfest, which is a horror show, but that moved to Orlando.

"What I constantly hear is 'Orlando is the only place that gets all the big shows.' That's still three and a half hours from Ft. Lauderdale. So it's close, but it's not that close to people from here. To go over to Orlando for the big shows there, you have to travel, save for hotels, pay for gas... and it's very expensive. I can't tell you how many parents don't have the time, the resources...and, sometimes, even the money.

"We give them an event here because there's absolutely no reason why we can't have a show that's as big, if not bigger and better than what you are going to find anywhere else in the state. I constantly hear that Orlando is the 'convention capital of Florida,' and it may be, but we are doing just fine here in lonely ol' South Florida."

The FSC is doing very well indeed, enough so, that it has extended its schedule to include more events and celebrity guests than ever before. With more than sufficient space, Mike's plan for the layout and set up of the convention is quite elaborate. "We are running two main event rooms, an autograph room which is 2,000 sq. ft., an exhibition room which is about 11,000 sq. ft., a console gaming room, two tabletop gaming rooms, two video rooms; we have a really nice amphitheater for Q&As and movie screenings, and two more panel rooms. So we are running, if you think about it, between 12 and 13 rooms right now, not counting the stuff that goes on in the hallway."

Of all the genres, Mike would most likely be found in the comic book rooms, because, as he would say, "I'm an old comic book fan. That's one of my passions. I like American animation. I also love the anime, but a lot of shows just focus strictly on Japanese animations. And there's not a lot for American animation fans. So, yeah, that's something I try to bring that's a little bit different. I bring in Dana Snyder from Aqua Hunger Team Force in a lot. I try to bring in as many guys from Cartoon Network as possible."

But as far as the actual event goes "I've always loved the costume contest," reveals Mike. "It's always when there is the most energy and always [has] the most people in the room, so that's always fun."

There is nothing more rewarding in life than a job that makes you happy. With good intentions for the future of the event, and pleased with the results so far, Mike emphasizes the very nature of why he organizes these events in the first place. "No, I am really enjoying this, this has been a lot of fun and I want to do more shows, maybe different areas, maybe different genres. Right now, we are working on a pin-up model convention, like pin-up art from the 40s and 50s. I'm putting that together for September and that's something new that I am working on.

"But, I have always liked putting on live events, getting people out of the house. I mean, I could say that if you are a fan of this stuff, come out and come support it, and the more people that come, the more we will do. The more people we will bring in, the bigger the show will get, and the more I can give to the fans.

"I think that it's evident in the last few years, looking at what we did with the first show compared with what we are doing to this, that within three years, we have had really good growth; working really hard to bring in some great talent. There are tons more people out there. We're not going to be San Diego anytime soon but you know, for Florida, we can be a great thing."

If you would like to get involved and help keep this comic convention a yearly tradition in South Florida, sign up to become a volunteer, or for ticket information, check out the FSC Official Site. Don't forget everyone, that the FSC event takes place May 23rd through the 25th. Become a part of this year's Anime SuperCon in November!

And finally, kudos to Mike Broder for finding such a gigantic space for this upcoming Florida SuperCon Convention at the Hyatt Regency in Weston---three times bigger than last year!

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."