Comic book fans rally to support co-founder snubbed by Fan Expo Chicago convention

CHICAGO - Comic book fans are rushing to help a pioneer in the local comic book scene, saying he was snubbed by the same convention he co-founded back in 1976.

Larry Charet, 73, opened Larry's Comic Book Shop on Devon Avenue in 1972. Four years later, he and some friends founded the Chicago Comicon, at the old Ramada near O'Hare Airport. The event grew from a few hundred people to well over 25,000.

"It was a huge success right out of the box," said Gary Colabuono, who later partnered with Charet. "And it kind of overwhelmed Larry, [another founder], and myself."

So in the mid-1990s, they sold it to Wizard World for what wouldn't be a life-changing amount of money, but also something closer to their hearts.

"We negotiated two free booths for each of us, for the rest of our lives. And it was really cool," said Colabuono.

He said Wizard World honored those free booths for decades and that Larry, who closed the store and now sells his collectibles on eBay, relied on sales at the expo to get him through each winter. But with Fan Expo now having taken over the convention from Wizard World, there's been a change of heart. Charet was told he would not be given his booth at next year's show, even though he's considered the event's "founding father."

"They've already told him no more booths," said Colabuono. "This deal that you had with Wizard is not our concern and we're not going to honor something we don't feel we have to honor."

Colabuono decided to launch a GoFundMe for his old business partner to pay for the booth, which has exceeded its initial goal and raised $13,000 so far.

"He's humbled and thankful," said Colabuono.

We did reach out to Fan Expo Chicago to get a comment on why there was a change of heart, but have yet to hear back. In an automatic reply, one of its sales managers said booths for next year's show are "nearly full."