In what seems less like news and more like inevitiablity, Dark Horse Comics has canceled its participation in next weekend’s Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, otherwise known as ECCC.
The Milwaukee, Oregon-based publisher announced via Twitter it would not make the relatively short trek north for the March 12-15 event due to concerns overs COVID-19.
“Important #ECCC2020 notice: Due to the severity of the COVID-19 virus, Dark Horse Comics has made the difficult decision to pull out of Emerald City Comic Con 2020,” reads their notice. “It is with the safety and well-being of our staff and creators in mind that we have come to this decision.
“We appreciate your understanding, and will see you at conventions later this year and at Emerald City Comic Con 2021.”
Penguin Randon House also announced via Twitter Tuesday they will not attend.
The announcements come as several attending creators have tweeted their own plans to skip the show.
Tuesday, Reed Exhibitions, the parent company of ECCC’s organizers ReedPOP, announced the show along with all their planned U.S. events will go ahead as scheduled, despite Coronavirus concerns.
“Please note that our events in the United States are taking place as scheduled and ourstatus with regard to the COVID19 virus remains unchanged: the health and safety of our exhibitors, visitors and staff is our number one priority,” reads the exhibition giant’s announcement. “Currently, no federal restrictions are in place to prevent conferences, conventions, trade shows, exhibitions and travel within the United States
“With the situation evolving rapidly, we strongly urge our exhibitors and visitors to refer to the guidelines and protocols as suggested by the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html) and local /state public health authorities regarding the virus.
[read their full announcement here]
All eyes will be on other major publishers like DC, who are scheduled to host several panels during the show. DC has not announced a change of plans either way, but their parent company WarnerMedia has already publicly confirmed it had instructed its employees to cancel corporate travel, as well as organizing and attending events, partucularly when it comes to intercontinental travel.
The media giant is also limiting intra-continental (inside the U.S., inside Europe etc) travel to “business-critical needs,” which doesn’t seem like it would describe comic book convention attendance. However, as of Tuesday afternoon DC has yet to confirm their plans either way to Newsarama.