Nerd Street

Ben is the founder of Awesome Con, Annapolis Comic-Con, Southern Maryland Comic-Con, Central Florida Comic Con, Twin Cities Con, Des Moines Con, Nerd Street Wrestling, Sugoi Expo, and co-founder of Alaska ComiCon. Ben started reading comics at age 13, and in the late ’90s began selling parts of his collection on eBay and used the money to buy more comics on eBay. This hobby turned into a full-time job in 2008 when Ben started an online comic book store. After spending the next three years traveling the country selling comics at conventions, Ben joined Steve Anderson from Third Eye Comics to create the Annapolis Comic-Con in 2011, soon followed by the Southern Maryland Comic-Con, both still thriving local shows that cater to comic book lovers like themselves. Ben turned his focus to planning Awesome Con in Washington, DC starting in 2012, and the first one launched in April 2013. Awesome Con was an immediate success, and it quickly grew into one of the largest fan conventions in the United States. Ben stepped back from actively managing Awesome Con in 2018, and in 2019 started Central Florida Comic Con in Lakeland, Florida. In 2020, with longtime friend Brett Carreras from the Virginia ComiCon, Ben started Alaska ComiCon in Fairbanks, Alaska. Twin Cities Con was added to the list of Nerd Street events in 2021, and 2022 will see the debuts of Des Moines Con and Sugoi Expo in Orlando.