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Southwesterncon was a series of regional multi-genre fan conventions held annually in Texas and Oklahoma between 1966 and 1971 (and then sporadically afterward until 1981). On a rotating basis, conventions were held in Dallas (" D-Con"), Houston (" Houstoncon"), and Oklahoma City (" Multicon"). Most Southwesterncons took place over three days in June. Southwesterncon is credited with being one of the earliest ongoing comic book conventions in the United States.
The initial plan for Southwesterncon was explained by Oklahoma Alliance of Fans co-founder Bart Bush: "Dallas held the first Southwesterncon in 1966, Houston held the second one in 1967, and then it went back to Dallas in 1968. The idea is that they would each do the con every other year." Oklahoma City joined Southwesterncon in 1970.
The convention featured a large range of popular culture elements, primarily comic books but also radio and television serials, science fiction/fantasy (particularly Star Trek), film/television, animation, toys, and horror fiction, as well as a cosplay. Nostalgia for times past played an important role: all Southwesterncon events featured screenings of classic science fiction films and old television serials. The convention featured panels with comic book professionals, and floorspace for exhibitors, including comic book dealers and collectibles merchants. The show included an autograph area, as well as an Artists' Alley where comics artists signed autographs and sold or did free sketches. (Despite the name, Artists' Alley could include writers, celebrities, and even glamour models.)
The 1958 Southwesterncon was actually the sixth edition of a regional, rotating city and state series of cons which had started as "Oklacon", editions of which had previously been held in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Enid. On the last day of the convention, as part of Southwestercon VI's business meeting, the members of the DFS disbanded their club (due to much behind-the-scenes intrigue and politics). That event spelled the end of the Oklacon/Southwesterncon series of science fiction conventions.
Movies shown at the convention included Metropolis (1927), Shadows Over Chinatown (a 1946 Charlie Chan feature), Behind the Mask (a 1946 The Shadow feature), and Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. (1941).
The first Houstoncon attracted 124 attendees, including Larry Herndon and Buddy Saunders. The con was later given the 1967 Alley Award for Best Fan Project.
Films shown at the con included The Jungle Book (1967), Song of India (1949), Mighty Joe Young (1949), Rocket Ship (the 1949 film version of the 1936 serial Flash Gordon), King Kong (1933), the complete 12-chapter Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941), and Tarzan of the Apes (1918). The Friday night "non-stop theater" advertised screenings of Münchhausen (1943), The Thief of Baghdad (1940), The Vampire Bat (1933), and a couple of Laurel and Hardy films. On Sunday afternoon, convention-goers were invited to a showing of at the nearby Capri Theater.
The con attracted 160 attendees, including Buddy Saunders, Howard Keltner, Howard Waldrop, and Rocket's Blast Comicollector publisher G. B. Love, attending his first such event.
The third leg of Southwesterncon, officially dubbed "Multicon 70," was held at the Skirvan Hotel in Oklahoma City on June 19–21, 1970. Don Maris and Robert A. Brown of OAF acted as convention chairs. Buster Crabbe was the guest of honor and Reed Crandall was the guest speaker. Other guests included Jim Harmon. The show featured an exhibition of the world's largest private collection of Frank Frazetta's art.
Complete serials shown included Drums of Fu Manchu (1940), The Phantom Creeps (1939), Mars Attacks the World (a 1938 Flash Gordon adventure), and a Buck Rogers serial; films included The Road to Yesterday (1925), King Kong (1933), The Shadow Strikes (1937), Freaks (1932), and Siegfried (1924).
Among the 511 attendees was G. B. Love. The teenage comics dealer Bud Plant drove from San Diego to attend the show; he was nearly arrested for selling "pornography" due to the underground comix he displayed at his table.
According to Chuck Rozanski, Harlan Ellison "lived up to his bad boy reputation by offending practically everyone in the state of Texas with his profanity-laced keynote address, and his genuinely derogatory depiction of the Lone Star State... In any event, I understand that Harlan was officially disinvited from any further Dallas shows after that one colorful appearance."
Movies and serials shown at the convention (often running into the early-morning hours) included Barbarella (1968), Marooned (1969), (1970), Ghost of Zorro (1949), Zorro Rides Again (1937), Cowboy and the Prizefighter (1949), Bulldog Drummond Comes Back (1937), Cat-Women of the Moon (1953), Dangerous Mission (1954), Devil's Canyon (1953), The Vampire Lovers (1970), The Assassination Bureau (1969), Planet Outlaws (a 1939 Buck Rogers serial), Mars Attacks the World (a 1938 Flash Gordon film), Transatlantic Tunnel (1935), Tales From the Crypt (1972), Gone Fishin', King Kong (1933), King of the Rocket Men (1949), The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), Jack and the Beanstalk (1952), Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952), "Demon with a Glass Hand" (1964 episode of The Outer Limits), Silent Running (1972), The French Line (1954), Outlaw Territory (1953), (1953), Invaders From Mars (1953), Beginning of the End (1957), and the complete 13-chapter serial Red Barry (1938).
(Houstoncon '73 had taken place the previous weekend, with guests including Kirk Alyn, Frank Coghlan, Jr., William Benedict, William Witney, Dave Sharpe, Al Williamson, and Don Newton.)
The film programming was heavy on Star Trek content, with showings of and selected episodes. Other films, serials, and TV shows included Undersea Kingdom (chapters 1-12, 1936), Philo Vance's Secret Mission (1947), California Gold Rush (1946), Forty Thieves (1944), Our Gang shorts, Planet of the Vampires (1965), an episode of The Outer Limits, episodes from the Adventures of Superman TV show, The Thin Man (1934), Ghosts on the Loose (1943), Riders of the Whistling Skull (1937), The Hard Hombre (1931), Dead Reckoning (1947), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), White Eagle (1941 Buck Jones serial, chapters 1–15), Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939), and an episode of Amos 'n' Andy.
A "Multicon '82" for the following year was promised, but never ended up happening.
OAF member Bart Bush later opened the first comic book retailer in Oklahoma: Down Memory Lane in Norman. In 2007, the 40th anniversary of the formation of the Oklahoma Alliance of Fans, Bart Bush created OAFcon, a comics convention held in Norman. "OAFcon proved popular enough that it became an annual event and drew collectors from across the nation." Bush died in 2020, and "Peter Purin, organizer of Uncanny Comic Expo, took over running the show in 2021." OAFcon '22 took place September 17–18, 2022, at the Embassy Suites in Norman. Focusing "on Tarzan, The Shadow, and more," author Mike Chapman was the featured special guest, along with Anthony Tollin, J. David Spurlock, Buddy Saunders, and Steve Borock of MyComicShop.com.
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