Lines at Comic-Con? Meet Your Love Match There, Poll Hints

Contrary to SNL’s depiction of a Star Trek Convention as a place for loveless losers “still living in their parent’s basement,” San Diego’s Comic-Con is playing the part of matchmaker.

So suggests a June 2014 poll Comic-Con attendees by entertainment research firm VGMarket.

Nearly a third (30 percent) of married respondents say they met their spouse/partner at Comic-Con, said the marketing survey firm based in Hollywood, Florida.

“Also interesting, 35 percent of respondents said they have dated someone that they met at Comic-Con. Among those [who] haven’t, 79 percent say they would date someone they met at the convention,” said a summary of the survey.

Cosplay — short for costume play — is a lifestyle on the rise, influencing parents’ decisions for names for their children.

At San Diego Comic-Con, according to the VGMarket poll, 57 percent of respondents know someone who met their spouse/partner at Comic-Con.

“Comic-Con is the mecca for future fantasy families,” said Michael Gluck, founder and President of VGMarket. “We knew attendees loved comics and characters; what we learned is that they have really integrated that fandom into their everyday lives. From dating to committed relationships to naming children after favorite heroes and villains, the cosplay lifestyle is no longer under wraps.”

The poll also found:

• 35 percent of respondents have dated someone that they met at Comic-Con. Among those that haven’t, 79 percent say they would.
• 57 percent of respondents know someone that met their spouse/partner at Comic-Con. 30 percent of married respondents met their spouse/partner at Comic-Con.
• 78 percent of respondents have dressed up as a character at Comic-Con.
• 71 percent of respondents know someone that has named their child after a fictional character.
• 76 percent of respondents know someone that has worked their favorite fictional character into a child’s birthday party or similar event.

Moreover, 45 percent of respondents who have attended both San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic-Con prefer San Diego Comic-Con. (Just 32 percent prefer New York Comic-Con.)