If you’ve spent any time leafing through the comic scene over the past year—particularly in the corners of Instagram where real conversations tend to happen—you may have come across the name The Comic Underground. What began there as a modest effort to host live claim sales is growing into something far larger and more meaningful.
Now, roughly a year in, The Comic Underground is hosting its first large-scale event:
Anti-Con: 3-Day Showcase of Comics, Artists, and Community Connection
But unlike the standard convention circuit with its head-spinning spectacle, its supersaturation, and the requirement of several modes of transportation, Anti-Con takes a quieter approach. Leaving you to choose the volume yourself on your home speakers.
A Show for the People Who Built It
Anti-Con will run this coming weekend, June 27th to June 29th, literally anywhere you can access a screen and a Wi-Fi connection, with finely curated, hour-long seller/performance blocks spread across three days:
Friday: 6 PM – 11 PM (All times Eastern)
Saturday: 11 AM – 10 PM
Sunday: 12 PM – 10 PM
Each seller has been given one hour to present their inventory—a focused format that respects the time and attention of both seller and audience. The lineup features 23 trusted sellers, many of whom have been part of the Underground since its early days. Their inventories span every age and every price point, reflecting a diversity of collecting styles and philosophies.
The line-up feels intentional. My attention span is already agreeing. This definitely isn’t a revolving door of whoever signs up first. It’s a curated space, organized with care, designed to sustain a steady rhythm over three days.
In addition to the sales blocks, Anti-Con will include three live artist sketch shows. These shows will allow viewers to interact with artists in real time, watch sketches unfold live, and purchase directly. It’s a small but significant expansion of what Anti-Con offers: a way to connect with the hands behind the work. These little touches right here are going to send the Anti-Con to a higher level.
A Platform With Purpose
To understand why this event matters, you have to understand how The Comic Underground operates to begin with.
When the Underground was carved, the math was simple: community > claim sales. So rather than adopt the standard model of charging seller fees and collecting percentages, the team chose a different path. They didn't treat the platform with the standard business model. It was a community project. Right from the start.
They invested in what they called 'community-building efforts' (who woulda thought?), not as a marketing ploy, but as an extension of what they valued most about the hobby: the people. They published community spotlights, sharing personal bios of fellow collectors and gave visibility to voices often overlooked. They create engaging posts, not to farm likes, but to create spaces for conversation—for members to speak, laugh, and occasionally disagree in good faith.
And during every show, without fail, they offered credits out of their own pockets. Not giveaways for the sake of optics, but tangible gestures to support buyers. They didn’t wait for generosity to happen in the chat. They initiated it. That decision, more than anything else, set a tone for the year that followed.
Moments That Defined the Underground
The culture that emerged is one of raw collaboration. One particularly memorable show saw the community come together, dollar by dollar, to help a fellow collector purchase a very valuable book. No one was asked to contribute. People simply stepped in—$10 here, $50 there—until the item was paid for. You had to be there, I am told.
During the holidays, one member of the community organized a gift exchange. Packages crossed the country, many arriving just in time to be opened live on air. What could’ve been a logistical mess became a moment of joy, not because of the gifts themselves, but because of the effort made to connect.
Members have simply bought gifts for one another, credited one another without prompting, donated to each other’s causes, and created threads of conversation and encouragement that extend far beyond comics. There are chats that now run daily—friendships born out of mutual appreciation for art, nostalgia, and shared time spent together in live shows.
In every corner of comic collecting, from the biggest dealers to the smallest weekend sellers, you’ll find stories like this. But the Underground has made these stories the centerpiece.
The Center Is Where You Put the Undies
As a demonstration of the good humor of Anti-Con, The Comic Underground is hosting the inaugural “Undies” awards—a light but heartfelt tribute to the community members who help sustain this scene. These awards won’t go to influencers or big-name sellers. They’re designed for quiet contributors, chat champions, generous gifters. People who’ve made the platform feel like home.
Think you may know one or two of the people up for a nomination? Head here and scroll down a few panels. You'll find all of the categories listed and can cast your vote. Remember to have fun and say hello while you're there. You never know, this may end up being a community that you find yourself becoming involved in.
The 1st Rule of Anti-Con is You Talk About Anti-Con
There will always be room for large-scale conventions. There’s major value in spectacle and scope. But can we also get a moment of silence for the small-scale? Spaces where sellers can connect with buyers without pressure, where artists can engage with fans without filters, and where community is the main event.
OK, the silence is over. These guys are throwing down this weekend with or without you.
It may end up being a modest show, not measured by reach or revenue. But its ambition is rooted in something more durable: care. Care for the hobby. Care for the people who collect. And care for the culture that grows when those people are given space to thrive.
Anti-Con isn’t really a disruption. Secretly, it's just a reflection. With a great name. And like all good reflections, it asks us to notice what’s already here—and perhaps to protect it just a little more fiercely.
To join the experience or support the effort, follow @thecomicunderground on Instagram.
