Ed Kramer, founder of the highly influential Dragon*Con, is one such person. From his humble beginnings in a Miami Orthodox Jewish community, Kramer used his vision, charisma, and the force of his personality to become the kingmaker in sci-fi fandom.
In 1987, Kramer and several partners launched the first DragonCon as an attack on the staid and boring, family-oriented sci-fi convention industry that dominated at the time. That first convention was a rousing success, featuring big names in the industry like Michael Moorcock and Dungeons and Dragons inventor Gary Gygax.
The formula Kramer had created for DragonCon’s success was simple: other conventions were where people went to meet their favorite celebrities, Dragon*Con was where you went to party with them.
But in this sci-fi carnival atmosphere, Kramer used his rapidly increasing influence to turn the party into a nightmare.
From the beginning rumors followed Kramer as he began to appear in public with a harem of young male sci-fi fans…
