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There are many terms that are part of comic conventions - not least of which is the shortened name for an event in itself, 'comic con.' While you probably know what an artist's alley is, or even a Hall H-type experience, there's one event at most any convention you might have missed unless you're a professional attending the show: a dead dog party.

Thankfully, there are no dead dogs at a dead dog party (unless you count hot dogs, and even then, only sometimes); instead dead dog parties are one of comic conventions' most storied, and most secretive, events, taking place in the waning hours of the final day of many a favorite con. Sometimes it's advertised, but mostly it's a closed-door get-together to cap off a busy weekend, full of celebrities, vendors, convention staff, and a few lucky fans.

Every major convention (and most minor cons) have one, from Comic-Con International: San Diego to New York Comic Con, even across to Dragon Con, Star Wars Celebration, and Worldcon. But with all of that, it's largely unheard of, and in some cases, barely understood.

So… what is a dead dog party?

A convention's dead dog party is the final event of a long weekend, usually taking place after the convention closes to the public, but sometimes happening concurrent to the final hours of a given convention. A dead dog party is generally organized by the staff of the convention itself, with invites going out to fellow staff, volunteers, and partners, as well as some vendors, comics creators, and other types of celebrities. Sometimes, however, multiple entities outside a convention will host their own dead dog parties (as has become the trend at San Diego Comic-Con), due in some cases due to the size of the convention as much as various cliques emerging over time.

The first dead dog party I ever took part in was a menagerie of mega-stars, acting as - who guessed it - real people, from Grant Morrison to Deepak Chopra, running the gamut of comics and pop culture, with not only celebrities but the real people who help run the industries which see comic cons as the crossroads of their businesses.

In many cases, a dead dog party is held at a neighboring bar - usually not one in the circles frequented by fans. In other cases, it's at a con employee's nearby house, or sometimes even in the con office in the bowels of the convention center. I've been part of immensely formal dead dog parties, as well as informal ones held at the loading docks as exhibitors hauled their booths and merchandise back to where they came from, while suffering through near-freezing temperatures.

At furry conventions, the idea of a 'dead dog party' is played up even more with dead dog dances, and even a dead dog fury party at the convention Furfright.

I've never actually seen the end of a dead dog party, partly due to them running into the relatively late hours (some into the morning), but that's part for me leaving early after a long convention weekend - as well as wanting to file stories left over from a long convention weekend.

Where does the term 'dead dog party' come from?

The term 'dead dog' in 'dead dog party' refers to early 20th century slang for 'empty beer bottles,' as some aged bartenders among us might recall. The term 'dead dog' was written about as far back as 1965, in Duke University Press' American Speech Vol. 40 (2).

In my research, I found the term 'dead dog party' to be used in a convention sense as far back as 1969 for the L.A. area sci-fi convention WestCon. In a schedule for that year's event, its last thing to participate in was Sunday's 7pm Dead Dog Party, described as "for those who stay until the last dog is hanged and even for the funeral."

The "last dog" would be the last beer bottle, and its funeral would be disposing of it (or smashing it, I presume).

How do you get an invitation to a 'dead dog party'?

Therein lies the rub. 

It's hard to get an invite if you ask. From my own personal experience, as well as in talking to industry vets and convention organizers, invites to dead dog parties. In some cases its for convention staff only, while in other cases the invitation is extended to creators, vendors, and celebrities with whom the con has a good relationship with - the last bit being as much a good personal relationship as it is a business relationship.

A key thing to remember with con-organized dead dog parties is they aren't official events managed by the convention - this is the staff wanting to relax after a long weekend, blow off some steam, and not having to work after generally a week (or more) of long days and long nights working.

With the popularity of comic conventions rising in recent years, some have started commercial-oriented dead dog parties - complete with flyers and social media advertisements. While I have not to been to one of those myself, I'm excited by this as one more way for fans to take part in the con culture that permeates a good convention as much as the convention itself.

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Here's a list of all the big dead dog parties around the world - and the conventions that happen beforehand.