Boston Comic Con is still scheduled to hit this weekend, despite the current city-wide lockdown.

UPDATE 4/19/2013 1:22 PM PT: Boston Comic Con has been postponed and will not run this weekend as planned.


Although parts of the Boston area are currently on lockdown as city and state police search for the remaining suspect responsible for the bombing of the Boston Marathon, Boston Comic Con still plans to move ahead with the show this weekend, despite the lockdown effectively shutting down today's load-in period.

"Load in at the Hynes is currently suspended till further notice," the show announced via the official Facebook page. "We are still operating under the assumption that today's situation is temporary and the convention will proceed. Apologies for the inconvenience. Thank you for your patience at this trying time."

In addition, all local public transportation and mass transit has been shut down until further notice, denying non-local exhibitors access to the city today. Boston's Logan International Airport is still in service, though flights are currently operating under heightened security and some flights may not be operating as normally.

"Our staff & inventory is currently unable to get into Boston for Boston Comicon due to the lockdown," BOOM! Studios PR guru Filip Sablik said via Twitter.

While the show may be scheduled to continue as planned, it will definitely be with increased security. While there have been requests to postpone, representatives told CBR yesterday that postponement "was never an option" and the show either "would have continued as planned or been cancelled."

CBR reached out to show representatives to further clarify how the current situation will affect the show should it last beyond Friday, but received no response by time of press.

UPDATE: CBR's Brigid Alverson writes:

Matt Lehman of Comicopia, which is located on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston near Kenmore Square, witnessed the end of an incident directly in front of his store and heard the detonation of a suspected pipe bomb.

About 7 AM there was an incident in front of his store. "I got text messages from people saying there are police outside your building," he said. "We can't go outside, but I was watching from inside the first doors; there were 15 or 20 policemen of different stripes. Somebody had told me that half an hour ago two people were arrested, so I thought they had caught the guys here, but that wasn't the case. There was a cab with the hood open and the trunk open."

Then, at about 7 AM, the Boston Police Department Tweeted: "For residents in the area of Comm and Charlesgate, police will be conducting a controlled detonation."

For residents in the area of Comm and Charlesgate, police will be conducting a controlled detonation.- Boston Police Dept. (@Boston_Police) April 19, 2013

"I heard a little thud," Lehman said. "But I don't know the events surrounding that. I don't know if it was a bomb."

New England Cable News reported that police detonated what they believe was a pipe bomb.