Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) 2018 – Day 1
The gates opened at 10 a.m. as tens of thousands of fans spilled into the vast exhibition hall at McCormick Place in Chicago. “Welcome to the promised land,” exalted someone behind me. Turning around, I noticed the man behind the comment was the blue Power Ranger; he was talking to his friend, Spider-man. Endless booths, vendors, artists and cosplayers waited before us in the convention, a monument to fun and creativity of the highest order. Once through the gate, you could buy statues of Wonder Woman and give blood for a free T-shirt. Behind me, a school band played “Hooked on a Feeling.”
It sounds cliche to say, but it bears repeating: there is something at C2E2 for nearly everyone. To further illustrate, allow me to divulge some facts. McCormick Place in Chicago, where the show is held, is the largest convention center in the United States. Last year, C2E2 had 80,000 attendees; that’s about 12,000 more that were in attendance at the Super Bowl in February. So, in the midst of all of that, if you have the slightest interest in comic books, movies, cosplay, television, video games, anime, illustration or a 12-foot model of the dragon/dog Falkor from “The Neverending Story,” I’m sure there’ll be something to pique your fancy.
Caleb with Walter White aka Heisenberg
Per tradition, I came to the show with my brother Caleb. We’ve been going to C2E2 for the past four years, making the pilgrimage every spring to reaffirm our faith in the comics industry the way I imagine the devout feel in Vatican City. We began the first day by walking through the heartbeat of comic cons across the nation: artist alley. Artist alley is essentially a series of long rows where comic book artists and writers set up tables to sell their work and sign books for wide-eyed fans. It’s an absolute whirlwind of activity; Harley Quinn and Deadpool cosplayers pose next to lines of people waiting to meet their favorite creators while I stumble about eating overpriced Italian beef from the various vendors at the edge of the hall.
Anything can happen at artist alley, as Caleb and I found out that first year and were reminded of it early on Friday. Caleb and I wanted to get some comics signed by award-winning artist Ben Templesmith. We had had a good time chatting with him the previous year, so we brought some more stuff as an excuse to visit his booth again. He didn’t have a big line, so we stood around and made small talk for a few minutes about the usual: Templesmith’s unique style that marries rich painted colors with fine, sketchy linework. He draws mostly horror books, so he makes sure to sign the especially eerie ones along with a cute little word balloon adorned with a heart. After noticing my brother’s Batman shirt, the conversation took a turn in a way that can only really happen at a show like this. Here’s a rough transcription:
Ben Templesmith: Wait! That looks like it might be my Batman design! I usually do that sort of shaving to the inside of the logo.
Caleb: Yeah? I don’t know, it doesn’t say your name on it. You can sign it if you want though! (laughs)
BT: No, no, no, I don’t sign shirts. I do sign chests, though.
C: (nervous laughter) What?
BT: Well?
C: (More nervous laughter) Are you serious?
BT: Yeah!
C: Okay! (Lifts up shirt) It is pretty hairy.
BT: (drawing) The hairier the better. (finishes) Voila! I draw cats.
So, yeah, award-winning artist Ben Templesmith drew a cat on my brother’s belly. It was delightful. I’m still thinking about it now.
Later on, we got some signatures, including a sketch in my copy of Matt Kindt’s gorgeous underwater murder-mystery comic “Dept. H.” I bought some comics (it is comic con) and we attended a panel before heading out.
DAY 2
Day two is always more chill. You hopefully got all of your line waiting done and now you can just mosey around. Soon after the show opened, Caleb and I went up an escalator to the panel rooms. We went all the way down to the main stage for an exclusive conversation and Q&A with two legendary comic book writers: Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar. If you didn’t audibly gasp like I did, Bendis was Marvel’s flagship writer for two decades and only recently jumped ship to DC. He’s responsible for some of the more memorable stories of the 21st century at the company, including “Alias” (developed into the hit show “Jessica Jones” for Netflix), “Ultimate Spider-Man” (the over-200 issue series where Miles Morales first appeared), “Daredevil” (a lot of the ques from that Netflix series comes from his stint on the character) and New Avengers (thank Bendis for Spider-Man being in the Avengers movies), not to mention a shipload of other hits and creator-owned work like “Powers” (also developed into a TV series for Sony). On the other hand, Mark Millar wrote most of the comics your favorite movies are based on, like “Kick-Ass,” “(Old Man) Logan,” “(Captain America) Civil War,” “Wanted” and “Kingsman: The Secret Service.”
The panel was a fascinating trip down memory lane for two creators and friends with 20 years in the industry in the rearview. They were very charming and even took some questions (one of which I got to ask! I know!) and hugs from fans.
Our view at the Bendis-Millar panel
After, we went to another panel, this time Batman, with a bunch of current creators on the title. Once again, it was a joyous experience. These panels are just an hour of an entire room of 300 people all being excited about the same thing. I’d highly recommend it to anyone in a bad mood. “Batman” writer Tom King was terrific as always; giving fans probably too much of a sneak peek of what’s to come in the series, much to the publicist’s chagrin.
We’ll see you again next year
Artists Joelle Jones and Sean Murphy also deserve a shoutout. Plus, we came in right after the Superman panel, so some of us went home with some complimentary red trunks they were handing out (I’m serious, I never joke about the trunks).
After that, Caleb and I went back down to the convention floor where we took it all in, spent more than we probably should have (I bought a fantastic graphic novel about the origins of Tetris) and then headed out after another year in the (comic) books. C2E2 is honestly one of my favorite events of the year. It gives me so much joy to see everyone having a blast, celebrating the things in life we’re passionate about. If you’re at all a fan of pop culture and all of its beautiful, bizarre subcultures — I would recommend checking it out for yourself. You can even go as Batman, and what’s better than that?
Photos by Peter Medlin.
