Chicago Comic Con 2011 – Review (with cosplay!)

For their birthdays, many women might ask for a day at the spa, or a shopping spree, or at least a fancy dinner. While I can have my girly-girl moments, I really wanted some time when I could bond with my family, and make some lasting memories, before my first-born heads off to college next fall. So I asked for what any good mother to a family of geeks would ask for – a trip to Comic Con.

Wizard World Comic Con - Chicago

Last weekend we took a road trip to Wizard World’s Comic Con in Chicago, held at Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, home primarily to all things comic book, but also sci-fi, fantasy, and generally geeky in nature.  The Con was a very decent size, and took us about 5 hours to get through. We could have spent longer, but that was all our trip itinerary would allow.

The view from the entrance was quite impressive and a little overwhelming.

Chicago Comic Con 2011 entrance

We decided to just go through each of the aisles, making note of interesting things, before attacking with our wallets.  And always considering our GeekCrafts readers, I put everyone on photo duty for all the interesting cosplay (costume-play) adventures. You’re welcome.

My husband has over 100 pics posted in a Google Album, but here is a sampling to whet your appetite [after the jump].

Chicago Comic Con 2011 Voltron Chicago Comic Con 2011 Kaylee from Firefly Chicago Con 2011 Penguin Chicago Comic Con 2011 Black Canary Chicago Comic Con 2011 Zombie Chicks Chicago Con 2011 IronMan and posse

There were quite a few celebrities at the Con – if you wanted an autograph or photo with any of them, there was a long line, and an extra fee. We contented ourselves with “brushes with greatness” as we passed their tables. We saw Patrick Stewart (“Star Trek: The Next Generation), Bruce Campbell (“Burn Notice,” ARMY OF DARKNESS), Felicia Day (“The Guild”), Vivica Fox (KILL BILL, VOL 1, INDEPENDENCE DAY), Lou Ferrigno (“The Incredible Hulk”), Erin Gray and Gil Gerard (“Buck Rogers”), Peter Tork (The Monkees), and Christopher Lloyd (BACK TO THE FUTURE, “Taxi”). We were quite tickled to see them in person – pretty cool.

I would have liked to see the Q&A panels with Patrick Stewart and Bruce Campbell, but timing just didn’t mesh up. Fortunately, there is this thing called YouTube.

Chicago Comic Con 2011 – Bruce Campbell Panel

Chicago Comic Con 2011 – Patrick Stewart Panel

The Artist Alley was also really cool, and we wished we had had more time to really browse through their examples, and chat with the indie artists. If I had had another day at the Con, I would have interviewed each of the female indie artists, to bring some more attention to our Geek sisters. Alas, we were moving through so fast, I didn’t even think to grab business cards to at least link to them. So in lieu of links, here’s a list of the artists that were there (along with celebs and vendors). We all thought it was very cool that the Con gave so much real estate to promoting indie authors. Of course, without any of the big name publishers there, like DC Comics, Marvel, or Dark Horse, there was some space available to give.

Finally, I’d like to give a quick shout-out to our friend Jeff Miracola, who had an artist table there. Jeff is the husband of a good friend of mine from college, so it was really neat to see him there in his element. He has had some lovely success with his art – my son recognized a good number of his Magic cards.

Chicago Comic Con 2011 Jeff Miracola

Since this post is getting long enough, I’ll save the crafty pics for another post! :)

Links of Interest:

BONUS LINK

 

 

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Angie

Angie started on her geek path early, watching episodes of the original Star Trek series with her dad. She is the author of three best-selling scrapbook journaling books, as well as The Star Trek Craft Book. You can find Angie at her blog, G33kGirl.Creative, at KC Geeks, on Twitter (@angiepedersen), and at her geek-inspired Etsy shop, G33kGirlCreative.