If you are reading this, then C2E2 has already happened. Hopefully, you got tickets, went to the show and a happy plethora of fun. If you are like the last 10x phone calls I received while writing this: I am sorry that we ran out of tickets for Saturday. This convention just reminded me that I have been doing conventions for over 42 years. I also realized that the comic convention has evolved quite a bit since the early 80s. Some say it’s for the better and some say for the worse. Personally, as long people are in the comic culture in some form or the other it is a good thing. I’ve have gotten to witness the evolutions of conventions and I think I am pretty lucky. I write about my journey through the years.
My journey with comic conventions started in 1983 with the Chicago Comic Con. I had been to some VFW shows Jamie (the Graham in Graham Crackers Comics) used to run In Elmhurst. Fun fact – that is where I meet the other owner, John Robinson. A VFW show usually just consisted of a bunch of tables with dealers selling their wares, kind of like Mos Eisley. Usually pretty fun but when you run out of money not so fun. Yet, Chicago Comic Con was a completely different animal. There were comic dealers, panels, and artists for the comics that I read. This blew teenage Mike’s little mind. First off, I blew my money within 30 minutes, so I just wandered around. Got to be the nerdy kid just getting autographs from artists. Sadly, that was the last year Comic Con was in Chicago proper. They held what they called Mini Cons there but the main one moved to Rosemont where it remained. First in the Ramada Hotel then the Donald E. Stevenson Center. It later turned into Wizard World and now Fan Expo.
Now that you got a little history, I will regale you with the climate. In the 80s and 90s it was a pretty male oriented. The show was primarily focused on comics. The action figure, manga and anime scene was there but very small. Back in those times it was not as cool to be reading comics and especially watching any anime. Cosplay was almost non-existent. It was not until comics and video games became more mainstream. The turn of century started to make comics and associated genres cool. I noticed this more when the show became Wizard World. They brought in more multi-media projects. Hey, you could go to a show and get autographs from your favorite artist, actor/actress, and wrestler. With comics being more mainstream, women started to come to the shows more. I enjoy that more because it is even more different viewpoints on comics. Working a table and hearing the same thing over and over can be maddening. At that time more people were willing to dress up as their favorite character. Over the years I have seen all sorts of cosplay. Some have been great and some not but people at least tried. Now show are more diverse. People are free to let their freak flag fly (not in the naughty way). I love the current climate where all opinions are valid.
The convention that turned into Fan Expo changed more into an autograph one. There are some comic dealers but they focus more on the wider the aspects of the nerd culture. Yet, C2E2 came around about 15 years ago. This convention became the go to for comic and other nerd culture. All the comic companies would be there with artists and writers. Artist Alley is and still the most popular part of the show. Being in McCormick Place there is so much more room. If you started going to the show at the beginning you can see the vast development of the show. It still is one of the best show around in my opinion.
The only thing that almost killed shows was the Covid pandemic which shut everything down. Hell, it made C2E2 2020 the best attended show of the year. Yet as soon as everything opened back up, shows boomed. I think people just want to share their love of fandom with each other. Fandom is always best when it is shared with a community.
I know there is a veritable cornucopia of shows throughout the country but what I mentioned are local and they are the ones dear to me. I used to travel the country and do conventions in my younger days. I could fill up pages with all the convention stories. Some fit to print and some not. I used to enjoy conventions. I loved seeing different customers that were not the ones that come into the store. Seeing some of the artists and writers was a blast. Getting to see actors/actresses I watched on TV or saw in movies was a gas. I’ve become a little jaded lately in my old age. Sometimes conventions just become work. Although watching new people go to shows and watching it through their eyes warms my cold, dead heart a little. If you’ve only gone to the smaller convention, try one of the bigger ones that are in your area. They can be a little overwhelming but once you get your bearing you will have a great time.
Toodles,
Mike