A dancing Mrs. Doubtfire, live eBay auctions and wrapping lines for Connie’s pizza — what more could one crave from Chicago’s Comic and Entertainment Expo?
Shortened as C2E2, the pop culture convention is the largest entertainment exposition in the Midwest.
Located at the McCormick Place Convention Center on the Near South Side, C2E2 attracted nearly 85,000 fans of all things fiction across the nation April 11-13.
Divided across five floors in the warehouse-sized center, C2E2 was a maze of media and fandoms.
Upon entrance, attendees were greeted by swathes of photo-op ready cosplayers, including replicas of the sci-fi game series “Halo” and princesses rivaling Disneyland’s costuming.
After approaching the main show floor, visitors found themselves in a playground of vendors spanning sci-fi, fantasy and horror.
Walking down the aisle of comic-sellers, prop weapon shops, and taking a right at the slasher-film t-shirt shop, visitors arrived at Artist Alley.
At Artist Alley, artists and comic creators like H.H. German sold their created work in individual booths.
German said he came to C2E2 to promote his comic “Here Comes Calico,” a series about a masked vigilante who targets dog fighting rings and animal abusers.
German said he came from a background of boxing in New York City and describes himself as an animal lover.
While working as a fighter, German said he came across people who abused animals, and he now uses those experiences to drive his advocacy.
German compared the series to Showtime drama “Dexter” in how Calico weaponizes his passion for animals as a means to enact his own brand of justice.
Vending his comics at $2.50 to attract visitors, German said proceeds go to nonprofits like the Animal Welfare Institute and the Catskill Animal Sanctuary.
“The more we can promote the message, the better it is for fighting against animal cruelty,” German said.
Between booths for “X-Men” writer Chris Claremont and “Daredevil” artist Klaus Janson, more indie creatives displayed their talents.
Johnny Scorchin’, an art project by Shawnie Fortune, is a personal showcase of vibrancy.
Influenced by the Japanese anime “Digimon,” Fortune prints nostalgic, radiant pieces highlighting the warm tones of orange sunsets and daylit blues of ocean waters.
“I’m very inspired by things that made me sad when I watched it,” Fortune said.
“So I always feel if I can capture that sweet nostalgic feeling I had, to me, that’s what the success is.”
Fortune said she used — a fun rhyme with her name — as a gamertag for video games so others didn’t immediately recognize she was a girl.
More than half of women who play video games feel they must hide themselves as a result of targeted, masculine behavior, according to Video Game Health.
Independently starting Johnny Scorchin’ in 2023, Fortune said she utilizes risographing, a soy-based photo printing technique, to bring out heavier inks contrasting the neon color.
With a background in graphic design, Fortune said ambiance is as important to her work as color.
“My art style comes from wanting things to be spacious and balanced,” Fortune said.
Originally from Portland, Ore, Fortune said attending C2E2 was her first time visiting Chicago.
Fortune said the convention was unique in how passionate fans were toward her work, as she sold out of select work inspired by “Digimon” midway through the weekend.
In Artist Alley, visitors passed the autographing and photo op wall headlined by “Star Wars” actor John Boyega and “Lord of the Rings” cast members Elijiah Wood, Sean Astin and Andy Serkis.
Then trailing the indoor day drinking picnic, The Yard, attendees came to the live-action roleplay section Sidequest and Tristian Johnson’s TrisRex Studios.
Operating a roped-off section of the floor, TrisRex Studios’s booth was more of an immersive experience than typical art display.
Sporting five life-sized replicas of the xenomorphs from “Aliens,” the exhibit centered around an xenomorph Queen which towered at nearly two stories tall.
Johnson said despite the creatures’ stature, they’re merely made of EVA foam, PVC pipes and wooden boards.
Johnson, a local of Chicago’s South Side, said he employs local actors to play soldiers based on the “Alien” films to encourage passersby to help defeat the monsters in a photo op.
“All of these took about four and half years to make,” Johnson said.
“The reason why it took so long is because the script kept growing as I started casting more people, and I just needed more warriors — I needed more aliens.”
Johnson said he comes to C2E2 every year.
He first began as an exhibitor in 2020 and started his “Aliens” exhibit in 2022.
Johnson said he chose “Aliens” because of the innate curiosity of being terrified by something otherworldly.
“It was fear and fascination at the same time,” Johnson said.
“I gotta represent my home town, and make sure I bring out the monsters.”
Exiting south of Cosplay Central led conventioneers to the Writers Block, a nook for novelists and bookstore booths.
Advocates for the American Library Association, a national nonprofit headquartered in Chicago, centered the promoters and paperback vendors.
American Library Association Communications Manager Chase Ollis said the organization attended C2E2 to activate community members.
Passing flyers for the Unite Against Book Bans campaign, Ollis said ALA encourages fiction fans to combat ongoing book bans and censorship initiatives.
“We’re asking folks to write, to call their representatives in congress, their senators, and if they’re hosting town halls to show up to those and protect libraries.”
With funding for the humanities being cut by the Trump administration, Ollis said the ALA is actively suing the government to preserve national libraries.
Ollis said libraries are integral to human development because they facilitate literacy — and fans of fiction and comic books are integral to defending them in turn.
“Libraries keep comics in their collection, they have graphic novels, they have comic reading clubs,” Ollis said.
“These are our people.”
Ollis said the ALA’s convention booth displayed a cutout of Optimus Prime from “Transformers” to represent heroism in defending knowledge.
“Before he was Optimus Prime, Orion Pax kept archives on Cybertron,” Ollis said.
“Optimus Prime was a librarian.”
After rounding the stage floor, attendees rode an escalator up for panel presentations and streamed Q&A’s.
While awaiting “Robocop” or “Breakfast Club” reunions, fans of all backgrounds were invited to the Pride Lounge, hosted by the Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association.
Vibes Director for the CMSA esports division Zander said the nonprofit brings grace to gaming as the largest LGBTQ+ recreational sports league in the Midwest.
“We have a lot of queer people who come into this space, but we also just have a lot of people who are into video games and coloring and like to be around this type of environment,” Zander said.
“It’s a way to engage the community while also providing a space for people to learn in a very chill way that allows you to say, ‘Hey, we’re all not that different.’
“The Pride Lounge’s activities included Marvel trivia contests, “Mario Kart” competitions, cosplay lip-synching, casual coloring and “Pokémon” card games.
Zander said CMSA first attended two years ago with a booth and was invited to host the convention’s first Pride Lounge last year.
“We can all come to hang out, have fun and connect to things we have in common,” Zander said.
“People know when they come in here, if you’re queer, this is a space you’re going to be accepted in.”
CMSA currently hosts esports leagues for “Fortnite,” “League of Legends,” “Dungeons & Dragons” and a book club.
After three days of cosplaying, card gaming and comic reading, many attendees exited Chicago’s Comic and Entertainment Expo with fully marked bucket lists and overflowing bags of goods.
C2E2 will return next year March 27-29 at McCormick Place Convention Center.
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