The Great Chicago Comic And Entertainment Convention C2E2 Returns, A Teens Perspective

Apr 03, 2023 admin_bitlc Features, Music News, Reviews 0

By Lucas Currie

My name is Lucas. I am a 14 year old high school student from the Chicago suburbs. This past weekend, I attended C2E2 in Chicago, just down town from the city, Grant Park and a stones throw from the lake. This was my first time going and it was great. It was held in a huge building called, McCormick Place. It was gigantic! Just the walk to get into the place from the parking lot took seemingly half the day. I kid of course, but it was pretty far from the car to the convention floor.

The next challenge for our adventure came in finding where we get our tickets and passes from. This was pretty hard as we were told to go from one end of the building to another as no one seemed to know where we get them from. But, we finally figured it out. Next step, the main attraction.

Up a few flights of stairs and escalators, to the top center of the great hall, we found the line snaking around to get into the main floor where all the stuff was. While in line we saw lots of amazing costumes, weapon builds and nice people. The people is what really stood out as unique here. Everyone was happy and generally in good spirits. I was approached a few times about the shirt I was wearing. It was an anime shirt my dad got me (My Hero Academia) and I really didn’t even know who it was, but apparently many others did as I got high fives, people saying, “Nice shirt kid” and nods of approval from all over the convention. When we were finally about to enter the great hall we saw a Mandalorian DJ (KD Queen) playing music for the fans as we waited in line. Some people, in costume even, were dancing on a makeshift dance floor. She was very funny.

We walked under the giant archway and finally entered the convention floor. The place was HUGE! I couldn’t see the end of the hall in any direction I looked. All around me was people in various costumes and cosplay outfits from just about anything you could think of in comic, anime, movies, tv shows and pop culture. Seriously, I can’t tell you how many times I said, “WOW” walking around the place. These people are really talented. It made me want to do better in my costuming. I got lots of ideas for Halloween and next year that’s for sure. I really can’t believe these are homemade costumes!

Next we walked to the Artist Alley section. Here we saw animators, designers, graphic novelists, painters and other creatives displaying their works for all to see and admire. Again, I was truly amazed by all the talent here. As an artist myself, it really made me realize how much more I need to work on things to get to this level. I saw some of the most amazing art here. 3D art included!

I really liked seeing some artists sitting and drawing while everyone walked by. Or how some even did Caricature drawings on the spot! I didn’t know you could make money at that? I talked to a couple artists in this section. We talked about what it’s like being a featured artist at C2E2, how they got so good and what they are working on next. I think I would really like to be here some day as an artist.

We walked over to the autograph section of the hall next. We saw how many people were going to be there throughout the weekend. There are so many. Most I didn’t know, but some like Captain America’s, Chris Evan’s, people from the tv show Smallville and X-Men series where all popular as the lines wrapped around the hall to get to see them. This is one part I didn’t really understand. I mean, I would like to meet some of these people, but not sure why they charge to see them? I think as a fan, I would want to say, “hi” and maybe take a picture and get an autograph here and there, but they should be giving those out. We pay so much money to see their movies, buy their toys and make them famous, why should be have to pay them to get to meet them? It should be a “thank you” kind of thing I would think. I’m not really a superfan, or collector, though maybe I’m missing something. Either way, it’s cool to see so many famous people come to this and the fans get to meet them.

One famous person we did meet and talk to was someone my dad really likes. Svengoolie was there. We watch his show on Saturday nights a lot so I knew him pretty well. I’ve meet him before and he’s always really nice and funny. He signed a photo card to me that I got to take home. He had a lot of fans visiting him as they stood in a long line to meet him. I was hoping to see other characters from his show like Kerwyn. Maybe even someone from Sventoonie but they weren’t there.

There was lots and lots of stuff to buy. So many comic books, action figures, toys and unique made things like the mini lego action figures. They had just as much a variety of mini characters to buy as were walking around the place. I found some really cool digital glasses that make shapes like eye’s blinking.

I also had to get a convention t-shirt. They had so many to choose from. I think there were over 20 different ones to pick from and they even had hats, pins, buttons and magnets too. I got the block letter shirt. That was my favorite. I liked the lettering style on a black t-shirt.

Other really cool things there we saw were the dancing instructor in The Yard section. We stopped to take a break and saw someone giving dance lessons. But not just a regular person. She was dressed in a costume like a witch or sorceress. She had a headset on and taught people how to do a dance. It was funny to me.

One section in the hall that I really liked, was the Gaming Zone. It was tables loaded down with computers running games. This was a gamers paradise! You could sit down and play against someone or online. I still really like playing Minecraft, Roblox and other builder type games but they had more to choose from too. I don’t know what all they had, but I’m sure there was something for everyone.

Over in the far corner of the hall near food and drinks was the Star Wars area. It was in the section called, Family HQ. In there was cosplay actors from 501st Star Wars troop. They had so many people in costumes from Kylo Ren to Boba Fett, Storm Troopers, Mandalorians and droids. I saw a parade leave as they left the section with all the droids including R2-D2 and C-3PO! All real working moving droids! Later, we saw other parades of Star Wars people walking around that included Rebel Pilots, Imperial Guards and more troopers.

Every now and then we saw rando characters like a guy dressed up as Keanu Reeves character John Wick. It looked just like him! I couldn’t tell if it really was him or not! Other fun costumes were Bob’s Burgers cast, Simpsons characters, wolves, Ghostbusters, angels, demons, slayers and Lord of the Rings characters and there were so many more. All really good.

If you had time and are really into learning about the behind the scenes things or how to be more creative, you should check out the convention break out rooms. They had seminars going all weekend long where you could hear stories from cast members of film and tv shows, get lessons from artists on how to draw comic books, participate in games like Harry Potter trivia and so much more. You just need to figure out how to find them and know their time schedules.

I would say if you are going to go to C2E2 you should bring lots of money if you like to buy things like toys and stuff. There are so many places to buy things. It was like being in a giant toy store. I would also pace yourself as I got tired pretty easy after doing so much walking around and standing. Drink lots of water. There was plenty of that all over the place for free! Also, they have good snacks you can buy from people too. Make sure and eat to build your energy you’re going to need it.

Also, you might want to download their app. You can get the C2E2 app for free. It helped because you can see what’s going on and coming up next. You can even plan out your visit so you won’t miss anything. The only problem there was the stuff on the apps wasn’t complete sometimes. It didn’t always give all the details you needed like the correct room numbers. And, an interactive live map would have been cool. We got turned around a lot in the hallways even with the app. One other suggestion for C2E2 might be to get more wi-fi or cell towers in the building. We were having problems making calls, texting and using social media while in there. Over all, it was a really fun time. I’m planning on going back next year and every year after. It was that good!