Jennifer's 365 Project

We missed C2E2 last year, which meant we had to go this year. We left early in the morning so we could spend the maximum amount of time there.

The convention this year was in a different wing than 2011 event. Despite DC, Image, and IDW not having booths there, the convention felt pretty packed. Arachaia was there and had a fantastic sale so I managed to pick up two awesome books.

As is often the case at comic conventions, there was a ton of shopping. Comic conventions always have way more than any anime convention I've been to. Shopping isn't my thing, so I usually get bored pretty fast. But the booths are eclectic enough that there's always some interesting take on a comic character, or Doctor Who. I'm also amazed at how much Adventure Time has blown up all over the place and is somehow super popular.
I didn't see any cosplay of the new Doctor Who companion, but I did see a ton of people dressed as Daleks, the Tardis, and of course the Doctor. These two women dressed as Weeping Angels I thought were particularly clever.
Comfort and Adam were there, of course, being awesome at what they do - art! It's always cool to stop by their booth during a convention and say hi. Plus we got to spend part of the evening with them once the event was over.
We spent some time in artist alley, on the show floor, and we really only saw one panel - one hosted by J. Michael Straczynski. It was a pretty good panel.

I'm a little sad that I didn't bring my DSLR, but at the same time the aisles were so packed that it would have been a nightmare much of the time to do anything - at least for me. If I were maybe six inches taller or wore heels maybe things would be easier.

The whole convention was a fantastic experiment with my new 3DS. I had the StreetPass and SpotPass running the whole time. I managed to snag all sorts of things, from puzzle pieces to a ton of character teams to battle in Fire Emblem.

This is the second year for C2E2. Last year there was a batmobile, lots of Iron Man, and more comics than you can shake a stick at. This year it felt like it was all about Green Lantern. Maybe I'm just picking up more Green Lantern than normal because of Chris, but I think it was big this year in preparation for the movie later this year. I realize there is going to be a Thor movie and Captain America as well this year, but I feel like there was far less in terms of attendees wearing Thor gear. Quite a few Captain America shields though. Still a ton of comics at the show - it wouldn't be a comic convention otherwise.
We only went to one panel that ComiXology was hosting. After that I downloaded their app. Chris has used it several times but still hadn't tried it. It's nice. The guided view is an interesting experience.
I had several other things I wanted to do but we didn't arrive early enough for me to be able to see the costume contest (being 5'2" works against you sometimes) and the comedy was ok but I thought I was going to be stand-up which it was not.
There were plenty of interesting costumes everywhere. I saw more this time than I did last year, but honestly I think I was looking harder this year.
We got to see Comfort and Adam, creators of The Uniques and Rainbow in the Dark. Their booth was pretty busy most of the times we walked by - which is awesome.

I miss them. We are seriously going to have to try to get together with them soon.
I also got to meet Brian Glass who is a friend of Comfort and Adam's and someone Chris chats with on Twitter as well. He's the writer of The Mice Templar (which has been on my to-read list for awhile now. I'm embarrassed to say I still haven't read them!). Nice guy!

Anyway, here's a slideshow of the shots from the convention.

Saturday was the big con day in Chicago.  Normally Chris attends Wizard World, which is in August in Chicago. However with Marvel and DC pulling out of the con for C2E2, it was decided we'd check this new convention out.

So we arrived Saturday.  I kept arguing with Chris that we should have pre-ordered tickets.  I base this off of my experience watching for several years the line at Youmacon go around the hotel lobby and out the door.  Yeah, ok, I was wrong.  So wrong. This is the big leagues.  More organized, faster moving. More impressive. I love the anime cons because, honestly, they feel more youthful (and the attendees are younger than a comic convention) but these older peeps are just more organized.

We hit up a few areas (DC booth, complete with action figures, even World of Warcraft ones) and then headed to artist alley to see Adam and Comfort, creators of The Uniques, at their booth (pictured left).  This is them in their con-element. And it's cool to hear that they've got a lot of interest in their awesome comic, The Uniques, and that their experiences thus far (Saturday anyway) were smooth with this new convention.

This convention (and my understanding if Wizard World - which is much larger) is mostly shopping.  So if you love super heroes, action figures, or other comic-related swag - this is where you go for a massive conglomeration of it.  I was impressed by the sheer amount of shopping.  Very different than the smaller anime conventions I've been to which have shopping for both dealers and artists in less than half of what this place had just for artist alley.

There were a few panels we popped into to listen to, such as one put on by DC (as Chris is a bigger DC fan than Marvel).  Unlike several we listened to at youmacon, these panels are put on by people in the industry.  That is, of course, a little harder when you're talking about anime and studios in Japan.

Like I said, this convention has a different feel than an anime convention.  Anime conventions have a younger crowd (I'm honestly on the upper cusp of the attendees) and they are far more social.  There is a lot of running around in crazy costumes, random hugging, singing, and chanting in impromptu circles.  There was a little bit at this convention, but it was mostly serious shopping and hardcore comic fans talking to the creators of their favorite works.

So on the one hand, it is awesome that you have a lot more people in the industry attending one of these, running panels and interfacing with fans.  On the other hand it is a much more "grown up" but commercializing feeling.  It isn't better or worse - it is just different. I really want to see more of these to get a better feel and to experience an industry that is often misunderstood by non-comic fans.

I took a lot of photos and honestly, we were only there from a little after 10am to a little after 5pm.  If you'd like to see more, including random floor shots and an adorable wookie from Star Wars, look here.

After the convention we did do some walking up and down Michigan Ave.  We saw some street performances, did some shopping, I have a few shots of the evening here and will be adding more to flickr over the next few days.