C2E2 2015 Recap

Hello folks! It shouldn't come to anyone's surprise but I'm a nerd. I play video games and I read comics along with reading a plethora of books. Although, I've never gotten in super hero comics  I've preferred more indie titles like Sandman, Revival, Hack/Slash and Fables, but that's a whole different story. Like attracts like, so of course my husband is a fellow nerd as well. We've been going to C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo) since its inception five years ago and it's always been a blast.

I was pretty surprised because the crowds were lowkey, we made our way to our local comic shop owner and he told me that the crowds have been picking up around late afternoon, which I find surprising. Wouldn't you want to spend the entire day there? But hey, everyone's got different responsibilities. 

So we did what you do when you go to conventions like you. 

 

We were never big panel people in the past (we've always just walked in circles until we've exhausted ourselves or spent all of our money), so we thought to check out a panel that featured strong female roles in television. Shows like Orphan Black, Vampire Diaries, and Firefly we represented, and even though I didn't really know any of the actresses (never watched Firefly, don't watch Vampire Diaries, and apparently I'm pretty far behind on Orphan Black....), it was a good discussion. 

Even in crap weather, I can't hate Chicago. <3 

Once the panel ended, Matt and I returned to the con floor to meet up with some friends. AND LUCKILY, THEY WERE LOCATED RIGHT BY THE RANDOM HOUSE BOOTH. 

So I made my first (and only I think) purchase of the day: The Girl at Midnight. And dude, the Random House booth was selling books for 50% off so it was only $9. That's what the kids call #winning, right? Of course I had to get it signed and get a picture with Ms. Melissa Grey who has pretty fab hair. Don't believe me? See below. 

Once my excitement wore off, I allowed our group to continue on and we apparently managed to walk across Stan Lee signing some stuff (maybe for the charity auction). I'm just really surprised, because he was at C2E2 last year and you couldn't even get a glimpse of him without handing over $50 (a lifestyle I am not about). 

While I'm tall, I'm not tall enough to take a picture when a sea of nerds have their camera phones raised high over their heads, so I had my husband take the following pictures below. Apparently I knew what I was doing when I married this giant.

LOOK. IT'S STAN LEE. LOOK. After that excitement, we gave into our basic needs and had lunch. For me, nothing is more depressing than eating a meal at a convention center. It's never healthy and it's never filling. Matt and I did our best to stock up on some healthy food from our grocery store, but it wasn't enough. We were faced with either McDonalds or Connie's pizza, and only because the McDonalds line was out the door, we went to Connie's pizza. I had some pasta type thing with "meat" sauce. I really don't know what I ate. After that, I decided to be an independent woman and part ways from my husband and our friend. 

I was going to the the author panel at 1:45 and he and his friend were dead set on making the Women of Marvel (featuring Ming Na and Haley Atwell) panel at 1:30PM, 

Once in line, I decided to do whatever people alone in a line did: I pulled out my cellphone. There was a lot of coverage of C2E2 via social media and I knew that the boys were not going to make it to the Women of Marvel panel. It was so bad that the line was cut off a half hour before the panel. I don't watch Agents of Shield and I've only seen one episode of Agent Peggy Carter so I wasn't too worried about it, although I did feel a bit bad for the boys. 

Oh well. I got to go to my panel at least! The panel was mostly about authors sharing their tips and struggles when it comes to building a completely new and fictional world. Seeing as it was a comic book/sci-fi convention, this information seemed completely appropriate and I think it helped some blossoming authors in the crowd. 

I apologize for how shitty the following pictures are. The lighting was weird and I didn't have a lot of time to play with settings, so this is as good as it gets. 

It was interesting to hear the writing process for creating a world. Some authors, like Kisten Simmons, are pretty intense and have excel documents dedicated to characterization and world attributes, while others all but wing it! Haha. 

A good question came up regarding how these authors keep track of secondary characters and what to do with them when they are not at the focus of an action scene. Melissa Grey's response? Murder. 

That's right folks, authors are just as cruel as you think they are! Bwahaha. So what did I take away from this panel? Spreadsheets and murder.

But really, it was a fascinating panel, and even though I'm not an author, I found the information to be very interesting and it gave me insight to the writing process. I especially loved how supportive all of these authors were. 

After the panel, I creeped on Kristen Simmons (hard) and introduced myself. Her response was to give me to hug which made my day in a million of ways. Seriously, Kristen Simmons is just one of the best people I've had the opportunity to meet. Not she's super sweet and is always smiling so hard! 

Being the failure that I am, I realized that my husband still had the bookbag that housed The Glass Arrow and Three that I wanted signed. So I had to go back to the con floor and flag him down (a lot harder than you think when no one has cellphone reception). I made my way to the autograph line and got my books signed and a picture. Here is the procession of pictures, my husband is still learning apparently: 

There we go!

We chit chatted for a bit and said our goodbyes. ): I shall see Kristen again, perhaps at her book signing for her upcoming book! :)

It was 4PM by then and it was a full house. Thank God I played Frogger as a child, because it came in handy on Saturday!

We browsed some more goods and met up with more friends. My husband's best friend likes to buy action figures and customize them so we went on a hunt to find some action figures. I took the below pictures because it cracked me up how much they looked like kids, sifting through big plastic containers full of action figures and cars.