So, you haven’t heard about the biggest nerd event in Chicago? It’s pretty underground unless you’re a nerd. Well maybe if you consider 80,000 people attending, underground.C2e2 is a three-day convention held at McCormick Place and it’s the biggest comic convention held in Chicago. It happens on a weekend in April and tons and tons of people from all over the world come to Chicago to attend.
Let me give you the run-down on what C2e2 is and why it is so much more than the nerdy comic convention you think it is.
I remember C2e2 2017 was the first year I attended and I wasn’t a big nerd, and I was sort of nervous about being judged because my boyfriend wanted to dress up. I also expected a bunch of weird people who crawl out of their mother’s basements once a year to be there. When I got there I was in awe of everything, there were people everywhere, and there was so much going on, I didn’t know what to focus on first.
Yes, some people dress up…
This is probably the nerdiest, but also the coolest part of comic conventions. People spend months if not all year, figuring out their costume and some even make their own. You can make fun of it as much as you want, but seeing people happy and doing things they love honestly, is contagious and makes you super happy too.
There are also the actors and celebrities that show up…
There is a whole list of actors and celebrities from movies like the Marvel series to animation and cartoon artists. Last year I got to meet some of the kids from Stranger things and Michael Sheen who has been in the movies Passengers, Alice and Wonderland, and Twilight. My friends have gotten autographs from the voice of Winnie the Pooh, and Stan Lee. But, the art is probably the best…
My favorite part of C2e2 is Artist Alley, which is obviously the art area of the convention. Don’t let this throw you off; it’s not the poster type art you would see in your average middle school boys bedroom. There is actual art that you could put in your house and it will add to whatever style you have! My boyfriend and I have a very modern style, so we have been collecting different art that we find at C2e2 for when we move in together. There are artists like The Thirteenth Floor, that take Star Wars characters and put them in other scenes, which will make your brain take a second to realize this is nerd art.
This part of C2e2 proves that it’s not all nerdy because you might get your nerd art, but you also get to see artists that don’t focus so much on the nerd world and focus more on their own creativeness.
Even if you get a pass for one day, I recommend you go for the experience and to check one more thing off your Chicago bucket-list!