Chicago is always a great place to visit every year no matter if it is windy or not. The weather will go right out the way once you make your way to the Mccormick Convention Center for C2E2. C2E2 is the biggest comic and entertainment convention in Chicago and it will keep on getting bigger for the years to come. In fact, this year is their 10th year anniversary and it was clearly celebrated during the three day show whether if it was a panel, or fan meetup, screening, cosplay, and gaming, you name it. I have seen it all over my three days over there and here is my recap of this year’s edition of C2E2.
First, I would like to thank ReedPop for approving myself and Fidelina Roman with a media badge as we alway love to cover your shows. This year, the show felt more bigger than last year’s there were much more space dedicated to gaming as well this year and I believe that happened due to the fan feedback from last year’s show. There were gaming tournaments that took place over there as well. At the booths where comic books were being sold, there were many people looking for vintage comics (especially the Marvel line based on the people that I have spoken to since Avengers: End Game is coming next month). Also to add, I heard that someone was stealing comics from different vendors over there and I did not know it was true until it was reported on the news that it actually did happen (https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/indiana-man-accused-stealing-rare-comic-books-c2e2). Friday and Sunday the crowd was decent in many areas. Saturday however, was the most crowded. I am used to this type of crowd now since I have covered different shows for the last seven years so it did not bother me. There was also a blood drive that took place during the convention too that took place right by the entrance. The big panels took place at the main panel hall at room S406 and it filled up each time with the big name panels but I will get to that in a few paragraphs. Overall, between navigating each area from the panel rooms to the show floor, it was easier this year than any other year.
There were many panels that took place during C2E2 and there was also my panel. For the first time ever, I host a panel and it was Wrestling Soup featuring Anthony Missionary Thomas, Jon Draper, and myself as we took the stage on Friday to give our predictions of WrestleMania. We also talked about Captain Marvel, Avengers End Game, and The Punisher. We even gave away prizes to members of the crowd and it was a very fun experience to see about 100 people showing up to see us. It felt very satisfying that it happened and I would do it again.
All Elite Wrestling members The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega also took the stage that morning to talk about AEW and many questions directed towards them that many fans wanted to know were addressed. They addressed the fact that there will be no contract tampering with current WWE Superstars, but they did say that they have a wishlist of who they wanted to be signed with AEW. They also said that All In 2 will take place this year in Chicago in the same arena it took place last year. They also talked about how Brandi Rhodes came up with the idea to tackle sensory issues that is often never taken care of on WWE programming and Kenny Omega answered a fan question about an AEW comic book and video game. There were more questions that were answered and they made it clear that CM Punk will not wrestle at AEW. Great panel from the three of them and you can check it out right here.
Another great panel featured the writers and artists of DC Comics that featured Cecil Castellucci, Marv Wolfman, Robert Venditti, and Tim Seely as this panel was titled “Super Heroes of DC”. This panel featured a discussion with the four about the DC Comic stories that impacted the industry from their time, to the current. The panel was interesting to get an insight of what they were thinking at the time and how those stories shaped for the present day in the comic book world.
One of the biggest panels at the show was the Clueless reunion panel that featured Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Breckin Meyer, and Donald Faison as they took the stage to tell funny stories of their time on the movie and what did they do on their break time away from filming the movie. Breckin Meyer was also very funny during this panel and I loved it. Paul Rudd was also flooded with Avengers: End Game questions since he will appear in the movie as Ant Man once again and I knew from the start that many Marvel related questions would go his way and he even told a heart warming story about Stan Lee. This panel is a must watch.
My press coverage over there was great and it begins with Into The Badlands. I was also supposed to attend the screening of the newest episode, but I had time constraints. So a key takeaway here is that the creators already had an arc for the 16 episode season that would end with a conclusion that would, by their words, “reboot” the series and “take it in a different direction”. They go on to say, however, that they saw the writing on the wall about cancellation as they were writing the back half of the season and realized that they’re most likely working towards a conclusion instead of a continuation. They assured people that all major questions and plot/character arcs will be resolved, but left some doors open, which I assume is for the possibility to continue the story should they get picked up by another platform. If you want to watch the response yourself it is at the 10:48 time-stamp. Daniel Wu is very passionate of the series so I could not blame him of his frustration since I am also a fan of the show.
The cast and the executive producer of NBC’s The Blacklist were also in attendance at C2E2 as they spoken to the press at the roundtable interviews.I can also say that I stumped Jon during the interviews three times but he was great to speak to. I see how popular the show has gotten over the years and they appreciate the fan feedback from across the world. The talkers of the press roundtables are Jon Bokenkamp, Harry Lennix, Amir Arison, Hisham Tawfiq, and Clark Middleton.
I also interviewed legendary wrestling manager Jim Cornette as we talked about Mid South, World Class Championship Wrestling, his trouble getting to the arena at Keystone Comic Con compared to C2E2, and much more in this quick, fun, and entertaining quick interview.
The cosplay at C2E2 was great and this year’s big influence is Captain Marvel since the movie was released a few weeks before the show. I have seen really good ones raging from different genres and fandoms of Mortal Kombat, Overwatch, Star Wars, DC, Marvel, Super Mario, and much more. I even made a best of cosplay video for you to see along with some the photos below.
C2E2 was great this year as usual and I would cover it again next year! I do know that it will be in February next year so it will be a challenge. I would recommend the show for anyone in the Chicago area. Now here are my final pictures as I fanboy with CM Punk, Kenny Omega, Eric Bischoff, and Amir Arison.
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content and subscribe to The Wrestling Court as we talk about the latest in pro wrestling, pop culture, and comics along with our live watch reactions to past matches.
