Comic Book Candy

8-16-12 UPDATE:  Via their twitter , C2E2 organizers have confirmed that they are in fact keeping next year's show at McCormick (hears collective sigh of relief from fans) . Consider this story as seen through the lens of speculation, but several retailers at this past weekend's Chicago Comic Con (at Rosemont) were questioned by organizers of C2E2 concerning their convention location preferences. When it comes to feedback, C2E2 organizers Reed Pop are known for maintaining an open dialog with retailers, fans, and exhibitors. The McCormick convention center has been equally praised and derided by fans, and it is perhaps one of the only aspects of the show to be continually mentioned as a complaint. Hands down, Rosemont is more conveniently located to public transportation and has far more hotels considering the vicinity of the large O'Hare airport. But if you ask anyone attending C2E2 or Wizard World's Chicago Comic Con, convenience aside I would bet most would tell...

Every year comic con gets bigger. The lines get longer, the guest list fills with more celebrities, the ticket prices go up, and a vocal group of fans are sure to lament how much it has changed. No, I'm not talking about International Comic Con, the show co-opted by Hollywood and universally lauded for being too big and too different from its previous incarnations. The comic con brand continues to be more about spectacle and less about comics, and that is as true of the Chicago show as San Diego. Despite it embracing the mainstream, San Diego remains the go-to convention for comic readers and creators. But with a complete absence of any comic book publishers on the con floor, Wizard World's  Chicago Comic Con has become less relevant to the comic book community. It is not the same show it was 10 years ago (or even 5), but it is still a fun undertaking for fans that know what to expect of it. The big draw this year was no doubt the impressively large amount of ce...

This year Chicago has added one more convention to the mix, and this one is a little different (and no, we're not talking about Cake). Vert Con, a small venture organized and crowd funded by local high schooler and former Comic Vault employee Everett "Vert" Watford took place this weekend in the basement of the All-Saints Church in the Ravenswood neighborhood. With only one local comic shop in attendance as a vendor ( First Aid Comics ), the majority of tables were dedicated to local creators touting their creator-owned works. Guests of honor included Mike Norton , creator of Battlepug , and Tim Seeley , creator of Hack / Slash. Also in attendance were Batman, Inc. artist Chris Burnham and Atomika creator Sal Abbinanti . Seeing such big names in attendance at such a small gathering made the absence of other well-known local creators more noticeable. Considering the long established Heroes Con in North Carolina also took place this past weekend, it's likely that tho...