Chicago Comic Con: A Tale of Two Cons (Part Two)
When I last left you, gentile reader, my malaise for the Chicago Comic had permeated my very being. The deep sadness that seeped under my skin upon seeing my “home show” turn into a visceral flea market truly left me bitter after day one. But, I went to bed, telling myself “tomorrow is another day…”. I awoke with a rekindled spirit of optimism. I mean, yes, the major players of the comic book publishing industry weren’t gonna be there. The panels announced for Saturday were even less interesting than they were for Friday. And on top of all that, they’d announced at the end of Friday that former Illinois Governor, turned convicted fellon, Rod Blagojevich, would be on the show floor signed autographs for $50 a pop. But, I told myself… “It’s a new day. And you should be happy.” Thus, I slapped a smile on my face and I exited my car to boldly walk into the 2010 Chicago Comic Con once more.
Yup. That smile lasted until I took the escalator down to the main floor, with my group in tow. With us, both my wife and my Unshaven Cohort, Matt’s wife, Amy, joined us for our Saturday adventure. The girls, who needed passes, waited through a semi-long line in order to drop $30 on day passes. They were of course penalized for not purchasing their tickets online. For shame. Now, as we’d covered before, I’ve long been a goer to this show. In the past, with the purchase of a pass came a bag of schwag. Generally filled with a heroclix figure or two, a limited edition comic, advertisements and postcards of show vendors, and a few freebie books and posters. This year? Our wives returned to us with nothing more than alternatively colored cheap wristbands. Since we didn’t to leave our loves behind, we stood with them in a long snaked line, trying to get into the show. We were told “people were cutting” and apparently some skipped in without bands the day prior. In order to combat this, they simply slowed the line down to an inhuman crawl, and allowed us time to mill about like bank customers on payday… in an endless sea of costume cladded fans, and folks all confused at the speed at which the line was moving. “What are we all waiting for? Tickets to see Shatner?”
We, the true believers all have that “home show”. That convention we never miss because it’s in our backyard. We treasure the memories we build there. And for those of us who aspire to become creators (like me and my Unshaven Comics cohorts) the “home show” is also where we first took the plunge and moved to the other side of the aisle to become creators, not just conventioneers. For me, that home show has been the Chicago Comic Con. I, of course, knew it as “Wizard World Chicago” when I first walked in the doors a newly christened comic fan in 1999. Ever since, that show has been a stalwart in my calender. I’ve not missed it, now, for 11 years in a row. Suffice to say, I’ve had a ton of great memories over the years. From catching the first glimpse of The Dark Knight, sitting mere feet away from Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, and David Goyer… to sitting in a jam packed ballroom, sharing a laugh over the secrets of Wonder Woman #219… to that first year I had to give up attending Wizard School panels, in order to sell my first graphic novel. 
Yes, it’s Doctor Who meets The Muppet Show!
At the upcoming Chicago Comicon, me and my ‘Unshaven Cohorts’ will be (amongst other things) raising money for the 
Now that San Diego is over, we can look ahead ten days or so to the next convention.
An auction will be held at the Chicago Comic-Con (nee Wizard World Chicago) the evening of Saturday, August 8, 2009 to raise funds for comics veteran 
The man who founded the Mid-Ohio-Con, one of the best run and most entertaining of the hundreds of comic book conventions held each year, is retiring after 27 years.
