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Anyone fascinated by the emerging world of digital comics was in for a treat at C2E2, thanks to a panel made up of a group of very diverse, very qualified professionals from the field. The discussion hosted speakers Mark Waid (Co-Founder at Thrillbent), Jen Brazas (creator of the Mystic Revolution webcomic), economics entrepreneur Jordan Plosky […]

Announcements from Diamond, Marvel, Action Lab, and Valiant Comics at the C2E2 Diamond Retailers Breakfast, including Civil War 2: Amazing Spider-Man #1, 300,000 in sales for Black Panther #1, and a major new female character for Valiant.

Robbie Thompson first came to prominence in the nerd sphere as a writer on the long-running Supernatural TV series, but recently he jumped into the comics fold. He’s doing no less than three titles in the Spider-Man corner: Silk, Venom: Space Knight and my favorite, the all-ages Spidey. I spoke to Robbie about the transition […]

As in past years, the ReedPOP staff was kind enough to make the entire C2E2 programing list available in a handy text format. You can use their own site to set up a schedule, but this is easy to search. And many great panels, from John Cusack to cosplay how tos to Women of Marvel to the future of Hellboy.

Here’s John Cusack in his best known role as Lloyd Dobler in the beloved Gen-X comedy Say Anything. You may have been thinking about John Cusack a lot lately because he’s a top guest at next weekend’s C2E2 show in Chicago. And every time you clicked on anything here at the Beat, it took you to […]

…and there’s more development around McCormick Place! Read on… Curbed Chicago reported on the recent votes by the Chicago Plan Commission approving the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, held October 16. There are two points of controversy: the actual design (likened to Jabba the Hutt) and the actual parkland, which is as hallowed as New York’s […]

by Seth Ferranti

If C2E2 was a race I was in it to win it. As I stood in the long line waiting to get in, I felt like I was being herded like cattle. But instead of cattle around me, I turned to my right and there was Captain America, or at least a facsimile of him. A C2E2 staff member bellowed on a megaphone, “Move up closer to the people next to you. More people have to fit in. If you don’t move up I’m going to tell you the ending of Daredevil.”

I had only been to one Comic Con before, Planet Comicon in Kansas City, just this past February. I had a good idea of what to expect, but from everything I read and heard, the C2E2 event in Chicago was way bigger then the KC Comicon I attended. The C2E2 events by ReedPOP were supposedly the creme de la creme of comic cons and I was ready to find out.

As I stood there waiting I wondered what does C2E2 stand for? I guess its a take off on R2D2, I did see a lot of those little robots moving around. Maybe I didn’t know what C2E2 stood for but I was ready. At the starting gate and chomping at the bit. It seemed everyone around me was eager to get in also. We had our programs, our Star Wars lanyards and our Naomi Novik Uprooted bags, all freebies that the organizers were passing out.

Looking through my program I identified several panels that I wanted to see- Comic Book Secrets Revealed, Self-Publishing Unmasked, How to Manage Your Brand as a Creator, How to Write for Video Games and Breaking into Comics the Marvel Way- and quickly scheduled them on my C2E2 app. I wouldn’t be missing any panels. My iPhone would alert me. I had business to attend to.

You see not only was I a Comic Con newbie, I was an aspiring comic creator. My plan was to soak up as much knowledge and wisdom as I could from the pros by listening to them at the panels. C2E2 provided a unique opportunity to hobnob with the writers and artists of the comics that I loved. I would immerse myself in their craft. Comics is one of the only industries that offers this type of meet and greet to their fans.

I listened eagerly to superstar writer Mark Waid and fan favorite Gail Simone. I was schooled on branding by Dirk Manning. I learned video game scripting from Andy Schmidt and got the 411 on the Marvel way from C.B. Celbulski, Charles Soule, Dan Slott and Al Ewing who advised us to “fish for contacts, don’t hunt them.” These are the people responsible for Amazing Spider-Man, Mighty Avengers, Inhumans, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, Write or Wrong, Swords of Sorrow and The Avenger so I took it all in attentively.

Surprisingly, the panels that I was attending were full. It seems like a lot of people were at the comic con for the same reason I was, to learn how to break into comics. It just wasn’t all cosplay, celebrities and exhibitors. Although there was plenty of that. As new celebrity guests arrived at the autographing booths their sessions were announced by intercom booming through the convention center, “CM Punk is now signing autographs in booth 2.” I was surprised how much they charged for an autographed, most were like $50 a pop.

Cosplay is a huge element of the cons and even though I wasn’t dressed up I tried to interact with them. I found that they all wanted to punch me, or shoot me or use the Force to control me. I ran into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, a giant robot and Darth Vader. I was looking to mix it up with some stormtroopers, but I missed them. With the new Star Wars trailer out the characters were very well represented.

I took in the screening of Wayward Pines, the new Matt Dillon and M. Night Shyamalan vehicle and came away impressed. Matt Dillon has always been a big actor to me ever since The Outsiders and Rumble Fish. That screening was on the main stage.

I wanted to see the Jay and Silent Bob Get Old Podcast that night, but it was sold out and I couldn’t get in. I was a big Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes fan ever since Clerks. I hung around the main stage hoping to sneak in, but it wasn’t happening. Not getting into that show was one of my only regrets. I vowed that next time I would pay closer attention to the panel scheduling and buy tickets beforehand for the stuff I really wanted to see.

My Friday complete, I took the shuttle bus back to my hotel and rested up for Saturday. I still had two more days of adventure in store. And everyone told me that Saturday was always the big day for comic cons because on Friday most people were working, except for the die hard con goers. So I went to sleep dreaming of the new Avengers movie, The Age of Ultron.

On Saturday I woke up early in anticipation of the day. I expected the crowds to be humungous and they were. I barely caught the shuttle to get there in time. There were more people, more costumes and a lot of kids walking around with light sabers, cutlasses and swords. “Walk the plank, matey,” one kid told me. I just kept moving. I didn’t want any trouble. There were so many characters represented in costume I didn’t even know half of them. And the police box people were crazy. (I later found out that was a Doctor Who thing.)

I walked around Artist’s Alley. I went by Scott Snyder’s booth, but he had a long line. He was the most popular creator/artist there by far. Other guys had lines, but no one had a line like Scott Snyder. It was constant. Even when he wasn’t there people were lined up waiting for him to get there. That’s the price of fame for a superstar artist who writes Batman, among other books.

I stopped at the Marvel booth and got some free swag. I picked up as much stuff as I could. Everyone was giving out flyers promoting their work and some were giving out free comics, like Marvel. Image had a massive exhibit set up with towering posters of the Walking Dead and the other comics they put out. I went by the Block exhibit and checked out the graffiti that artists were drawing right then and there. I saw Captain Jack Sparrow and Poison Ivy, multiple times. Comic Con is like a fantasy world where you can go and just be someone else. I’m not into cosplay, but a lot of people are.

I went to the panel Breaking into Comics and Staying In, the Jason Momoa Spotlight (he is the dude who played Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones and will star as Aquaman), and that night I went to the Hip-Hop and Comics panel which looked at how the cultures are combining, a very informative and interesting panel since I have always been both a big comics and hip-hop fan. I talked to Matthew Rosenberg, who wrote the Wu Tang Clan and Ghostface Killer comics and was on the panel.

Later on that day I saw Jason Momoa walking around the con and I went up and shook his hand. He didn’t look that big on stage, but right in front of you the dude is massive. He played Conan the Barbarian also and being right next to him I can see why. He was a cool dude, very relaxed and at ease with himself. He was checking out some artwork at my friend K. Anthony Lawler’s booth. I met K. Anthony at the Kansas City con and we are collaborating on a graphic novel that is in the works. He also drew a bad ass portrait of my wife and I that we are going get framed and hang on our wall. Another C2E2 memento.

By Sunday I was getting kind of tired. The floor at C2E2 was like multiple football fields. You had to walk a mile to get to one place from another. And the crowds of people were so thick you had to press your way through. I was enjoying myself tremendously. Moving through the dense crowds was a skill I was acquiring. It became a game to see how quick i could get off the floor and up to the rooms where the panels were.

The comic con was like an escape into another world. All the movies, video games and comics that I enjoyed were all represented at the con and I got the chance to meet the creators, artists, editors, and media producers that helped to bring these works to life. It’s a one of a kind experience. Where else do you get the chance to meet your hero up close and personal?

My trip wasn’t going to be complete without going to the Stan Lee Spotlight on the main stage Sunday afternoon. To me Stan Lee is what comics are all about. I saw him walking around, but he was so mobbed by fans I didn’t get a chance to meet him. But I saw him talk at the panel for an hour. He was gracious and funny and forthright. I had a lot of respect and admiration for the man who basically is Marvel comics. Watching his appearance topped of my weekend.

I grew up reading the X-Men, Spider-Man, the Avengers, Iron Man, the New Mutants and all the Marvel comics. I have always been a Marvel guy. When they started making big Hollywood blockbuster movies on all the characters I grew up on I couldn’t believe it. To me comics were always kind of this trendy, almost counter-culture genre, but now it is so mainstream and it really hits home how big comics are when you go to these cons and see how many people are there.

This was only my second con, but I will continue to go. As a fan, as an aspiring comic creator and as a journalist. I am working on some comics projects with the goal of being a guest at a comic con in the future, but for now I am just a fan and journalist who enjoys the atmosphere and spectacle of the event, writing about my adventures and journey into the world of comic cons.

Seth Ferranti is a regular contributor to The Fix and Vice. His most recent book is The Supreme Team.

Text and photos ©2015 Seth Ferranti

ICv2 has a definitive business round-up of C2E2, the Chicago based show that just wrapped it’s sixth year. And it’s still growing:

Reed Exhibitions division ReedPOP has now achieved six consecutive years of growth with C2E2, its show at McCormick Place in Chicago.  Event Director Mike Armstrong told ICv2 that although numbers are still being tabulated, it looks like the 2015 show generated “at least” a 12% increase in attendance over last year, when the final number was around 62,900 (see “Fensterman Interview:  C2E2 Gender Mix Shifting”).  That would put the show attendance at over 70,000 uniques, an impressive accumulation of geeks, although it can seemed dwarfed at times by the sheer massiveness of the convention center, the largest in the U.S., where even a show the size of C2E2 occupies only one of several buildings.

Of major comic publishers, Marvel, Image, and Valiant were there, which feels like a smaller roster than we’ve seen in the past.  DC’s busy moving, but some others have cut back, at least relative to the burgeoning number of shows.

The above photo, I’m guessing by Milton Griepp, does confirm our own mental picture of the show: it would take millions of people to make the Jötunheimr-scaled McCormack Place look crowded, so gangs of people to see Jason Momoa and Babs Tarr alongside empty most shrouded concrete vales.

But see next post.

Rounding out Marvel’s Secret Wars themed panels was “Warzones” and to do this editors Jake Thomas, Jon Moisan, and Nick Lowe were joined by James Robinson, Marguerite Bennett, Dan Slott, and Dennis Hopeless.

The presentation kicked off with Rick Remender’s Hail Hydra, a series that shows a piece of the Battleworld where Hydra rules all. It’s a book that does those things creators always want to explore but never could in exploring a world where evil always triumphs.

Marvel then announced a new series, Hank Johnson, Agent of HYDRA, which will be written by Curb Your Enthusiasm executive producer David Mandel with art by Michael Walsh. It features a cover by Amanda Conner. The book is billed as an everyman who just so happens to work for the most villainous organization on the planet.

Dennis Hopeless moved into his book, Inferno. “Inferno has been raging for five years and it’s like Colossus in ‘Escape From New York,’ said Hopeless. Art was shown from the book that featured Colossus squaring off against an army of demons. The group also touched on his other book, House of M.

Lowe then talked about Infinity Gauntlet. Gerry Dugan is reinventing the cosmic side of the Marvel U for Secret Wars. He’ll tell a new story about the culmination of all the Infinity Stones (yep there calling them stones). Lowe also praised the work of series artist Dustin Weaver.

Old Man Logan was up next as the panel showed off interior artwork. The story is more of a continuation than a retelling as the book will deal with trying to dethrone all the super villains who’ve taken over. Bendis was eager to take on the story to try and one-up original writer Mark Millar.

Nick Lowe talked a bit about the 2099 universe and how Peter David’s book, Secret Wars 2099, was one of the first stories to be solidified for Secret Wars. He teased the appearance of characters we know and characters we’ve never seen, but also that the series could move into post Secret Wars Marvel.

A-Force interior art from Jorge Molina appeared, featuring high-flying action including Captain Marvel. The showing was a crowd favorite and writer Marguerite Bennett talked about the cast which features Dazzler, She-Hulk, Medusa, Nico Minoru and a new character named Singularity.

Planet Hulk was brought up and the group talked about how brutal the series is shaping up to be. The book will see all the Hulks gathered on a patch of planet called “Greenland”. Writer Sam Humphries also cast a gladiator Captain America that’s thrown right in the middle of all the savagery.

Another tease for the Spider-Verse series was given by Dan Slott. The book which is written by Mike Costa will feature Arana, Spider-UK, Spider-Man India, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir, and Spider-Gwen. It’s an over-sized continuation of what Slott set up at the end of Spider-Verse.

Slott then moved into Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows. The writer gave more details about the series, “This is Peter in a world where he is father, husband, hero — in that order. That will change everything.”  He made it even more intense by revealing that Peter Parker will be putting on the Black Costume once again.

Some interior art was shown from Skottie Young’s Little Marvel:AvX. The pages showed a glimpse of a battle between baby Archangel and Falcon. The group then briefly mentioned other series such as 1872 and Squadron Sinister before James Robinson talked a bit about Armor Wars. In the part of the Battleworld called Technopolis, everyone who wants to survive has to wear a suit of armor. A murder mystery unfolds when one character finds out the cause of the illness that’s confined their world. The writer also made it clear we’d see just about every incarnation of Iron Man armor that’s come before in addition to some new ones.

Not many new details were given for Years of Future Past and Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos. However, Lowe did bring up Guardians of Knowhere, a book that will again bring the creative team of Bendis and Mike Deodato. The duo is “reinventing” the location for Secret Wars and will see a new villain that has a future beyond the event.

Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps was brought up. The book is written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Kelly Thompson featuring art by David Lopez. Not many new details were given about the story but the group talked about how blown away they were by Lopez’s pages.

The big reveal of the panel was Howard the Human, a tie-in book by Jim Mahfood. It’s a book that takes place in an all animal version of the Marvel U with influences from films such as Roger Rabbit and Cool World. Even the city is taken on a new identity, “New Quack City”.

With Secret Wars right around the corner, has Marvel’s announcements and hype machine got you any more excited for their upcoming “Nothing will ever be the same” event?

Image Credi: Fox Sports

Announced at C2E2, former wrestler turned UFC fighter turned author, CM Punk will write a new Drax the Destroyer ongoing comic for Marvel. The series will launch in Winter 2015. No co-writer or series artist was named, but the cover for the first issue will be drawn by Ed McGuinness.

Punk recently did a short story for Thor Annual alongside Chew artist Rob Guillory. His next story that will see print is part of DC/Vertigo’s Strange Sports Stories. This also marks Drax’s first solo ongoing comic joining the fellow Guardian ranks of Rocket Raccoon and Legendary Star-Lord. 

As the book is still aways away, more details are to be revealed soon. Teasing the book was a good move on both parties parts. Punk being a Chicago native, a big announcement about his future in comics during one of the biggest shows made all the sense in the world.

The second of Marvel’s Secret Wars themed panels focuses on “Battleworld”. Senior Editor Nick Lowe was joined by James Robinson, Joshua Williamson, editors Jake Thomas and Jon Moisan, and Secret Wars writer Jonathan Hickman.

Nick Lowe kicked off the panel by asking Jonathan Hickman to describe the main “Secret Wars” book. The event is the culmination of his grand design for his Avengers run. Hickman also praised his artist Esad Ribic as Lowe showed off pages from issue #1. Pages which featured characters locked in battle. When Hickman was asked to talk about what happens in the opening, he answered by quipping, “Everybody Dies.”

Next up Lowe showed the covers for Inhumans: Attilan Rising, which will be written by Charles Soule with art by John Timms. Soule himself described the book as “in-line with Casablanca.” The cast of characters include an all-new version of the Hulk, Undead G-Man, a Ghost Rider, and Mega-Rad.

Lowe transitioned into Ultimate End, written by Bendis with art by Mark Bagley. Lowe talked about wanting to keep secrets about these series so the twist and turns will have the emotional impact intended. (Maybe don’t start talking about post Secret Wars before the event begins)

More details emerged about Master of Kung-fu from the team of Haden Blackman and Dalibor Talajic. It takes place mostly in K’un-Lun, but in this alternate version of the mystical city, everyone is a martial arts master. This part of Battleworld has several schools of martial arts taught by alternate versions of their characters; including aBlack Panther School, a Spider-Man School and a White Tiger dojo. An underground tournament between all determines who runs this part of Battleworld and Shang-chi will have to go up against his own father. It was mentioned that Talajic is a martial artist and has been waiting years to do a story like this.

In keeping with the fight theme the group talked about the Secret Wars: Battleworld anthology series. The first issue will feature a story by Williamson about a Doctor Strange-powered Punisher fighting a demonic Fantastic Four. Editor Moisan teased more outlandish battles such as Blade fighting Howard the Duck, Egyptian Silver Surfer will take on a crocodile version of Abomination, and old West Deadpool fightingDevil Dinosaur.

Williamson talked a little bit about Red Skull. His book has a version of the character that is supposed to be dead and his influence is still felt in the realm. A group of heroes will enter the deadlines to either verify the rumors or kill the Red Skull.

Next up was Secret Wars: Journal. The series will be a place for parts of Battleworld that don’t have a series of their own. One of Kevin Wada’s covers shows Kate Bishop from the ‘1602’ universe where she is a Robin Hood-esque figure.

The group touched on Thors, but not much was given outside of a bit of art. It’s the series most fans and critics are excited for, especially featuring the art of Chris Sprouse. (Can someone do a Too Many Cooks/Thors mashup?)

James Robinson talked about Marvel Zombies vs. Age of Ultron. The series is about a pocket of humanity in the middle of a war between the undead superheroes and Bendis version of elements of the Age of Ultron. Robinson described it as, “mayhem, violence and black comedy, but there’s also these characters that love each other trying to survive.”

As the presentation started to run long Lowe quickly ran through the other Marvel Zombies book, along with covers for Ghost Riders, and Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde.

Thomas talked about Siege by Kieron Gillen. The series will have three double-paged spreads drawn by guests artists. It’s premise is about a part of the Battleworld called “the Shield” which is attacked by Ultrons and Zombies. The cast which includes versions of Scott Summers, America Chavez, Kang and the 1602 Kate Bishop are forced to be on the wall defending this part of the planet.

The presentation portion ended with the newly announced Secret Wars: Secret Love. It looks like Marvel is going to dive back into romance comics with the cover featuring Ms. Marvel and Robbie Reyes. Creators involved include Katie Cook, Michel Fiffe, Felipe Smith, Jeremy Whitley, and more.

Strange that this title got a Battleworld banner. Now we hope one of these stories mimics the song “Love is a Battlefield” or when they did it on South Park.

Sunday morning, the third part of these Secret Wars panels wraps things up with “Warzones”.

Marvel is bringing their Secret Wars to the second city all weekend at C2E2 2015. Kicking things off are the “Last Days” of the Marvel U. To talk about these events the publisher assembled Dan Slott, Ryan Stegman, Al Ewing, Dennis Hopeless, editor Jon Moisan, and Charles Soule.

The presentation kicked off with Ms. Marvel #16, which sees the return of artist and Kamala Khan’s co-creator Adrian Alphona on art duties, with co-creator and series writer G. Willow Wilson leading the young Ms. Marvel into her biggest adventure yet of her very brief superhero career. We already know that the young Kamala is part of the All-New All-Different Avengers post Secret War, this arc could however change the direction of the character for the future.

Magneto #18 will begin his journey through his last days arc. The group gave few new details about what we’ll see but did mention Sugarman will be a part of the arc. All the characters we’ve seen in the series will be uniquely affected by the incursion.

Image Credit:
Marvel

A sliver of Black Widow was shown as the group teased issue #19. Her story will feature the character in the present while still showing the beginnings of Natasha’s story. We’ll see one of her most horrible moments during her Red Room days. It looks to be a very emotional last days for Black Widow.

The Punisher’s last days will see the character pushed to his end physically and emotionally. As the entire run will culminate in this story, the team is going all out with balls to the wall action. Now it seems that the series could be ending to make way for a possible new series written by CM Punk.

Al Ewing talked about Captain America and The Mighty Avengers. His goal is to break as many hearts as possible. As he talked about when the announcement was first made, his story will look at the world crumbling around the team. It’s a story told from the readers point of view.

Image Credit:
Marvel

Loki: Agent of Asgard #14-15 will see scores settled between the gods of Asgard in a total war ignited by King Loki. The writer teased a returning element from the Simonson run that will blow readers minds.

Dan Slott in typical fashion played with the crowd by asking if everyone was worried about what will happen post Secret Wars. Jokingly, according to him it’s all “GONE!” He’ll continue working with amazing team of Mike and Laura Allred on the last days of Silver Surfer. He did drop a few tidbits about the upcoming arc. Surfer will survie in the void and be given the power to recreate the universe. This arc will examine the question about what to do with infinite power.

The group announced Ant-Man: Last Days #1, which goes on sale in August. Scott Lang will be teaming up with a golden age hero we’ve already seen but don’t know the identity of. Last Days of Ant-Man will not be a new series but instead just a one-shot with the creative team of Nick Spencer and Ramon Rosanas.

You can watch all the C2E2 goodness through lifestream on their website here. 

(You can access the above interactive map here.)

C2E2’s on once again, and just like your favorite superhero who is–yet isn’t–quite the same, it’s being held again in the same place, but different.  (Oh, how I await the day when it takes up the entire complex!  2.6 MILLION sq.ft. of exhibit space!  60 acres! 45 football fields!  Can you imagine the programming going on all over the building?  The theater?  The ballrooms?)

*ahem*  Sorry…

Here’s the scorecard for each year:

2010  Lakeside  Hall D   300,000 sq.ft.

2011   West Building   Hall F   470,000 sq.ft.

2012   North Building    Hall B1   369,000 sq.ft.

2013   West Building   Hall F   470,000 sq.ft.

2014   South Building   Hall A1/2   430,000 sq.ft.

So here’s the layout, with some insider tips from your intrepid exploring reporter!

Food?  Here is the McCormick dining guide!

Level One (the ground floor)

When you enter from the square, you’ll see the concierge desk and the dancing water fountains.  Immediately to the south is the ballroom, host to various fannish activities.  (It’s divided in half: one half is for gaming and other geekery, the other side is for families.  Brilliant planning… it’s part of the show, but removed just enough to create a safe space.)  Aside from the coat check near the gateway to BarCon at the Hyatt Hotel, the only other item of interest on this floor are the hotel shuttles.

Comics Beat C2E2 Inside Tip: Walk down that long hallway southward.  You’ll see the massive escalators which lead to the show floor (but not working this weekend).  There are vending machines squirreled away behind and beneath these escalators.  Since McCormick doesn’t always refill the machines in the buildings on a timely basis, you might have better luck here on Sunday.  (But check Lakeside…it’s not being used this weekend. Level One.)

If you forgot a power chord or other necessity, the Hyatt has a vending machine in the hallway leading to the check-in desk.  The Hyatt is also where you can catch a taxi, although you might want to “New York” everyone and wander south on MLK Drive a few blocks to catch a taxi before it pulls into the line.

Just north of the bus stop, there’s a bike sharing rack here, know locally as “Divvy“.  $7 for 24-access, 30 minutes per ride, overtime if you take longer.  If you cycle, and want a scenic route, head north on Calumet, there’s a path that will lead you under the railroad and then south to 18th, which takes you under Lake Shore Drive.  From there, you’re in the Museum Campus, and then Grant Park.

Level 2.5 (the mall)

There’s a food court tucked away on the west side.  I’ve never eaten there, so no idea.  16,000 sq.ft.   No Yelp page. Here’s the official description:

This eclectic food court offers several options to choose from: Little Italy, Pacific Rim, American Grill, Fiesta Brava, Express to Go Sandwiches, Salads and Snacks as well as a fabulous Soup Bar.

Caveat cenator…

There’s also the First Aid station, and a FedEx Office supply store (helpful if you need to rent a computer, or purchase a poster tube).  This level also connects to the food court in the North Building, where McDonald’s and other eateries are located.  Starbucks is located on Level 2.5.  And on North Level Three, right across from the show floor entrance.  And at the “Daily Grind” in the Hyatt Hotel.  McDonald’s also serves coffee.  Doubtful that this location has been renovated into a McCafé…

Comics Beat C2E2 Inside Tip: The restrooms (at least the male ones) next to McDonalds in the North Building are quite large, if utilitarian.  Right next to these bathrooms are vending machines with two microwaves. There’s a vending machine alcove near the retail stores as well.

Level 3  (the show)

C2E2 is only using the front three-quarters (Hall A1 and half of A2), so there are no shortcuts you can use.  (There is a hallway behind A2, which leads down to bathrooms, and runs the width of the South Hall from .  But you’ll probably be arrested for trespassing.)

Registration is right across the Grand Concourse, in the North Hall.  They’re just using the front section for check-in. Starbucks is here.

Comics Beat C2E2 Inside Tip: There is an escalator on the east side which runs from the show floor to the Fourth Floor meeting rooms.  This may be blocked by the attendee lines.

Under the food court (that section in the middle) should be restrooms and vending machines.  Unknown if that will be open during the show.

Also, this level connects to the Grand Concourse, so you could wander over to Lakeside.  Forage for vending machines on the second floor of Lakeside (site of the very first C2E2).

Level 4 (the panels)

This is where the event hall is located all…the…way…at…the…(are we there yet)…end…of…the…hallway.  The panel rooms are located here as well.  It’s a nice sunny hallway, so rest when needed.  There usually are water stations strategically placed along the way.

Comics Beat C2E2 Inside Tip: The Fifth floor above this is accessible from the Fourth.  The rooms should be locked, but the restrooms and public spaces should be accessible.  A great way to view the crowds below, and escape the hustle and hubbub.  Also a great space for cosplayers to hang out.

There are also two small panel rooms on the fourth floor, accessible from the North Building: S400b and S400c.  That walkway and hallway is a bit tight, but there are restrooms located over there, and it’s accessible via elevator from the South Building.  That walkway is also a good place for an overlook.

Everything Else

The West Building is also accessible, but distant.  There is an auto parts trade show taking place over there, so the 400-seat food court area and 200-seat fine-dining restaurant should be open.  Also, the coat check on the first floor!

Lots of accessible wall outlets!  I recommend the fifth floor of the South Hall. 

If you can locate access in and out from Lakeside, I highly recommend taking some time to enjoy the lakeshore.  (Test the doors to make sure they open from the outside before shutting them.)  If you have a lot of time in the morning, it’s a nice walk south through the museum complex to the convention center.  The big question, of course, is getting into the convention center from the lake shore… there isn’t a pedestrian overpass if Lakeside is locked.  Perhaps you can find an employee to pop open one of the doors…

Got any suggestions?  Tricks?  Let us know!

Art by Ryan Stegman  (Hmm… Is Sam Wilson a Red Wings fan?)  (It also reminds me of this.)

The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, also known as C2E2, is set to begin Friday! If you’ll be attending, here are some helpful hints on how to make your way to the South Building of McCormick Place!

First, here’s the official link to Reed Pop’s info! That includes car, taxi, train, and plane! (I assume those using less traditional methods such as flight rings or rocket boots should approach low from the east over Lake Michigan–to avoid triggering area radar–and enter the convention center from the Lakeside Center.)

McCormick Place’s official directions page is here. And you can pre-purchase parking online! Scroll down for all the transportation alternatives.

If you’re using Google maps (or other map software), McCormick Place is located near the juncture of the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) and Lake Shore Drive (Highway 41). If looking at a Superman’s-eye-view of the city, follow the lake shore south until you hit the Shedd Aquarium and Northerly Island Park, which juts into the Lake. Soldier Field is the other landmark there… it’s the building that looks like a UFO crashed on top of a stadium. (Science geeks: your landmark is the Field Museum. No relation to the football Field.) McCormick Place is south of the park, at approximately 23rd Street. Or follow Interstate 55 east until you hit the Lake. McCormick is directly north.

Here are a few tips on traveling to and from the C2E2 convention at McCormick Place.

1) The train (Metra). This is Chicago’s commuter train line. The line you want to take is the Metra Electric line to McCormick Place. If leaving from Millennium Park, the cost is $3.25. HOWEVER, this is a commuter train, and runs less frequently on the weekends. Also, on the weekends, McCormick Place is a FLAGGED stop; the train only stops if there are people on the platform, or if you notify the conductor ahead of time. On the weekend, trains leave about every ninety minutes. Metra does offer a weekend pass. The platform is a bit spooky (the center is built over the platform), but walk northwards to the stairs, which will lead you directly to the Convention center. When you enter the Center, turn left, and walk to the South Building. Nice, but not convenient. Info here. Metra also runs trains from other regions.

2) The subway/El.

D’OH!  Chicago built a station near their convention center before New York!  (Actually, they rebuilt a station…  no tunnel boring necessary, or funicular elevators).

• Take the Red Line to Cermak-Chinatown.
• Take the Green Line to Cermak-McCormick Place.

Then hike eastward along Cermak, or catch the #21 bus to the convention center. $2.25 one way (bills and coins), and the Chicago Ventra Card will save you time and money (as well as grant free transfers).  Here’s how you can pay.

3) The bus. The #3 and #21 buses stop in front of the McCormick West Building on MLK Drive.

• The #3 runs north along Michigan all the way to downtown.
• The #21 begins at McCormick, and runs along Cermak, connecting with the Red, Green, and Pink lines.  (Although, the Pink line connection isn’t that convenient.)
• The #1 and #4 buses also runs along Michigan, but only on Michigan Avenue. It does not go to the convention center. You’ll have to walk two blocks along 23rd Street, then through the West Building, or transfer to the #3 or #21.

If you’re coming from downtown, catch the #3 and do some sightseeing. As always, ask the bus driver if the bus is headed to McCormick. Cross the street and look for the giant C2E2 sign.

4) The shuttle. C2E2 is sponsoring shuttle buses (but I can’t find this year’s info online). Information is available at the convention, as well as the Concierge desk in the South Hall. If shuttles use the exclusive busway, travel times will be faster than regular surface traffic. Hotel shuttles are located on Level One of the South Hall, near the ballroom, behind the concierge desk.

5) The taxi. Outside the South Hall, near the Hyatt, is a taxi stand. I asked my hotel concierge about the cost, and she said it would be about $17 (from the Loop to McCormick). If you can’t get to the train, bus, or shuttle, then this, of course, is your last resort. If you have a lot to carry, this will probably be the most convenient mode of transportation.

Here’s the word from C2E2:

Taxi Services

More than 5,800 city taxis are at your service in Chicago. Facility direction signs and personnel at the Concierge Desk will direct attendees to gates that are designated for your event. To calculate your taxi fare, check out TaxiFareFinder.com. Tell the cab driver you are traveling to McCormick Place – South Building, and you’d like to be dropped off at Gate 4 (off of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive).  [If the driver doesn’t know that location, ask to be let out near the Hyatt hotel.  Walk through the hotel.]

6) The car. McCormick Place has a map of the area, as well as information about parking (see above). Lots of space, but the flat fee is $19 a day, each time you enter the garage. There is also surface parking to the north of the convention center, used by Soldier Field. Access to the parking, pedestrian access to the convention center, and cost is not known. Google Maps offers street views for most of the area, and you can plot your path .

View Larger Map

7) The miscellaneous. If traveling from above, DO NOT LAND at Meigs Field/Northerly Island. It is no longer an airport, and once you land, you will be treated as a celebrity by the local constabulary, complete with round-the-clock news coverage, front page coverage on all local newspapers, and private accommodations with an around-the-clock security detail. If necessary, your privacy will be protected by flying you to a remote government-run spa in the Caribbean.  Best to land in Gary, Indiana.  No one will care/notice.

Otherworlders often mistake Soldier Field as an interdimensional Trans-Port terminal. The terminal is actually located at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, but reservations are required, as the broadcast grid is sometimes used for concerts. Higher dimensional beings can use the Cloud Gate located nearby. While primitive, it does offer enough perpendicular transgentials to accommodate the eleven classical dimensions of this reality. From those, the Infinites can be easily excessed.  Time travellers should, of course, consult the Master Clock to avoid paradoxes.

Chicago is based on a grid. The center of all directions is State and Madison, located within the elevated loop downtown. East-West streets are numbered from State; North-South streets are numbered from Madison. Numbered streets follow the grid numbering, and all subway/el train stations post the coordinates on the station signage. McCormick is approximately 2200 South, 400 East.

C2E2 has hosted Ink Fusion before, and this year, things get rather interesting!

As the site says:

Join the legendary Stan Lee, as he teams up with Ink-Fusion creator Marc Draven and his Empire of artists to offer a once in a life time chance for a tattoo drawn by Stan Lee himself!

Raffle tickets will be 2 tickets for $20

Tickets will be available Friday at the show in the Ink-Fusion Tattoo Pavilion. The winner will receive a free tattoo of one of Stan Lee’s famous characters (Image/Character TBA at show). This one of a kind sketch will be created by Stan Lee just for this contest! The tattoo will be performed by one of the internationally known Ink-Fusion Empire artists on hand.

Think that’s awesome? There is more! The winner will also get to show off their new tattoo when they get their PICTURE TAKEN WITH STAN LEE! (Only the tattoo winner will be photographed with Stan Lee)

*The tattoo will not exceed 3×5 inches. 18 OR OLDER ONLY.

So, you may ask… how good an artist is Stan the Man?  Well, he has authored numerous books on how to draw comics!  He occasionally does a sketch cover.  I’m sure he’s been practicing…and it’s not like he’s wielding the tattoo machine!  (Or even signing his work! The actual procedure will be completed by one of  the Ink Fusion artists in attendance.  Although, he has autographed body parts which were later tatted.)

Here’s the fine print!  (I hope they include a copyright and trademark notice…those Disney lawyers can be vicious!  Although it might fall under “appropriation”.)

The following rules apply:

• Must be 18 or older to enter.

• Must have a legal form of photo I.D. to get tattooed, NO EXCEPTIONS.
  • Winner will be announced on the day Stan Lee is available to join us (times will be listed on Friday of the show) when the ticket is pulled at the Ink-Fusion Pavilion .
  • MAKE SURE TO KEEP A CLOSE EYE FOR TIME LISTING FOR THIS RAFFLE AS THIS WILL BE BASED ON MR. LEE’S AVAILABILITY!!!!
  • YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN.
• Winner will get the tattoo immediately following the ticket drawing.
• The original sketch is not included in the prize package.
• No substitutions or additions will be made with the tattoo.
• No personal autographs by Mr. Lee will be allowed, however feel free to take photos of the event.
• All entries must have paid attendance into the show to qualify.
• Any artist working under Ink-Fusion has the right to refuse service per Board of Health regulations and permitting.
• Anyone getting tattooed claims all responsibility as well as proof of age and medical conditions, and cannot hold any member of Reed Expo, Ink-Fusion, or Stan Lee inc responsible .

Well, we’ve recovered from the East Coast Comic Con and MoCCA Fest. Did our taxes. Watched the trailers. And this weekend, instead of relaxing and ruminating…I’m getting my act together to fly to Chicago on Thursday, for ReedPOP’s C2E2 show! (And if you think my schedule is crazy, the ReedPOP crew is in Anaheim right now, running Star Wars Celebration!)

Here’s the show planner. (PDF available!) Panels are accessible here. Exhibitors, along with show specials and exclusives, can be found here!

So… how does this show differ from last year’s?

Not much, really. Panels are upstairs, just like last year. (Make use of the water stations. Seriously…it’s a long walk to the Main Stage.) Family and fans are once again in the ballroom on the First Floor. The sales floor… is still in Halls A1 and A2 (McCormick South).

Like last year, they use 3/4 of the hall.  Last year, the last third (or the front half of A2) was the food court area.  What’s changed?  Autographing and Food have switched places.  Artist Alley has been pushed back a little.  With no stage and a better layout, hopefully it doesn’t feel as slapdashed as last year.  350 tables are planned this year, down from 353 last year, but still ahead of the 207 from the first show).  Looking at the map, they can expand that area as well.  (Personally, the first C2E2 in Lakeside set the bar.  Lots of natural light, wide aisles, lots of space behind the tables, far from the rest of the show yet still accessible.)

The Block seems to be a new addition this year, or maybe the memory’s tumbled in with all of the other stuff from last year.  The Tattoo Pavilion is in the same space as last year.

Only three booths remain unsold:  two small booths right next to Marvel, and a quad near the Food Court.  (Some of the Artist Alley tables are on hold, but all are sold.)

As I said here, C2E2 already is larger than New York Comic Con in regards to exhibition floor space. In this hall, there is 20% not utilized. (It’s the bottom quarter in the map to the right, with the stair-step edge.)  840,000 sq.ft. of space exists in Hall A, 670,000 is currently used. That back quadrant is 170,000 sq.ft. in area. If you’re familiar with Javitz’ North Pavilion, site of Artist Alley at NYCC, this back space is TWICE the area (80K).  Just think of the twenty studio booths you could place back there!

As for panels, there’s a FIFTH floor above the fourth, with five rooms, which can be divided into fourteen spaces (just like the rooms on the fourth).  Not to mention the six meeting rooms on the first floor, south of the ballroom, which can subdivide into 15 spaces.  Plus ReedPOP uses the North Hall (B1/B2) for registration, and the meeting rooms beneath for back of house purposes.

So, what’s the estimated attendance this year?

The average (slope) is 7,100 a year.  If we take the recent increases into account, the math suggests 70 – 75,000 attendees. NYCC in its sixth year did 105,000.  C2E2 is growing at half the rate of NYCC, which is not a bad thing.  Of course, McCormick has a lot of space available, so with my estimated 1.235 MILLION capacity, with a growth of 10K/year, it would take C2E2 120 years to fill the entire convention center!  Me, I’m thinking 2030.  Once shows hit a certain threshold, they reach critical mass quickly.  (I’ll share my mad dreams later.  In the meantime, read this!)

But until then, other parts of McCormick Place will be used by other shows.  What else is happening that weekend?  Automechanika Chicago.  400 exhibitors, 8500 attendees, and it’s all about the auto aftermarket. (Oh man… a month later is the Sweets & Snacks Expo!) Last year, some company held their sales meeting in Lakeside, meaning most attendees trekked by the show floor on Thursday.  I even spotted one professional lady stop to take a selfie with a Batman75 standee!  There was also a national high school chorus competition… yeah…theatre geeks! Another year, there was standardized testing for educators.  And the first C2E2 had a bath show where the current con is located…

I’ll have more later, but I do recommend the show.  It’s a large regional show, with myriad guests of all sorts, great programming, not as crazy as CCI or NYCC, and I think most of the snow will have melted by now.  Until then, peruse our posts from previous years.  It’s a good sample of what the show offers.

Yesterday The Mary Sue published an article noting that for-profit comic-cons might be violating federal labor law by not paying minimum wage to workers improperly classified as volunteers. However, a recent case involving Major League Baseball shows how commercial comic-cons could beat the tag.

The use of free labor by for-profit companies has become a hot issue in recent years. Internships have become a particularly touchy topic – class action lawsuits by former interns have prompted some companies to end their unpaid internship programs, although there are at least a couple high-profile cases on appeal in which companies are challenging the Department of Labor’s standards for determining whether an intern is actually an employee.

Given how costly it can be for a company to fall afoul of federal law on this issue, it is indeed prudent for the companies that run comic conventions to assess whether it is legal for them to use unpaid volunteers. This is especially conventions run by for-profit companies, since charitable nonprofits enjoy a special exemption from minimum wage and overtime requirements in regard to volunteers. The Mary Sue has once again performed a service to the community in calling attention to this important issue.

With that in mind, in making this analysis it’s important to be aware of both the law’s requirements, the specific practices of each company, and the exemptions that are available outside the one given to charities.

First, since conventions produced by ReedPop — NYCC, ECCC, C2E2 — were mentioned in the post, it’s worth noting, as several “volunteers” have stated in the original comments thread and a related Reddit thread, that ReedPop pays volunteers minimum wage as official crew. Calling people volunteers in this context is a great way to foster a sense of community and community — one of things for which Lance Fensterman and company are to be commended is the way that they have fostered this communal sensibility while maximizing return on investment.

But not every for-profit comic-con that brings on volunteers gives these workers compensation – in fact, depending on the convention, you might actually be required to pay a fee for the privilege of helping the company out! Although this may seem on its face like a violation of federal law, there’s a legal loophole that has enabled countless commercial businesses to use volunteers in the standard sense of term.

Over the years the federal Fair Labor Standards Act has accumulated dozens of exemptions for a wide range of ventures, from homemakers making wreaths to C-level executives. For a company that operates a program taking place within a limited period of time during the year, there is one exemption in particular that catches the corporate attorney’s eye: minimum wage and overtime requirements do not apply to “any employee employed by an establishment which is an amusement or recreational establishment…” that operates no more than seven months a year or meets a financial test as to revenue generated at different times of the year. (29 USC 213(a)(3))

There are several cases that show how a commercial comic-con can take advantage of this provision, but the ruling perhaps most on-point was issued just a year ago in the Southern District of New York – coincidentally, the same federal district in which the New York Comic-Con takes place. Chen v. Major League Baseball Properties was brought by a former volunteer for the 2013 All-Star Week FanFest at the Javits Center (!), and the volunteer made arguments similar to those made in the intern lawsuits: volunteers at the event met the criteria for employee status, and thus Major League Baseball should have paid them at least minimum wage.

Major League Baseball — and the court — disagreed. As the court observed, although Major League Baseball operates all year long, Department of Labor regulations distinguish an entire enterprise from an “establishment,” which specifically refers to “a distinct place of business.” The exemption was put in place to accommodate seasonal ventures employing people for discrete periods of time in activities that might offer “non-monetary rewards.” The court concluded Major League Baseball’s FanFest was analogous to the amusement and recreational activities in view when legislators originally enacted the exemption, and the plaintiff’s federal as well as state law claims were summarily dismissed.

The plaintiff has appealed the district court’s ruling – in fact, it was argued in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals today, March 30 – but as noted above, there are a number of cases in other circuits that have reached similar conclusions. What’s more, even if the appeal succeeds, the main case being cited in opposition focuses on aspects of one baseball team’s operations that are distinguishable from a comic-con. For instance, while the team in question utilized its stadium for events throughout much of the year, comic-cons typically take place in rented facilities for discrete periods of time.

The analysis gets somewhat trickier for an entity operating multiple conventions. For instance, let’s assume that Wizard World doesn’t pay its volunteers — there’s nothing about compensation in the volunteer information packet, at least; Wizard World volunteers don’t even get munchies or parking reimbursements. The fact that Wizard World operates year-round could be grounds for arguing that the seasonal establishment exemption doesn’t apply, but there are also clever counter-arguments and organizational strategies that could persuade a court to disagree. Others have tried and succeeded with even more daunting facts – which, on a related front, is why the NCAA doesn’t have to pay taxes on ads sold for March Madness.

The seasonal exemption has long been a lifeline for companies offering an opportunity to volunteer for ventures that operate on a limited-term basis, such as amusement parks, outdoor swimming pools, Oprah’s Life You Want Tour, and New York Fashion Week. If you are an unpaid commercial comic-con volunteer who believes a lawsuit for back wages would be a clear home run, expect Major League Baseball Properties and cases like it to be deployed to strike you out.

“What?  Is he nuts?  NYCC is bursting at the seams!  130,000 attendees.  Massive crowds!  Sold out weeks in advance!  Crazy media coverage!”

Yes, but there’s one metric which is very important.  It’s a concern at New York, it’s a political football in San Diego, and it will soon be a concern for other large shows:

square footage of exhibition space

That’s what drives Preview Nights, ticket sales, social media; and which funds the show.  (The exhibitors rent space from the show.)  A publisher doesn’t have a booth?  Creator with 300,000 followers says she’ll be in Artist Alley?  Exclusive swag?

That is how C2E2 is bigger than NYCC:  the square footage of the show floor.

NYCC uses the entire exhibition space on the third floor of the Javits center.  Let’s add halls 1B (used last year for fan groups and autographing), 1C (used for the stockyards in the morning, as fans line up to get in, and panel overflow) and the North Hall (Artists Alley).

The scorecard, from the Javits website:

116+158+17+119+80+80++80 = 650,000 square feet.

This past week, C2E2 used three-quarters of Hall A at McCormick Place.

That area: 670,000 square feet.  One third of which was for a food court and general banquet seating.  (That’s 26% of McCormick Place’s 2.6 Million square feet of exhibition space.)

This doesn’t include the North Hall (B), which ReedPOP used for registration.

Yes, C2E2 is half the size of NYCC.  It hasn’t sold out yet, and is still three days long.  It’s growing at half the rate of the New York show, although once past a certain number, the size and scope of a show encourages word-of-mouth and interest, mostly by media outlets.

Here’s the C2E2 scorecard:

This year, C2E2 had wide aisles, and it was easy to move around.  How do you calculate the best density or capacity for a show?  Looking at the chart above, one could average square feet per attendee.

The following is the day-by-day attendance of the 1999 
Chicago Auto Show:

     Feb. 11 First Look for Charity:   10,064
     Feb. 12 Friday                    69,588
     Feb. 13 Saturday                 126,494
     Feb. 14 Sunday                   166,556
     Feb. 15 Monday                   119,131
     Feb. 16 Tuesday                   70,818
     Feb. 17 Wednesday                 81,493
     Feb. 18 Thursday                  81,721
     Feb. 19 Friday                   103,077
     Feb. 20 Saturday                 199,374 *
     Feb. 21 Sunday                   187,418

     Show total                     1,215,734 **

      * All time single-day show record
     ** All time show attendance record

SOURCE  Chicago Automobile Trade Association

So, those last four days total: 571,590.

Now, I’ve never attended an auto show in Chicago or New York City.  But looking at the 2014 floor plan for Chicago, it’s mostly big chunks of real estate carved out by manufacturers, with a small area for retail and other exhibitors.  Seriously… that middle aisle at San Diego where studios and toy companies dominate?  That’s almost the entire auto show!

Booths so big, you can place corporate logos on the map!

Remember, this is just the South Hall and the North Hall (A+B)!  There are also halls C (North), D and E (Lakeside), and F (West).  Another 1.4 Million square feet!

So let’s take that Auto show number from above… 570K attendees, four days.

What if we took that density and expanded it to the entirety of McCormick Place?

.57 x 2.6 / 1.2 = 1.235 MILLION

One million two hundred and thirty-five million attendees.

Sound crazy?  Hey, if Comiket can pull in 500,000 attendees to what is essentially a giant MoCCA Fest, why not One Million Geeks on the shore of Lake Michigan?  (No, seriously… all the exhibitors at Tokyo Big Site are amateurs, making their own comics.  One big giant Artist Alley.  And massive lines at each table.)

Want to get REALLY crazy?  Why not do what the Auto Show does… NINE days!

1.2 x 2.6 / 1.2 = 2.6 MILLION

How do you fill the building during the week?  Hold it during Holy Week?  Offer workshops for area students.  Encourage people to take a day off of work.  (Look at the numbers above for weekdays…  80K.  Somehow, someone is coming in to look at cars.)  Run events at night, after work, like screenings.

Then we will surely have a Nerd Mardi Gras, as it spills up to Burnham Harbor (Field Museum! Shedd Aquarium!  Adler Planetarium!).  Last year’s Stanley Cup celebration downtown at Grant Park drew an estimated two million hockey fans. I know that there are an equal number of pop culture fans in Chicagoland.  Heck, sports fans are just another geek tribe!

Oh, and I didn’t even think of this:

The City plans to build a 12,000-seat arena and a 1200-bed headquarter hotel north of the center, as well as turn the neighborhood into an entertainment district.

Land trouble.  Architect’s plans.

So Chinatown might become a destination for dining…

Exciting times!

According to reports from ReedPOP’s Lance Fensterman, this year’s edition of C2E2 drew 63,000 people, up from the 53,000 reported last year.

It’s a nice big number and vindication for a show that got off to what might charitably be called a slow start in its early days, with wide aisles and vast empty spots. It’s a testament to both ReedPOP’s organizing abilities and the vast popularity of comic con culture now.

As for the latter though, ICv2 has a fascinating report on how attendees are changing

One of the most common questions at the Graham Crackers booth in Salt Lake City came when looking at the prices marked on a comic (e.g., “25″): ”Is that cents or dollars?”  Customers who can’t tell the price of a comic within two orders of magnitude are going to need different handling than a hard core fan who comes to a convention with his want list, and the per capita consumption levels are going to be substantially lower.

Perhaps the best summation of the changing dynamics at shows was provided by longtime convention exhibitor Bob Chapman of Graphitti Designs, who has been exhibiting at San Diego Comic-Con (and other shows) for over 30 years and was also set up at C2E2.  “We’ve finally got those people we’ve been saying we wanted for all these years,” he said of the broadening audience.  “Now we have to figure out what to do with them.

11-year-old Rowan posing with 40-year-old Mike Norton. (Photo Credit: Mike Norton)

Disclaimer: This post might make you cry and consider having children. As the rest of the world was living vicariously through all their fortunate friends at Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo, but I don’t think anyone’s experience could compare to Mike Norton’s. With all the negative press the industry has been gaining lately, this is one of those shining examples of what a 32-page comic can inspire anyone to do.

Norton posted a touching story on his website. One of his young female die hard fans expressed her love for his Dark Horse creator owned title The Answer! 11-year-old Rowan came back this year in full cosplay, and a comic she created that was inspired by The Answer! and Battle Pug.

Here’s the full story:

A year ago, at the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) a 10 year old girl came up to my table and told me that (she) really liked my comic (The Answer!) because it was about a really smart woman who figured things out with her mind. It made my weekend, of course. I thought i was just making a goofy superhero comic.

This year, the same girl came to the table with her mother. This time, in full-on Answer! cosplay. I couldn’t believe it. Her name is Rowan and not only had she not forgotten about the book (I haven’t managed to put out the sequel yet!) but she was now making her own comics! (she gave me an awesome book about me and her with the Answer!, riding Battlepug, and  fighting each other with cats on our heads.) I kinda get teary-eyed just thinking about it.

I didn’t start making comics with the intention of influencing other people. I don’t make them with a conscious idea to be inclusive to all people. I just make the kind of comics I like. But everybody IS invited. EVERYBODY.

The idea that there are Rowans out there who feel comfortable being a part of this amazing community is important. It’s worth protecting. The fact that sometimes its even an issue to some people makes angry, so I’m not going to think about that. I’m going to think about getting started on that second Answer! series. Rowan is getting antsy, I’m sure.

by Johanna Draper Carlson

Promising a look into the technological future, “Digital Comics: The Next Page” featured a variety of perspectives on making digital comics. Hosted by Josh Elder, account director at iVerse Media (and writer of Scribblenauts Unmasked for DC), the panel featured

* Jim Chadwick, editor of DC Comics’ DC Squared and digital-first titles, including the popular Injustice
* Jen Brazas, webcomic cartoonist since 2004
* Christina Blanch and Mark Waid, both of Thrillbent, described as a “digital comic platform experimenting with all forms of digital comic distribution in the 21st century”.

iVerse CEO Michael Murphey, originally listed as participating, did not appear.

Normally, discussions of comics online focus on webcomics, but this session, due to the work experience of most of the panelists (and perhaps the overall show audience), talked more about working with big-company products and formats geared to go from digital to print. It was an unusual perspective that hasn’t frequently been discussed.

Elder started the talk by asking “what does ‘digital comic’ mean to you?” Brazas responded that work online is more accessible, reaching an audience outside the traditional comic shop. It’s a medium where niche work can flourish and there are more options for creators to develop audiences. Chadwick continued, pointing out that they have immediate worldwide distribution before discussing the excitement of the options available to creators. “We’re all figuring it out, we’re all trailblazers,” he said, commenting that although things were done one way for a long time, now they’re on the vanguard of reinventing an entire medium, transforming it before our eyes. Blanch noted that there are as many different types of digital comics as there are regular comics.

Taking the opposite tack, Elder then asked about what digital comics aren’t. Waid immediately jumped in, saying they aren’t cheap animation and that “motion comics are the devil’s tools.” His followup points demonstrated a thoughtful approach. He thinks that what makes comics comics is the reader’s ability to determine the pace of the story. The ability for the reader to fill in the voices and what happens in the gutters, using imagination, makes comics an immersive medium. He then demonstrated how Thrillbent uses a landscape format to better suit computer screens and our eyes. Their digital page turns are used to reveal a different image or bring up panels one by one, story guidance effects that can’t be done on a printed page.

Chadwick chimed in that digital comics enhance comics book grammar. Traditional comics control time and pacing with panel shapes and layout. Digital page turns allow that to happen online with new techniques. Elder noted that their tools allow for a lot more reveals; in fact, they almost demand that structure. They can create more suspense, and a digital story tends to have more plot. He smartly pointed out that horror and comedy are both great for the digital format, since they both depend on timing.

Blanch’s first comic writing was for digital, not print. She found Denny O’Neil’s book [The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics] a help. Thrillbent’s weekly installments have to have something happen and a resolution and a hook every page, which she found difficult. They’re also hard to translate to print, due to the transitions, but she found it neat to look for different ways to tell the story.

Brazas makes her money from selling print collections. Her webcomic is formatted as a page to avoid having to redo work. Pacing then becomes an issue, since pages paced to appear twice a week, with revelations to keep readers interested and provide payoff, would read strangely all in a row in print.

Waid pointed out that print does some things better. Jack Kirby wouldn’t be well-received in digital, he said, because of his immense splash pages and expansive visions. Chadwick agreed, saying splash pages and double-page spreads don’t work well digitally. With DC’s digital products, they always have print in mind on the back end of it.

Elder took a different financial tack, discussing how digital comics lower the barriers to entry. “The economics of experimentation are much better than they ever were,” he said. Brazas then brought up the current topic of Kickstarter. Her first experience with the venue was last year, and she plans to shift to doing all her books that way because it’s “so convenient to have other people pay for the books.”

Waid brought up the idea of a “social contract” to pay a fair price for what you enjoy in media. Big distributors have a place, but an individual artist can connect more directly with an audience and reach the 50,000 who are interested instead of the five million who may or may not be. His mottos it, “Nobody gets rich, everybody gets paid.”

Chadwick added that indy artists have a smaller audience, but one that’s more dedicated, and they may be making more money without a middleman. Then again, the Injustice series was big digital hit, and they released multiple reprintings of the print comic. The hardcover also sold really well. They don’t know, when they start, how long the digital-first series are going to run. It depends on their success, and since the stories are more self-contained, there’s more room to do their own thing.

Waid then reached back to his experience four or so years ago at Baltimore, when retailers expressed a strong resistance to giving anything away for free or online sampling. His take was that we no longer have the luxury of being angry. People stealing your work is awesome, reaching an audience hungry for your material. He wants to figure out a way to make that work for creators, driving them back to the work.

The panel then concluded with questions from the audience.

A news byte from C2E2: Dark Horse Presents, the long running anthology, will be back in a slimmer format but with some added content heft, including a new “Big Guy & Rusty” story by Frank Miller and Geof Darrow. Previous issues of the long running anthology had been 80 pages but a new 48 page format will be a bit easier to put out, said Dark Horse publisher MIke Richardson.

Rusty and the Big Guy is a comics series from 1995 about a young boy with a giant robot, that classic set up. It was turned into a Saturday morning cartoon for Fox, and ran for a whole season. That’s right, THERE WAS A FRANK MILLER SATURDAY MORNING CARTOON SHOW IN THE 90S. ANd yuo wonder why the 90s were the apogee of the Golden Age of human civilization.

The new story is just a “simple thing” Darrow told Comic Book Resources, which Miller is dialoging.

Other stories that will run in DHP according to CBR:
• David Mack’s “Kabuki”
• New “Resident Alien” stories by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse
• Brendan McCarthy’s “Dream Gang”
• Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Andy Kuhn’s “Wrestling With Demons”
• More “Sabertooth Swordsman” by Damon Gentry and Aaron Conley
• Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey’s “Action Philosophers”
• Ricardo Delgado’s “Age of Reptiles”
• Horton and Dialynis’s “Amala’s Blade”
• Tyler Jenkins’ (Peter Panzerfaust) “The Chaining”
• Jerry Ordway and Alex DeCampi’s “Semiautomagic”
• Peter Tomasi and Keith Champagne’s “The Mighty” drawn by Leonard Kirk
• Ed Brisson’s “Murder Book” with Declan Shalvey, Michael Walsh, and more
• Shannon Wheeler’s “Too Much Coffee Man”

by David Nieves

DC’s final C2E2 panel focused on Superman featuring the talent line up of Greg Pak, Aaron Kuder, with Scott Snyder and Charles Soule coming in a little late. Much of Superman’s 2014 was discussed along with Scott’s heart felt goodbye to Superman Unchained.

First up was Action Comics with Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder. The scene in issue 30 was shown where Doomsday kills polar bears. Pak went on to talk about how much fun he’s having writing Action and that issue 30 was a prelude to the “Doomed” storyline. He promised in the upcoming storyline we’d see “enormous comic book fights like you’ve never seen before.” 

Pak and Soule were both excited about writing Steel in the crossover. Soule noted him as,” someone who is trying to become Superman through his own ingenuity.” The story had been in the works for eight months and the creators promised individual books will still make sense and not ignore their own casts, but promised a rich overall story if you do read them all.

Kuder made it a point to make sure the audience knows that this is not a retelling of Superman vs. Doomsday from the 90′s. Pak expanded on that by saying, “it has a bigger new emotional arc that wasn’t there before.” He did get a pop from the crowd when he promised to have Krypto in the story. 

Soule then talked about Superman/Wonder Woman. Issue 7, on stands now, gives Clark and Diana a moment of calm before the storm of Doomed shakes everything up. The series crossover issues will have guest stars. Lois Lane and Batman show up in issue 8, while Lois will return in issue 10 for a confrontation with Wonder Woman. Pak also announced there will be a Batman/Superman issue as part of the crossover which was not announced previously.

Scott Snyder started to talk about Superman Unchained. Which began with Snyder apologizing for the delays on the book. “We decided it was better to be a little late and let Jim just go to town on it.” He also announced that issue 8 and 9 would include extra pages. Lee has just finished issue 7 and it comes out in May, taking the Wraith character even further. Snyder called him a doppleganger of Superman’s early years. Lois Lane will also be a big part of Superman Unchained 7 and 8, this is now turning into the Summer of Lois. He finished by thanking everyone for giving him the opportunity to work on the other most iconic character of his career. 

Superman 32 was also talked about, which will debut the creative team of Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr. It will mark JRJR’s first DC work and this line up is part of the effort to make the Superman line “stronger than ever.” Moderator John Cunningham noted that Dan DiDio believes his whole line is only, “as strong as the Superman line.”

Fan Q&A rounded out the panel. No additional details or story tidbits were dropped, but when the panel was asked who would win in an all-out brawl between every Superman version? Snyder snapped in with “Batman”, to a lot of laughs from the room. He did also say that his favorite version of Superman was the Bruce Timm animated series.

With that DC’s final panel of C2E2 came to a close.

It’s happening, hurrah! Marvel have today announced the news that Greg Pak and Victor Ibanez will be the creative team for a Storm ongoing series. Starting this July, the series will see the character take off around the world on a one-woman peacekeeping mission. She’ll be toppling corrupt governments, stopping natural disasters – it sounds like she’ll be literally the greatest hero on the planet.

The series is set around the idea that the character – who has never had an ongoing series before, can you believe it – will be going proactive. Whereas for Cyclops and Wolverine this meant forming murder-teams and messing everything up, Storm’s mission is to help the planet in every way she can. By reaching her fullest potential and helping mankind, she’ll provide herself as a sort of mutant icon for everybody to look up to. And, when your idol is a mutant, it becomes a lot harder to be, y’know, anti-mutant.

So my goal today, after a scant five hours of sleep, was to stroll Artist Alley and find some cool stuff.

Oh, and attend Jimmy Palmiotti’s panel.  More on that below…

As soon as I hit Aisle V (the closest to front of the hall), two things hit me:

1. IDW and Boom have ruined MoCCA Fest and other small press shows.  Indie cartoonists now have huge fan followings after producing licensed titles.  Katie Cook, had a nice line of fans waiting for a My Little Pony sketch.  There are others using that cred to make a living and sell merchandise at their tables.   That quiet little show you used to enjoy might soon be overrun by mainstream fans.
2. The Aw Yeah Comics group has a nice roster of cartoonists drawing lots of stuff for their comics.  Art and Franco continue to produce lots of stuff in their signature style (including a new Tiny Titans series), as well as retail comics in Skokie.

Early on the show floor, I heard a rumor that ticket pre-sales were 68,000.  That’s a huge number for C2E2, which reported 53K and 40K attendance the previous two years.  Was the floor crowded?  Yes.  Was it difficult to move around?  No.  I was able to crowd surf with ease, except for a few aisles in Artist Alley.

In addition to the show choir competition in the Lakeside building, there is a medical convention in the West Hall for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.  Yes, I will refrain from any witty remarks.

Just a sec…  gotta empty the totes bag and refresh my memory…

• Alaxis Press has published their first volume in The Obscure Cities series, continuing on from the volumes published and translated by NBM.  The book is eclectic… there are traditional BD pages, and then there are fumetti.  The edition is translated by Stephen D. Smith, and he described the publishing strategy, which includes numerous supplemental works, including an actual map!  Think “Sunderland”, but even more ambitious!
• Janet Lee had a limited number of “Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome“.  It started as a Twitter serial, was illustrated before “Dapper Men”.
• Alex Saviuk, artist on the Spider-Man comic strip, had a pile of original art.  One page was from a Captain America asthma comic, but the price was outside my budget.

And then, at 2:45, I attended the inaugural “Listen to Jimmy” panel!  Jimmy Palmiotti moderated, and was joined by Amanda Conner, Cully Hamner, Nicola Scott, and Jill Thompson.  Jimmy threw out crazy oddball questions, and it was a fun panel, quickly going off the rails and involving the audience, like a good cocktail party conversation.  Highlights:

• Stan Lee’s brief career as a pin-up model.  (Yes, nude.  Covered, so I’ve been told, by a copy of the Batman/Hulk treasury edition.)  Bow ckicka WOW.
• The worst comics that each worked on?  Jill Thompson could not handle the detailed scripts for Black Orchid.  She also had problems with the X-File characters.  Fox didn’t like how well she drew Mulder and Scully, not realizing that Fox did not want to pay the actors for using their likenesses in the comic.  Conner hated Barbie, as Mattel would not allow her a greater range of expression.  Scott mentioned Lion King, particularly a troublesome cover where she finally traced Simba from a model sheet, only to have Disney reject it as not good enough.  Palmiotti mentioned Strange Days, a book due in 48 hours, which led into a discussion about Jack Kirby’s speed.
• Jack Kirby used a rocking chair in front of his drawing desk.  Better egonomics?
• Nicola Scott was asked about the differences between Australia and the U.S.  Her reply: coffee here sucks.  Coffee culture in Australia was suffused with Greek and Italian immigrants post-war, while American coffee is watered down.  She mentioned two good examples of coffee: a boutique hotel near the Museum of Sex in NYC, and the Mud Truck usually found in Astor Place.
• Jill Thompson described her worst airplane experience, best described as “crop dusting in an airplane”.  There was further discussion as to why people become flatulent as a plane makes its final approach to landing.
• Jill Thompson also described a Mystique cosplayer who left some body/booty paint on her table at one convention.  Thompson saw more than she cared to…
• If you are going to get an artist’s work tattooed on your body, let the artist know.  There are a few tattoos in fandom which were quick sketches…

Afterwords, I suggested future professionals Jimmy could invite into this “meeting of the minds”.  If convention organizers are crazy enough to let him hold another panel, do attend!

The rest of the show…

I stopped by the First Comics booth, and met the Fillbach Brothers again.  I had briefly met them at a library show in DC many years ago, and they showed me four of their titles (one not yet published).  Their style is very abstract, yet cinematographic and stark.

As we got to chatting, I discovered that they, too, are Omaha expatriots, leaving about the same time I did!  We even shopped at the same comics shop back in the day!  We even knew the same people!

They now reside in Las Vegas, so we’ll meet up again at the library show at the end of June!

The rest of the day was spent wandering a few more aisles, mostly retailers.  When I attend conventions, retailers usually have the latest hot titles on sale.  Could I find a copy of Ms. Marvel #1?  Not yet.  Didn’t it go to a second printing?  I found other recent “New Now” titles, but not that one…

Okay.  That’s done!  I’ve got my second wind, and I’m headed back to Bar-Con.  It’s 11 PM.  Tomorrow is Sunday.  Life is good.