FAN EXPO Chicago 2023: From a Certain Point of View issue #4

It has been precisely 5 days since the conclusion of FAN EXPO Chicago 2023. The electric atmosphere, buzzing fandom, and phenomenal panels have all faded into echoes of the past.

As your memories start to shift, they begin to alter the experience(s) that you had. It might be as subtle as a change in shadow or even slight alterations in sound. Whatever the memory shift is it is not the original way that it happened. This is precisely why I take photos — to eternally preserve the moments that breathe life into the real memories of days gone by, and to preserve those moments because nothing lasts forever.

So, dear friends, let me guide you through my 4-day adventure the way that I saw it. And perhaps, just perhaps, you will start to recall…

Thursday

My first photo inside the Con floor. Those steps hold deep memories since the old Wizard World days

The showow map was the only center piece to the Con. They need something better. Something that screams THIS IS WHERE YOU WANT TO BE!

My daughter was looking around wildly. Everything was new and fresh for her.

People buzzing. I was smiling at this point. I’m here.

I always head to the right. It’s generally where the comics are. The ceiling is interesting. I remember when the big pubs had signs hanging…

We found the Star Wars spot! My daughter is a blur. She wanted to get out of the stroller to see the props

I told her to look not touch. Instantly made me the villain!

Always with teddy. She was distracted by a cosplayer

The charity group had a Barbie dress up photo op. Great way to connect with cosplayers!

We found the family zone. It was in the hallway area where they host panels. Big room. Decent amount of activities. Coloring, stickers, Legos, and connect four.

The Turned comic and coffee booth. Solid solid solid coffee. My daughter was trying to talk with the vendors son.

This lasted for about 10 minutes before she started putting the pieces down and playing the floor is lava.

My daughter got a free sketch from the talented Joe Wos. He asked what was her favorite animal. She flapped her arms an said mermaid. 😂

They had a mermaid outfit. Caroline loved it.

Back at the eating area. She’s is getting her close-up

Fun photo. She was getting cranky at this point.

She’s out. I was looking through long boxes when the vendor told me she was out cold. My neck was hurting bad at this point. Really bad. Thursday is ended

FRIDAY

I love going through these long boxes. It’s very tactile experience and very audibly pleasant one as well.

Victory Comics is a must every year. Found a lot of my Liefeld here.

Creator Dan Conner is a super cool guy 😎

Horror writers association booth! Took courage to talk but very informative when I did

While talking with vendors my neck was on fire. Pinched nerve ruined me. I literally went upstairs and laid down behind a pole I found.

After recovering I found Godzilla worth a G.

The venom statue is one of those statues that I go “looks cool but who has this in their house?”

Sitting on the Klaus Janson panel. Very friendly. Gave me a friendly push to keep going with writing.

Went to the lobby bar to grab a beverage. They were playing Batman v Superman! Batfleck forever

The Flash panel. They have such great chemistry it’s insane.

Sit down to do a little bit of writing. At this point my neck and shoulder was flaring up again.

Deadpool. This guy said he had some sort of interaction with Rob Liefeld. Neat!

Last thing I saw before leaving. Friday was jammed. Over 10 miles of walking.

I had to own this. It’s one of those things 😆

Saturday

I got here around 1030am. I went straight to the Frank Miller line. It was already pretty darn huge. As I was waiting the Kubert school was doing a tutorial.

As I started to move this was the last shot I took before getting TDKR signed

Frank and Klause. It’s really hard to explain how I felt when getting the signed. I truly felt like I was in the presence of an creative icon. I met a guy in line who had a bunch of autographs from some pretty amazing creators like Jim Lee, etc. We went together to grab Klaus’s autograph.

Buzzing in awe I walked around and found these prose books. Bought a stack of them.

Leatherface representing the horror fans. I was very pleasantly happy to see him. My horror fandom has definitely waned but I think it’s slowly coming back.

I really wanted a photo of Scarlett Witch but this satisfied. Amazing work!

HWA panel post second Frank Miller signing. I was hurting again. Sat on the floor. Panel was really good. Made me realize how simple horror is for people.

Ran back to get Sin City signed. This book is the start of my real creativity. It took me almost a half hour to find it on the show floor. Thank God I did!

And the Saturday finale – the Frank Miller panel. Absolutely breathtaking listening to him talk about his creative process.

Sunday

This year I didn’t do a toy dive. My best bud was looking at the old marvel figs. I love his take because he was there when these originally hung on the pegs

DVDs. I was telling my friend that I really missed physical media like this. When we first used to go to Wizard World I would always look through these. It’s very tactile experience.

And soon enough Fan Expo closes. I never stayed while people were packing it was an interesting experience. A little somber for me because I spent 4 days here.

So, that’s it. That’s the Con from a fan point of view. I hope you enjoyed this little trip with me.

Until next time.

One response to “FAN EXPO Chicago 2023: From a Certain Point of View issue #4”

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