Chicago Comicon: A Tale of Two Cons (Part Three)
Hello again, one and all. I’m back for this final day to wrap up my thoughts on the 2010 Chicago Comic Con, as presented by Wizard. See what they did there? Fooled you. Same way we all don’t know Xfiniity is actually Comcast, and Fox News is actually Satan’s News Network. When we last left off, I’d given a fairly positive review of the dealer floor. While it feels like the Swap-O-Rama had a child with that creepy guy who shows up at the comic store in sweatpants and an original 1978 Incredible Hulk shirt stained with brown mustard… the dealer floor offers a plethora of deals, steals, and hard-to-find collectibles that you’d just not find if not for the gaping square footage of a convention hall. With that said, it’s time we wrap up this little tour of the “Big-Con-That-Could… but didn’t.”
I want to start this final day’s wrap up with a little pull-quote from Wizard concerning former Illinois Governor Rod “1 count of fraud is better than 24” Blagojevich, and his attendance on Saturday.
“Wizard
World Chicago Comic Con is all about pop culture, and Rod Blagojevich is
as relevant to today’s news as it gets,” said Gareb Shamus, CEO of
Wizard Entertainment. “We think the court of public opinion will show
him to be a popular figure at the show.”
I couldn’t state it any better folks. Wizard World Chicago Comic Con is all about ‘pop culture’. Never mind that COMIC is in the title. Never mind that a SINGLE comic book publisher showed on the “exhibitor floor”. Never mind that the same floor was dominated by C, D, and Z level celebrities. Gareb Shamus has turned a show that once was the San Diego Comic Con of the Mid-West into a glorified flea market and three ring circus. I lamented earlier that for me, the meat and potatoes of a convention comes in it’s programming and exhibitors. At this con, the main floor boasted booths for everything BUT comics. In fact, aside from Avatar’s presence, a con goer walking into the show floor may not even reach an actual book until the dealer room. And with panels ranging from iPhone game demos to a “celebration of die-cast car collecting” … they might as well do themselves a favor and take COMIC out of the title. In all honesty, as a comic book fan, I resent that a casual con goer would think what they saw in that hall was a representation of what comic fans like.
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.
Due to Comic-Con and, frankly, the economy, 
The 2009 
It’s official. The last big holdout has made it to Apple products.
Richard “Rik” Levins, a penciller for well over a hundred comic books, passed away June 12, 2010. He died peacefully at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Levins was born on October 15, 1950, in Somerville, New Jersey. He is survived by his wife Sandra, nieces Robin and Lynn, nephew Robert, and great-nephews Kenneth and Johnathan.
