Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) 2023

C2E2 was the very first comic book/pop culture convention that I attended, back in 2010.

That was also C2E2’s first year.

And, like most conventions, it’s changed quite a bit in that time. Some ways for the better, and some where I wish they’d go back to their roots.

My favorite memory from that year was an SDCC-esque panel for The Cleveland Show, featuring a Q&A with Mike Henry, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Rich Appel, as well as a full episode screening.

To my knowledge, they haven’t really done anything like that since, which is a real shame.

Obviously, it requires coordination with different parties, and isn’t something C2E2 organizers can pull off single-handedly, but it’s disappointing that they seem to have abandoned that idea entirely to become just another convention.

Sure, they get big names for signings and panels (one of this year’s big guests is Chris Evans), but they’re still your normal convention signings and panels. It doesn’t have that same feel of attending or witnessing something truly special.

But, as I said, there’s been positive changes, too.

As I mentioned, they’ve putting a lot of focus and effort into getting bigger name guests with more current big name projects than were the norm 13 years ago. In addition to Chris Evans, this year’s guest list includes Tenoch Huerta (“Namor” in last year’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and Kathryn Newton (“Cassie Lang” in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, currently in theaters).

Even the stars of X-Men: The Animated Series on this year’s roster are scheduled to reprise their roles in X-Men ‘97 on Disney+ later this year.

Prior years’ guest lists have also included the likes of Paul Rudd and Mark Ruffalo.

On its face, that’s a pretty big departure from 2010’s big headliner: Carrie Fisher, who, at that time, was still several years away from returning to the role that made her famous.

But, as much as one can (and should) give C2E2, and parent company ReedPop, credit, that’s also due to a change in the overall convention landscape.

Take a listen to this song from Tom Wilson (best known as “Biff” from Back to the Future).

As much as I disagree with the nature of that take, I can’t argue that it was not unpopular among both celebrities and the general public. For years, it was (again, extremely wrongfully in my opinion) seen as worthy of derision to spend a weekend on either side of a convention table—either signing your name for money or lining up to pay for the same.

But over the past several years, that’s started to shift, alongside the popularity of superheroes, comic books, and the like.

So while C2E2 and parent company ReedPop certainly deserve credit for what they’ve been able to pull off these last few years—Chris Evans, Paul Rudd, and Mark Ruffalo aren’t doing conventions every weekend or signing at other shows in the area—they wouldn’t have been able to do it if these big names didn’t now see a day or weekend signing their name for $200+ per signature as a worthy use of their time.

With that panel for The Cleveland Show, I don’t know the economics of it. I don’t know if the convention paid them or it came out of Fox’s promotional budget, as they were there to promote the show. But I do know that they didn’t charge us a cent, even when they stayed after to sign for everyone in attendance.

It’s easy to see why someone like Chris Evans might want to spend a weekend in Chicago when his $250 each autograph tickets sold out in a matter of minutes.

It’s a lot harder to see why the stars and producer of a Fox primetime animated series (even one as less than ideally received as The Cleveland Show would come out for one night just to show us an episode, answer our questions, and give us autographs and photos with them, while costing those of us in attendance nothing more than the price of admission to the convention.

And that’s what made it so special.