Wizard World Chicago
Saturday, August 2nd, 2008Yes, I am a slacker! Wizard World Chicago took place from June 26-29 and I am just now getting around to posting about it. Needless to say I have been super busy. Remodeling parts of the house and freelance assignments have kept me working long hours. My latest freelance project is something for Target. It’s a lot of fun and I can’t wait to eventually share it with all of you.
Okay, back to the Chicago comic-con. Every year, my three kids and I take the trip down to Chicago to attend the convention and meet all the cool people in amazing costumes, buy lots of comic books and toys, eat greasy pizza, and catch up with some artist buddies. The highlight of our trip every year is meeting Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani of Patrick the Wolfboy fame, and most recently Tiny Titans. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but these two guys have consistently made great comics for kids of all ages, and even big kids like myself. It’s great to see their work growing in popularity. The lines of people to meet them were rivaling lines for Jim Lee, er okay, maybe not that many people, but they did have quite a crowd.
My kids really get a kick out of all the people wearing costumes. Each year, the costumes seem to get more and more elaborate. The Predator roaming the convention floor gets my vote for coolest costume this year. The amount of detail just blew my mind. It was actually scary looking, especially since the guy wearing the suit was tall and menacing. A lot of hours went into making that costume and it really showed. It must have been over a hundred degrees in that suit though. It was hot as usual in the convention. I can’t imagine how tiring it was for this guy to walk around in that costume all day.
And ofcourse there were Star Wars characters galore. Darth Maul, Princess Leia, Jawas, All kinds of Jedis, about 20 million Stormtroopers (okay, maybe not that many) … there were people in Star Wars garb everywhere. My son was so excited. It was like stepping into a Star Wars movie. With more and more comic conventions putting porn stars on their rosters and retailers displaying stuff that is completely inappropriate for children, the folks walking around the convention dressed as your favorite super hero/heroine or sci-fi/fantasy character really deserve a lot of praise for making the show enjoyable for children.
Star Wars, Simpsons, Batman, Batgirl, Catwoman, Tiny Titans, Archie Comics, etc. We do love comic books in this family. We also met Lou Ferrigno, a.k.a the Incredible Hulk. I grew up watching the Incredible Hulk TV show, so meeting Mr. Ferrigno was a thrill. The guy looks just as strong today as he did back then, it’s amazing! He was a super nice guy, too.
After the show, the kids and I met up with a friend and his family who live in the Chicago area and I was able to catch up with my buddy and his wife while the kids all played the rest of the night. After a three hour ride back to Milwaukee due to construction (it normally takes 1 hour), we finally got home close to midnight, exhausted but happy with another successful trip to Wizard World Chicago. I can’t wait for next year!
My kids and I are big Patrick the Wolf Boy fans. Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani have been paying their dues for a long time creating the PTWB comic, among others. Being a fan of their work, it was great news to find out that DC Comics has asked them to create a comic called “Tiny Titans,” their own take on Teen Titans. The catch is that Art and Franco plan to keep it super clean and little-kid friendly. And since my kids are big Teen Titans fans, they are bouncing off the walls with happiness. And that’s normally the kind of excitement reserved for the release of Boo-Berry cereal during the Halloween season.
