Chicago Comic-Con '09: Thursday

Oh boy! I've been waiting over a year for this event. Wizard World Chicago has been renamed Chicago Comic-Con, but it felt like there wasn't a lot to do with comics. The past two years the Marvel and DC booths have been the main attraction. They've each offered the best signatures, freebies, and reveals year after year. This year, after an hour on the floor, it became obvious that neither company has a location. The lack of these attractions has made more room for not so exciting booths, media arts schools, energy drinks and razors. The event has a lot more video game and movie attractions than ever before, possibly outnumbering the comic exhibitors. This could lead to more attention for artist alley, which has always been a gold mine of good stuff. The vendor section of the con has already exploded with awesome deals. Some have random trades for $5 bucks already, others offering great deals on hard covers and omnibuses as well. George Perez was already doing signatures early Thursday,which was uplifting. Tomorrow begins the rush for signings, panels and demos. Despite these gripes, the event has been euphoric and enjoyable. More news tomorrow.