Sharon's Muse

Sharon's Muse.... Let's chat over coffee while I ponder some things

About Me

My Meez

My First Comic Con

So today I went to the Chicago Comic Con held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. It was a unique experience that was both exciting and disappointing. First of all, I am somewhat of a sci-fi fan. Let's say I'm more Eureka than Firefly, more Being Human (UK version) than Dr. Who. And I'm one of the few who can be impressed by B and C-list actors. Still it was great to see an A-lister, mainly Zachary Quinto aka the new Mr. Spock.

Getting there on public trans entailed three trains and a hotel shuttle but I didn't mind. That was how determined I was to attend. I met up with my friend Loree and we both wound up waiting almost 45 minutes to be registered (and that was with pre-paid tickets). And here is where the disappointment came in. After months of trying to determine the best day to go, I chose today, Saturday, because seemingly everybody in the sci-fi/comic/fantasy world would be present. I particularly wanted to see Manu Bennett (aka Crixus from Spartacus). Again, I had been mapping who would be there when and it was only last night when I saw the schedule. Manu would have a face-to-face session with fans from 12 noon to 12:45. Unfortunately, my friend and I had already made plans to meet at the door between 12:15 and 12:30. And time management being funny, even though we got there in time, the whole registration didn't end until after 1 p.m. Which meant that I would not get to see Manu. Oh well, maybe next year.

The session with Zachary Quinto was fun and informative. Greatest question posed was by a young girl who queried why Spock seemed more upset by the death of Kirk in Star Trek: Into Darkness than he had by the death of his mother in the first movie. Everybody applauded at the child's astute insight and for a second Quinto seemed to have to really think about it. But he came back with an equally astute answer, namely that in the first incarnation Spock had been wrestling with his humanity and therefore wouldn't have succumbed to obvious human emotions. The Spock of Into Darkness was gradually accepting the humanity he had denied himself in the first movie. Forty-five minutes of presentation followed by a Q and A session was hardly enough.

Loree and I then attended a panel on Dr. Who (her thing, not mine as mentioned before). The big news is the umpteenth actor to portray Dr. Who and how the series retains its freshness by the cast turnover. The Q and A session seemed more a testimonial of favorite episodes than it was an opportunity to query about the series.

After the session, we walked around to find two particular artists with booths in the Artist Alley section whom Loree had met several cons ago. We found them as well as others. There were artists and comic books aficionados. There were cosplayers in way out costumes. One particular giant of a monster caught me capturing him with my camera and approached me. I waved him away. I do not take kindly to creatures with several feet on me and a face that would scare the mama of Godzilla. (check him in the background of the 1st pic below)

Although I didn't see any of the stars touted on the Convention website, I had a good enough time to consider going again. By the way, Starbucks there is way expensive. Par for the course.

Below are some shots I managed to get (some cosplayers were nice enough to pose for us).