Hey there loyal reader – it is with some pretty mixed reviews that I bring you my overall review of Wizard World Chicago, now called the Chicago Comic-Con. The buzz around the con was that the name change is due to some financial situations that no one was too keen to talk about. So from here on out, it is the Chicago Comic Con.

The most notable bit of strangeness is the glaring absence of big publishers Dark Horse, DC/Vertigo, IDW, Image, Marvel, and many many others who have multi-page sections in Previews. This brought a most defiant lull to the overall feel of the con. Where last year there was a 12-foot Hulk statue, there now was a ticket table to the copious amounts of celebrity signings. When asking around to the big question of why this happened, Jim McCann from Marvel had this to say,

“I can’t speak for other companies, but I can assure you that Marvel has no feud or disagreement with Wizard. If we did, we wouldn’t be here. We were flown out to be here, representing Marvel. If there were any truth to rumors that we’re having some sort of fight, we wouldn’t be doing panels and making sure we had the talent we have here.”


Some people are chalking this up to the current crap state of this country’s economy. While others believe that while the big companies do not have beef with Wizard, many of the individual creators do. Yet another popular rumor is the lack of huge comic talent does not reflect the financial angst of the big publishers, but of Wizard Publishing itself. With the buzz being created of the up coming C2E2 convention, lots of fans are left wondering if Wizard will throw in the towel on the largest convention in the Midwest?

So what was great about the con? Since all the big publishers were gone, all of the small press and Artists Alley were given the attention they deserve. There were great showings of both art and story this year that I can’t wait to dig into and let you know about (coming soon). The other section that seemed to do well was the retailer section. With less to walk around in see in the main section of the convention floor, the geek took their wallets to the hundreds of sale tables. Even I decided to splurge on a Yoda cookie jar for my kitchen. Lots of really great sales and arm loads of merchandise could be seen.

But even with the cool small press things happening, this was just not the same with so much missing. And if all the rumors are true, then it was more like watching an old friend slowly die. Actually, I take that back. It was more like watching an old friend stop trying to live.

Here are the pics of some of the great people we met!