Twice the fun in one year. Chicago just got a special early preview of the Wizard World Comic Con months before the annual August event one comes around. For the first time Wizard World put on a special Fan Fest Chicago Comic Con at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.
The best part of this event was that it was an actual fan appreciation two day event that had a $15 admission on Saturday or Sunday. That’s far less than you would be paying to attend a regular Wizard World event.
This was a much smaller show than the regular yearly event in August. Everything was on one floor. Photo ops, autographs, vendors, panels, and interactive events. The advantage of that set-up is everything is in close proximity, however the negative would be that it’s crowded.
What I particularly enjoyed about this Fan Fest is that for the first time at a Wizard World convention they had a gaming section. A special section loaded with all the classic arcades. The Simpsons, classic WWF, Contra, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Donkey Kong, Street Fighter, it was there in one spot. The best part about the arcade section was that it was completely free to play. This needs to be part of all the Wizard conventions going forward.
The list of celebrity guests who attended was pretty good for a smaller event like this one. Among the attendees were Norman Reedus, Taryn Manning, Rick Cosnett, Caity Lotz, Tracey Gold, Drea de Matteo, and David Faustino. Special thanks to Jerry Milani for arranging the interviews with Rick Cosnett, Dre, Taryn, Tracy, and David Faustino.
I actually enjoyed the more compact version of the event. As always the cosplay enthusiasts were presents, although not as many as you would see at a regular Wizard convention.
Overall, it was a neat smaller version of the Wizard World comic con. It’s good to see Chicago get the Fan Fest first. I believe the number of people who attended was noticeably smaller due to the spontaneous announcement of the event. Looking forward to the August, when Wizard World comes back to Chicago for a huge weekend featuring Ben McKenzie, Robin Lord Taylor, Stephen Amell, Tobin Bell, and Nathan Fillion will be scheduled to attend.
Up next, Wizard World heads to Las Vegas April 24-26th.
