A fun weekend was had by all nerds this past July 7-10 at Fan Expo Chicago, (which was formally Wizard World Comic Con) 2022! Fan Expo was chock full of fun stuff, vendors, comic artists, cosplay, photo ops, and celebs!

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The floor was pretty big this year and packed with vendors and artists. I was happy to see that Stylin tee-shirts was back! They always have great shirts and hats. Other vendors I recognised was TeeTurtle, Squishable, Graham Cracker Comics, Chicago Costume, and a bunch of others. There were also a ton of local venders as well selling comics, toys, candy, 3D printed stuff, cosplay weapons and items, all kinds of stuff! I was hoping to see more video game vendors, those seem to be lacking at these cons for some reason, but I did buy a game from Press Start games New England.

I also purchased some drawings and art from Artist Alley cuz you have to support your local artists! I bought some video game art from Nick Lanza and Bun Leung also bought a hand crafted bag from Maps and Scraps, they take old tee shirts and fabric and make it into new things.

And don’t forget the celebs! Fan Expo housed several actors and voice actors alike from video games and movies. Lord of the Rings fans were happy to meet the four main Hobbits of the movie, and fans of the Clerks 1 and 2 movies also got to meet Jay and Silent Bob as well as Dante and Randel, even little Elias was there. Riker, Beverly Crusher, and Q were there for the Star Trek Next Gen fans, and lots of Star Wars people as well. I was very upset when Dante Basco who played Rufio in my favorite movie Hook had to cancel but it happens! 

Fan Expo also held several panels where fans could ask their favorite stars questions and hear more about them and what happened behind the scenes. There were also several sets for photo ops and stuff like the Jurassic Park and Ghostbusters car. There was also a small haunted tent attraction for those who dared to enter! I did not go in unfortunately as I ran out of time. 

What was also nice is they had a kids area where they could color or build block structures to take a break from the chaos of the event (and adults too!) Board games were also set up to test out and play and there were gaming tournaments as well. 

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Overall, I think Fan Expo did great for its first show in Chicago and I hope to see more video game vendors in the following ones because gamers are nerds too! I give the con 4 outta 5 baby dragons. 

If you missed it this year don’t worry because Fan Expo Chicago 2023 is already in the works! Check out more info here https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpochicago/. Happy Cons to all!