The stars of one of 2023’s best films so far, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3! (Full disclosure: Mantis and Drax — in Holiday Special gear! — are official Friends of MCC.)
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
It’s that time again! This weekend my wife Anne and I attended the second edition of Fan Expo Chicago at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in the suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. Last year they arose from the ashes of the late Wizard World Chicago, which we attended eleven times and whose already-shaky financial standings didn’t fare any better during the pandemic. Fan Expo threw such a great inauguration party, and invited such a staggering guest list this time that we agreed an encore was in order.
Before we attempt any real storytime, let’s do mandatory cosplay photos!
And now, the other half of all the cosplay pics taken by us two aging geeks whenever we weren’t trapped in lines or off resting our weary bones somewhere. Enjoy! Again!
Miles Morales and Miles Morales, apropos of the Spider-Verse.
Spider-person role call! Clockwise from top left: Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Ham, Young Aunt May, Gwenom, Spider-Gwen, and the (non-Marvel) White Widow.
The short-lived ’90s Spider-Armor and Zombie Iron Man.
Benjamin J. Grimm, the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing.
TV’s Loki and his brother Thor.
Remember when Deadpool variants were all the rage? So hey, it’s Vacationpool!
Spider-Man’s old foe Mysterio had a booth in Artists Alley under the name Kevin Johnson, whose stuff is up on Instagram.
Shifting gears from Marvel to DC: it’s Batman, Robin, and Alfred!
Hawkgirl and Ra’s Al-Ghul.
Harley Quinn taken captive by The Batman Who Laughs from Dark Nights: Metal.
Robotman from the Doom Patrol, staying totally in TV character.
(Beyond this point we switch from themed character groupings to miscellaneous cosplay free-for-all!)
We’ve met Bobby Hill before, but this is a much better photo than last time.
Powdered Toast Man from The Ren & Stimpy Show.
Invader Zim!
Who Wore the Air Better: Pikachu…
…or Garfield?
Casey Jones, old friend of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
One of the nefarious members of Organization XIII from the Kingdom Hearts series.
Two of our Sunday morning autograph line compatriots: Clover the Fairy (whose cosplay work is on Instagram and on Facebook) and Arwen holding some nifty, autographed sheet-music art.
From the world of Mario and Luigi, online and in-game: Super Crown Piranhette and a classic Piranha Plant.
King Kandy from Candy Land. Yes, that Candy Land.
Jim Carrey’s The Mask with a Doug Mahnke head.
Remember those styling-head kits for kids? A few Hollywood folks could use some practice with one of these.
Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!
Comedy legend Lucy Ricardo!
A Hot Pocket, giving me college flashbacks.
Apropos of Fan Expo Chicago’s guest list, it’s a fun mash-up of Blue’s Clues and Back to the Future. Thrill as Steve McFly collects clues in his Handy DandeLorean!
If you’re reading this after 2023, never forget this show was held during the dual strikes of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. We’ll wade into that in Part 3.
To be continued! Other chapters in this very special MCC miniseries:
Part 1: Cosplay!
Part 3: Stars and Strikes
Part 4: Comics, Shopping, and Other Hobbies
Epilogue: The Food After the Fan Expo Chicago 2023 End Credits
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Midlife Crisis Crossover! 