A Frame of Reference for Effervescent Irreverence

Us+MeTV!

The week of recovery after our three-day Wizard World Chicago experience has been filled with work stress, illness, and the usual post-convention depression that strikes so many geeks once we’ve disconnected from our peers and returned to the mundane world where fewer people get us. I’ve been dedicating little spare time to rest and recuperation, and more time to uploading photos and sharing anecdotes and memories from the experience so I can prolong the magic for as long as possible, but here at the new weekend it’s left me drained and inattentive and sloppy. I’ve made stupid miscalculations, I spilled drinks twice today, and I’ve used up all the really good non-drowsy sinus medicine in the house. At this point, if I could get Calgon to take me away and get Ronald McDonald to affirm I deserve a break today, their combined corporate forgiveness might just be enough to make me feel well again.

In reviewing my files the other night, I realized I overlooked a photo that belonged in our shiny happy Wizard World Chicago jazz hands assortment that kicked off the current MCC miniseries. I’m still working on the concluding chapter, the extra-length wrap-up with notes from the panels we attended, name-checks for the comic book creators we met, and various notes about the pros and cons, and about the pros at the con. It won’t be done tonight for excuses stated above, but the least I can do is share our accidental outtake.

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Wizard World Chicago 2016 Photos, Part 6 of 7: Objects of Affection

Jedi Anne!

My wife Anne, cosplaying Casual Friday at the Jedi Temple.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I spent this weekend at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we generally had a blast surrounded by fellow fans of comics and genre TV/movies even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after three days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things.

In this penultimate gallery: a look at the cool stuff around the show floor — a little bit of merchandise including snacks, plus a wide selection of the famous replica vehicles parked around the place like it was America’s biggest geek car show.

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Wizard World Chicago 2016 Photos, Part 5: Last Call for Cosplay!

Aku Aku and Uka Uka!

Your greeters for today: Uka Uka and Aku Aku, the sentient floating voodoo power masks from ye olde Crash Bandicoot series.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I spent this weekend at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we generally had a blast surrounded by fellow fans of comics and genre TV/movies even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after three days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things.

In this episode: all the cosplay that’s fit to post. One last round of WWC 2016 costumes before we move on to other aspects of the con and site traffic resumes its normal levels once I stop mentioning cosplay. And now, we rejoin cosplay, already in progress — from the worlds of animation, video games, movies, TV, and Cool-Looking Characters We Don’t Recognize.

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Wizard World Chicago 2016 Photos, Part 4: Star Wars and Sci-Fi Cosplay!

Palpatine for Emperor!

“Vote for me and I vow there shall be a grand inquisition regarding the contents of Mon Mothma’s email inbox!”

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I spent this weekend at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we generally had a blast surrounded by fellow fans of comics and genre TV/movies even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after three days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things.

In this episode: Star Wars cosplay! Always a popular choice, especially now that The Force Awakens gave fans several dozen more characters to choose from, though they’re really only basing costumes on three or four of them at best. Also, we welcome envoys from other science fiction universes who insist there’s more to life than lightsabers and cutesy, merchandisable aliens.

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Wizard World Chicago 2016 Photos, Part 3: Marvel Comics Cosplay!

Gamora + Nebula!

Gamora and Nebula, like the Thelma and Louise of a new generation.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I spent this weekend at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we generally had a blast surrounded by fellow fans of comics and genre TV/movies even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after three days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things.

In Part One, we gave you great moments in comic-con jazz hands. In Part Two, DC Comics cosplay, including a special performance by the Suicide Squad. In this chapter: it’s Marvel’s turn to represent.

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Wizard World Chicago 2016 Photos, Part 2: DC Comics Cosplay!

Suicide Squad!

Who’s killing members of the Suicide Squad? Find out after the break!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I spent this weekend at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we generally had a blast surrounded by fellow fans of comics and genre TV/movies even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after three days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things.

In the first of our mandatory cosplay galleries, from the heart of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center we focus on the ubiquitous citizens of the DC Comics Universe — most, but not all, from the adjunct DC Cinematic Universe, including a special spotlight on a fun, silent skit we saw go down Sunday afternoon in the main lobby, in which Our Heroes from that recent #1 film meet an unstoppable force from another comic-book universe.

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Our Wizard World Chicago 2016 Jazz Hands Gallery

Daredevil Trio!

If you were Wilson Fisk, would you be heartless enough to drive this fabulous troupe out of business?

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I spent this weekend at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we generally had a blast surrounded by fellow fans of comics and genre TV/movies even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after three days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things. Also, our hotel internet connection was terrible and we had next to no energy left at the end of each evening, so this will be my first time in days typing entire paragraphs in one sitting.

Please enjoy this first of several Wizard World Chicago 2016 photo galleries, beginning with photos costarring us but not taken by us (except one). Longtime MCC fans know when we do photo ops with actors at conventions, our thing is jazz hands. Energy plus showmanship plus unusual shtick equals fun. This year’s special guests were ready and willing and accepted the challenge with gusto.

Pictured above: from the cast of Netflix’s Marvel’s Daredevil, Deborah Ann Woll, Stardust‘s Charlie Cox, and Eldon Henson, a.k.a. Pollux from the last two Hunger Games movies. Woll got it more quickly than the guys did, but they caught up with her.

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Wizard World Chicago 2015 Photos, Part 7 of 7: Why We Convention

Jeremy Renner VIP Badge!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I are at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we’re so far having a blast even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after two days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things…

My wife and I took an okay number of photos over the course of our three-day stay and will once again be sharing the most usable over the next several entries.

Tonight’s episode: the miniseries finale! The panels we saw! The comics pros I met! The winners of the Annual “Convince Me to Spend Money in Artists Alley” contest! The troubles with conventioning while old! And more!

Right this way for one last batch of photos, anecdotes from the weekend, and one (1) costume pic!

Wizard World Chicago 2015 Photos, Part 6 of 7: Cars and Other Objects

KITT!

Anne Golden, a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the powerless, the helpless in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I are at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we’re so far having a blast even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after two days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things…

My wife and I took an okay number of photos over the course of our three-day stay and will once again be sharing the most usable over the next several entries.

Tonight’s episode: famous cars and stuff! Every Wizard World show has a couple of recognizable vehicles from movies and TV, but this year brought in a few newcomers we hadn’t seen in person before. Exhibit A: KITT from Knight Rider. My wife saw many more episodes back in the ’80s than I did and firmly demanded photos with the greatest talking car in pop culture history. (Sorry, Speed Buggy.)

Right this way for more cars, more KITT, more caboodle!

Wizard World Chicago 2015 Photos, Part 5 of 7: Actors We Met

Jeremy Renner!

Wizard World Chicago exclusive: two-time Academy Award Nominee Jeremy Renner sighted in public with a pair of flighty goofballs.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I are at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we’re so far having a blast even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after two days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things…

My wife and I took an okay number of photos over the course of our three-day stay and will once again be sharing the most usable over the next several entries.

Tonight’s episode: RETURN OF THE JAZZ HANDS.

Right this way for more photos of other famous faces that let us within 100 yards this weekend!

Wizard World Chicago 2015 Photos, Part 4 of 7: Last Call for Cosplay

Daft Punk!

Half of Daft Punk welcomes you to the party!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I are at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we’re so far having a blast even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after two days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things…

My wife and I took an okay number of photos over the course of our three-day stay and will once again be sharing the most usable over the next several entries.

Tonight’s episode: all the usable WWC 2015 cosplay photos I didn’t already post. If you’re not here, we’re sorry we missed you. We did the best we could on Friday; we spent most of Saturday in lines; and by Sunday I eased down because I was sick of living life through a narrow viewfinder.

Anyway: yay costumes! Enjoy more!

Right this way for WWC 2015 costumes, one last time!

Wizard World Chicago 2015 Photos, Part 3 of 7: DC vs. Star Wars Cosplay

Freeze + Riddler!

Mandatory Bat-villains: Ms. Freeze and the Riddler! Incredibly, we somehow didn’t photograph a single Joker at WWC this year. Not one.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I are at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we’re so far having a blast even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after two days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things…

My wife and I took an okay number of photos over the course of our three-day stay and will once again be sharing the most usable over the next several entries.

With the average con we usually have enough pics for themed entries of a solid size, but our WWC 2015 results turned out so fractionalized across a number of media, companies, and universes that not much else besides Marvel achieved a real consensus. DC and Star Wars each put in a modest showing, but after using up a few of those in Part 1, both universes fell short of supporting their own independent entries. Hence today’s senseless duplex of an entry. Enjoy!

Right this way for some DC and some Star Wars! Because they’re there!

Wizard World Chicago 2015 Photos, Part 2 of 7: Marvel Cosplay

Ant-Man + Star-Lord!

Teaser pic from the set of Ant-Man vs. Star-Lord: Clash of Hyphens.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I are at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we’re so far having a blast even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after two days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things…

My wife and I took an okay number of photos over the course of our three-day stay and will once again be sharing the most usable over the next several entries.

Tonight’s episode: familiar faces from the Marvel House of Ideas!

Right this way to Make Mine Marvel!

Wizard World Chicago 2015 Photos, Part 1 of 7: Team Cosplay

Team Miyazaki!

Team Miyazaki: Princess Mononoke, Totoro, and Markl from Howl’s Moving Castle!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I are at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we’re so far having a blast even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after two days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things…

My wife and I took an okay number of photos over the course of our three-day stay and will once again be sharing the most usable over the next several entries. Part One kicks off with clusters of themed costumes, because arbitrary categorization helps me organize my thoughts more clearly. I’m not the kind of guy to upload a hundred unlabeled cosplay photos all at once on the go. I’m all about pacing, parceling, staggering, and serializing our experiences for measured reading and perusing. Hence, chapters. Enjoy!

Right this way for more costumes! More cosplayers! More team-ups!

Five Shots from Our Convention Weekend in Progress

WWC Artists Alley Comics 2015!

It’s that time of year again! Anne and I are at Wizard World Chicago in scenic Rosemont, IL, where we’re so far having a blast even though parts of it resemble hard work and our feet feel battle-damaged after two days of endless walking, standing, lining up, shuffling forward in cattle-call formation, and scurrying toward exciting people and things. This year marks our first time splurging on VIP passes for a con as an experiment, and the first time in ten years that we’re attending three full days. We normally make a point of skipping Sundays, but we had multiple reasons for going overboard this once.

Pictured above: my haul so far from their Artists Alley, always an interesting place to scout out new comics and graphic novels. I’m annoying to a lot of folks in there that I tend to avoid prints, posters, sketches-while-I-wait, prose novels, zombies, erotica, amateur manga, and jewelry, but within my annoyingly rigorous shopping guidelines, I can usually find a few items to catch my eye.

Right this way for four more bonus pics while we’re away!

Wizard World Chicago 2014 Photos, Part 7 of 7: the Geek Stuff

Rocket Cookie!

Rocket Raccoon: the Cookie! Northbrook bakery Max and Benny’s had a booth selling cookies shaped like numerous characters and personalities. My wife and I split a cookie shaped like Star-Lord’s head. It was great and I wish we’d bought a few dozen more.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This weekend was that time again: our annual excursion to Rosemont, IL, for Wizard World Chicago. My wife and I took plenty of photos as usual, many of them usable. We’ll be sharing those over the next several entries…

…blah blah blah blah blah. And now it all comes down to this, Part Seven, the not-really-grand finale: non-living objects and items that caught our eyes on the premises.

Right this way for random objects of power!

Wizard World Chicago 2014 Photos, Part 6 of 7: People We Met

Matt Smith!

Yowza!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This weekend was that time again: our annual excursion to Rosemont, IL, for Wizard World Chicago. My wife and I took plenty of photos as usual, many of them usable. We’ll be sharing those over the next several entries…

…and so on. Part Six, then: the actors we met, along with a few folks from the wonderful world of comics.

We saved up for months to bankroll this outing. The guest list blew our minds. Some of them were the the highest-ranking names on my wife’s long-standing autograph want list. A few were people you’d never expect to fly out to the Midwest for pretty much any reason. So we made it work. Costs were cut in other areas of life. Discounts were researched and implemented. We ate cheaply for a while, and we’ll likely continue doing so while we’re catching up after the fact.

Honestly: unless you live in New York, L.A., London, or San Diego, how often in your lifetime will a genuine Doctor of recent vintage appear anywhere within 200 miles of your hometown? So yeah, we took the plunge and met former Doctor Who star Matt Smith for a jolly, five-second photo op. To be honest, the photo-op price was a better deal than his autograph prices.

Right this way for other fine talents…

Wizard World Chicago 2014 Photos, Part 5 of 7: Last Call for Costumes

Grootbusters!

Who ya gonna call? GROOTBUSTERS!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This weekend was that time again: our annual excursion to Rosemont, IL, for Wizard World Chicago. My wife and I took plenty of photos as usual, many of them usable. We’ll be sharing those over the next several entries, but I’m still too fatigued from the experience to figure out how many entries these will take.

Later we determined the correct number is seven entries in all. Part Five is two smaller subsets combined. Half of these photos are “pot luck” miscellaneous characters. The rest each contain at least one mystery character that defied my knowledge base and all research attempts, both personal and outsourced. The MCC standing plea of thumb as always is: if you recognize someone I don’t, pretty-please feel free to chime in and teach this old guy something new. (Prime example: at far right in the above photo is an original character named Kattosha. That was new learning for me. See the comments below for more of her story.)

Right this way for our last, best hopes for Wizard World Chicago 2014 heroes of cosplay!…

Wizard World Chicago 2014 Photos, Part 4 of 7: Animation Costumes!

Team Rocket!

Jesse and James fire Meowth, welcome new sidekick Ash. Meet the all-new, all-different Team Rocket!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This weekend was that time again: our annual excursion to Rosemont, IL, for Wizard World Chicago. My wife and I took plenty of photos as usual, many of them usable. We’ll be sharing those over the next several entries, but I’m still too fatigued from the experience to figure out how many entries these will take.

I’ve been dealing with con crud all week long and struggling to reactivate all portions of my brain, but the math finally came together for me: we’re looking at seven entries in all for the WWC 2014 photo parade. Part four of those, then: characters from cartoons and anime. Enjoy!

Right this way for your favorites from Japan and/or Saturday morning…

Wizard World Chicago 2014 Photos, Part 3: Marvel and Dark Horse Costumes!

The Avengers!

The Avengers! Classic lineup, different take.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This weekend was that time again: our annual excursion to Rosemont, IL, for Wizard World Chicago. My wife and I took plenty of photos as usual, many of them usable. We’ll be sharing those over the next several entries, but I’m still too fatigued from the experience to figure out how many entries these will take.

Part three, then: representatives from the Marvel Universe, along with a few folks from other comic-book companies. Enjoy!

Right this way, True Believer!