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Chicago's FanFest 2017 – "This Is What Happens When Your Country Is Founded By Religious Nuts With Guns"

Published Sun, 26 Mar 2017 10:00:52 -0500

Peter G writes,

The Chicago convention scene needs a shake-up. Yes, there are smaller shows like Lodge Con and such, but something besides Reed and Wizard would be nice.

And this year, we have an experiment, FanFest 2017, a joint venture between Walker Stalker and Heroes And Villains.

Heroes And Villains focuses primarily on geek TV like the CW Network line-up and Agents Of SHIELD. Walker Stalker is a string of events covering The Walking Dead. The two decided to combine their resources, like Voltron, and make one big con this weekend at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, the nominal home of Wizard World every August.

The show is definitely a reflection of the current state of geekery. Unless it directly tied in with one of the shows like Walking Dead, no comic books to be found. Lots of art prints, lots of costumery and crafting, even the Geekster Ink tattoo tour was there. But the medium that inspired almost all of these shows was AWOL. Ultimately, it didn't matter – the place was jumping, with huge lines at the ticket counter and activity all over the floor.

If you're the kind that loves getting sigs, this was the show for you. It was mind-boggling how many celebs were there. Ming-Na Wen, Chicago native John Barrowman, Sean Gunn, Stephen Arnell, Chloe Bennet, Brandon Routh, Michael Rooker, David Ramsey, Caity Lotz, Milo Ventimiglia, Ron Perlman, Chandler Riggs, and even Charlotte Ross to appease the soap opera fans (joke, joke, joke). 55 celebs in all, given plenty of space to accommodate the long lines.

(By the way, if you get a picture taken with Michael Rooker, one thing he asks is that you don't use a flash. I apologize again for that, Mister Rooker.)

The show did illustrate something peculiar about Americans, however. On the floor was a woman dressed in a French maid uniform as her cosplay. And I overheard a couple of people talking about whether or not that was appropriate for the convention because of the kids there. We're talking about a con with a heavy focus on The Walking Dead, zombies, and gothic art, and they're concerned a woman dressed like a French maid is bad for kids. This is what happens when your country is founded by religious nuts with guns.

So what else was there? Like I said, lots of crafters there, everything from corsets to jewelry to socks. A blood drive was going on there, as well. There was a giant inflatable slide and bouncy house for the kiddies, although no pay-by-the-hour ball pit (chuckle, snort). Also there were the Harp Twins (http://www.harptwins.com). They do harp arrangements of all kinds of music from heavy metal songs to themes from fantasy shows – one of their discs features the themes from Game Of Thrones, Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the Rainbow Road theme from Mario Kart. They also do a very effective version of the theme from Sailor Moon. Very nice ladies and great musicians.

Oh, and there was beer, too.

The photo op area was the entire area that is usually the ticket booth at Wizard World. It was actually a surprisingly effective use of space. You didn't really start feeling the crowds until you got to the autograph area, and even then, it was busy, but not chaotic. All in all, the show was a lot more focused on specific parts of the fandoms, but that focus let it do more within those boundaries. Talking with the staff, they said this was something they were trying this year, and they would see if it did well enough to do again. The show certainly seemed to run smooth, and I hope they do do it again.

Do you like cartoons? Who doesn't? Peter G is still doing strange things in the name of art, and his new animations, like his cult series One True Pairing, can be viewed on YouTube at Sine Timore Animation Studios.