C2E2 has come and gone and it is time to do a little review of the show, the panels, and of course, the cosplay.
An early Saturday morning, Myself and our Art Director/Photographer, Hope arrived earlier than I have ever arrived at a con due to the new Championship of Cosplay wristband system. Admittedly, I was shocked to see they began handing out the wristbands at 7:30am and was in a bit of a panic as to how many would even be left by the time we’d arrive.
If you have ever been to a C2E2 show you know one thing is for sure. There will be traffic, lots of traffic and getting off the highway to exit to the parking lots is and was no exception. However, leaving at the crack of dawn has its perks. The traffic in comparison to my past con visits was rather light and as a bonus, there was parking in Lot A! What a total win and pretty good way to start things off.
We headed into the con and immediately were handed lanyards, which is always nice to not have to go find them. We headed up to the main lobby area to find some awesomely gigantic WB backpacks with Flash and Arrow designs. Grabbed those and found our way to the golden tickets, also know as the wristband for the Championship of Cosplay. Getting there early was paying off.
There was absolutely no shortage of staff, which at a show that size was pretty great to see. For the most 
part, every staff member we encountered was helpful. From the opening of the show floor to the C2E2 store and to the button hunt expressing if it was your first C2E2 (Like Hope) or your 5th (like myself).
The only issue with staff we had was by the panels. Most did not seem to have a good grasp on what panels were where. It sent us on a little wild goose chase but, that would be my only slam there.
The showfloor was as crowded as you would expect on Saturday. There were a ton of booths selling everything from funko pops, to toys. Comics, artwork and the seemingly neverending selection of mystery boxes. There were also some fun additions aside from the shopping bonanza. There were scavenger hunts, booths to win prizes, the lego photo booth and more. It wa
s a super nice element and something I would like to see more of in the shows to come. There was also an amazing special effect booth where we watched Anna Cali create a amazing zombie, Disneyland style.
As always, Artist alley was amazing. It was great to see Chris Burnham at the show once again. As well as Ant Lucia and a host of artists that left us in awe! It is always well put together and this year the directories placed in more locations helped locate the artists a bit easier.
The panels were a bit lackluster. It would be my one big complaint. I did not feel there was a variety for all three days. It would be nice to see panels in some form repeat the topic each day but have different speakers perhaps to give some different viewpoints. It was the first year in my years of attending that I walked out of a panel and did not have a line up of those I would like to have sat in on. Hopefully, there will be some changes in that regard next year.
The Championship of Cosplay. Wristbands attached we got in line and waited to enter the main room. It was a smooth entry until seating, then it became a bit of a free-for-all. Scrambling to find seats and make sure we had enough for our team we grabbed a spot in the 4th row…again after another opening of reserved sections and dash for seats opened up.
We were a bit excited as our May Cosplayer of the Month – Ginger Cosplay from the Chicago Bombshells was competing in the championships wearing her Elizabethan Harley Quinn Cosplay. The contest was an amazing time. We saw some creative and beautiful creations. We saw people dance and we heard some creepy and really great pick-up lines. All in all, it was worth getting there early for the wristbands and I would do it again next year in a heartbeat.
Finally, before we wrap this up, it would not be a C2E2 review without mentioning the cosplayers attending the show. In a single word..awesome. Sure we could tell you about it, or we could just show you a few of the best we came across including our very own intern, Adam as Roadhog!
Til next year, C2E2!
