Confessions of a Comic Book Guy is a weekly column by Steve Bennett of Super-Fly Comics and Games in Yellow Springs, Ohio.  This week, Bennett shares his experiences at the recently concluded Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2).

I know I'm on record as feeling uneasy about comic cons turning into 'multi-media' ones (see "Confessions of a Comic Book Guy--All Your Con Are Belong to Us"), but I've got to admit I was pretty happy at how this year's Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo handled its non-comics aspects, especially the Comedy Death-Ray show featuring Patton Oswalt.  And as busy and as crowded as it got this year you could always go about your business without fear of having to navigate your way around the line to get Elijah Couscous' autograph.*

Retailers were selling swords and martial arts weapons, an entire area devoted to tattooing and while Doctor Who fans were definitely in the minority I counted quite a number of people who were sporting fezzes (which is something you'll 'get' if you’re already a Doctor Who fan).  I saw a number of adults sporting Perry the Platypus (from Phineas and Ferb) t-shirts and there was one lone woman who showed her devotion to Mystery Science Theater 3000 by carrying around her homemade Tom Servo.  Cosplay was in evidence everywhere you looked, ranging from your standard sexy superheroes to Steampunk to one woman in an absolutely stunning recreation of Gisele's dress from the movie Enchanted.

But it was still very much a comic book show and I spent a good amount of my time wandering around talking to people, though right off the bat there were a couple of strange coincidences.  Like I had recently quoted Joe Wos, the founder and director of the Pittsburgh Toonseum, in a column about the comic book Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story (see "Confessions of a Comic Book Guy--The World's Most Dangerous Comic") -- and the first booth I came across belonged to the Pittsburgh Toonseum.  And immediately after I came across the booth for the American Library Association when just last week I'd written a column about libraries (see "Confessions of a Comic Book Guy--The Evilest Place on Earth").

It's been a while since I've haunted an Artist's Alley but was pleased to discover most artists were still happy to talk to fans.  But my favorite encounter with a creator came when I walked past the Archaia booth and discovered sitting there was Brandon Thomas, creator of one of my favorite independently owned comics from a couple of years back (see "Confessions of a Comic Book Guy--Finally")--The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury.  Only one issue of it was ever published in 2007 but I'm happy to report that we'll see her return later this summer.

There were a lot of people there interested in comics, though most of them looked a little different from most of Super-Fly's regular customers.  The guys tended to sport sporadic facial hair, tattoos and/or shaved heads, making them look like... most of our staff (at the store I'm the "alternative" looking one) while the female attendees usually adhered to the fangirl stereotype and wore glasses (which didn't look all that different from the frames I got stuck wearing throughout high school, though now they're considered "nerd chic").  Plus a surprisingly high percentage of them were redheads, at least once given a little chemical encouragement.

But one thing I think is essential for anyone who attends a convention in a world class city is to see a little of it.  For $5.75 I got a one day bus pass  and even with an extremely limited amount of time I had a grand time exploring Chicago.  I even got asked to take the  photo of a couple of Asian tourists.

The whole five days was a roller coaster and while I still in the process of trying to recover I'd say it was definitely worth it.  It would be hard being around that level of energy and enthusiasm and not come away with a renewed positive attitude about the future of comics and their readers.  My C2E2 regrets were few and far between, but if pressed I'd say I'm disappointed that I never got to eat a Chicago style hot dog and wish I had at least tried to sneak into the Robot Convention (a.k.a. Automate 2011) which was also being held at the convention center last week.  Most likely, I blew my last chance to get a robot super-pal.

* Of course I'm referring to actress Eliza Dushku.  The really sad thing is I'm not even trying to be mean and/or have fun at her expense.  I know her name and I can even say her name, but regardless of my intentions it usually still comes out as "Elijah Couscous."  I'm afraid this is just evidence of how my brain is processing information these days.

The opinions expressed in this column are solely  those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.