C2E2 returns to McCormick Place in Chicago this year kicking off the summer season with a bang. The pop culture event spans three days and brings together some of the world’s biggest names in fandom from celebrities to cosplay icons. Though there are a lot of comic book festivals make no mistake, C2E2 is one of the best.
If you plan on attending this year here are a few key events you don’t want to miss out on.
FRIDAY
The Iron Giant: Making of a Modern Masterpiece
11:00 AM – 11:15 AM
C2E2 Live Stage – Booth 2033
Iron Giant supervising animator Stephan Franck shares his first-hand account on making the beloved animation classic.
She’s The Doctor: Regenerating a Time Lord—And a Science Fiction Franchise
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM
Room S403
After 54 years, Doctor Who has its most radical regeneration from Peter Capaldi to Jodie Whittaker. But what does this mean not only for the long-running science fiction show…but for representation of women people of color, and other marginalized groups in media? Have past efforts to diversify Doctor Who reflected well on the program? Join several Doctor Who fans for a conversation about how a female Time Lord will impact the long-running science fiction franchise…and geek/nerd culture.
Mark Millar Spotlight
12:45 PM – 1:45 PM
Main Stage S406
From Kick-Ass to Kingman, Civil War to Wanted, Superman: Red Son to Old Man Logan, few comic writers in history boast a body of work as prolific as Mark Millar. In a rare convention appearance, join this iconic writer on the C2E2 Main Stage for a discussion of his lengthy career and his brand new comic series from Netflix comics – “The Magic Order”, featuring art by Olivier Coipel.
SATURDAY
Let’s Get Lit! Basics of Electronics in Lighting and Cosplay
10:45 AM – 11:45 AM
Cosplay Central Stage
This panel will go over the basics of basic electronics and components, from soldering, to resistors, LED’s and other light sources, switches, power sources and more advanced techniques like adding smoke effects, blinking and fading LED’s, and some basic Arduino and light array work. We’ll then go over best practices on implementing these in to your props and costumes.
Legends of Tomorrow with Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh & Dominic Purcell
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
Main Stage S406
It may not be the Waverider, but the Main Stage at C2E2 is your one way ticket through time with the cast of DC’s hit series Legends of Tomorrow. Join Dominic Purcell (Heatwave), Caity Lotz (White Canary) and Brandon Routh (The Atom) as they talk bringing these iconic super heroes to life.
Svengoolie Spotlight
1:45 PM – 2:45 PM
Location: Room S403
Svengoolie, the premier horror show icon of Chicago returns to C2E2! Svengoolie is taking a break from bringing you classic horror films to talk about his career and answer your ghoulish questions, so don’t miss it! Svengoolie airs nationally Saturdays at 8PM/7C on MeTV.
SUNDAY
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Room S405b
The Age of the Geeks Presents: Building & Making Cosplay Props/Costumes
The Age of the Geeks has multiple members that are well known in the cosplay community for their prowess with prop/costume building & making. These creative talents have allowed some of them to compete in such events as the Crown Championships of Cosplay among others. This panel will give a brief insight into their backgrounds as cosplay crafters. They will each bring a prop/costume/something of their design and will briefly share how their talents got them to their final goal.
Designing the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Ryan Meinerding
1:15 PM – 2:15 PM
Location: Room S403
Join Ryan Meinerding (Head of Visual Development for Marvel Studios) as he discusses designing your favorite super heroes and taking them from the page to the silver screen!
If you were born in the ’80s, ’90s, or literally ANY decade after those, you know about Super Mario. A cultural phenomenon was brought to life on the big screen this last weekend. One that has not only stood the test of time but reinvented itself time and time again. This wasn’t even the first time it’s been made into a movie but, well, let’s be honest.. some of us choose not to acknowledge the LIVE action adaptation of the beloved game from 30 years ago.
It was pretty bad… But this was animation. ILLUMINATION animation at that. The Universal company that brought us Gru and his Minions, showed us the Secret Life of Pets, and gave us a reason to SING! Still, I had my reservations and even some concerns, especially when the casting was announced.
Eyebrows were raised. As big of stars as they were on paper, could they really deliver on voicing characters from a staple of our childhood? They did.
Chris Pratt and Charlie Day may not be Italian, and Jack Black may not be a King or Turtle creature from the Mushroom Kingdom, but they make the characters their own all while paying homage to the lore of a video game.
From the jump, the story reintroduces us to the brothers that just want to save Brooklyn one clogged sink at a time. We feel an instant connection and relate to these “underdogs of the plumbing world”. The movie is riddled with easter eggs, each of which tugs on the heartstrings of every generation of Mario fandom. And the soundtrack was beautifully put together to not only make us feel like we’re taking a walkthrough of the game but like an experience all its own with some familiar favorites thrown in.
Every word in the movie is pure eye candy for both those that are casual fans, and those analyzing every frame to see what they’ll catch next. Bowser’s ship, the Mushroom Kingdom, Kong’s arena, and the Rainbow Road.. They’re all meant to give us just enough of a “new” look at these amazing worlds, but stay true to how we remember them.
The movie itself moves along at the perfect pace. Although, if you don’t really know ANYTHING about the Super Mario Bros, you may have gotten a little lost and felt left behind in the green tunnel. But that’s ok! It’s an adventure of the imagination and a classic story of a boy that meets a girl and tries to save the world from a monster that wants to destroy it.
What’s funny is that you could easily say this is a story about two characters who couldn’t be more opposite if they tried, battling to win the heart of a princess. Who would’ve thought that the King of the Koopas was just trying to impress his crush?
And that song? Ohhh THAT song! It’s my new ringtone and deserves the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Back to the movie.
Universal and Illumination clearly understood the assignment. Is it missing some things or could things have been done differently or even better? Absolutely! We’re the worst critics of the things we hold nearest and dearest to our hearts. But if you’re up for going on a 90-minute adventure through amazing worlds, with awesome music, and characters that’ll make you smile and laugh, then this is the perfect movie to spring you into that warm summer feeling.
Plus there’s the whole part with karts and shells, and banana peels and oh my goodness how amazing was that?? It’s enough to make you want to stand up and cheer, then go home and destroy your friends and family on your favorite track haha.
The bottom line, it pays homage in all the right ways to the little guy with the mustache, while giving us something new and exciting. Take the kids and go see Super Mario Bros. You’ll be glad you did!
Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Opening Act Saturday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. on North 200A. Talent confirmed so far to participate in the post-screening panel is Natalie Alyn Lind (Big Sky, The Goldbergs, Gotham) as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and longtime RWBY cast member Lindsay Jones (Camp Camp) as Ruby, Kara Eberle ( RWBY: Ice Queendom) as Weiss, Arryn Zech (Detective Now Dead) as Blake and Barbara Dunkelman (Blood Fest) as Yang – along with Jeannie Tirado (Soul, Saints Row) as Green Lantern and Tru Valentino (The Rookie, The Cuphead Show!) as a cyborg. Also attending the panel will be producer/director Kerry Shawcross (series RWBY) and writer Meghan Fitzmartin (Supernatural, Justice Society: World War II).
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023 with the big screen debut from DC Animated Films: highlights this year include the world premieres of the highly anticipated Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham and Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Part One the weekend of March 24-26 in Anaheim, California. Both screenings will be followed by panel discussions with actors and creators. Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham premieres at The Arena on Friday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Uncharted) as Kai Li Cain, Christopher Gorham (The Lincoln Lawyer, Insatiable) as Oliver Queen, David Dastmalchian (Dune, Suicide Squad, Ant-Man) as Grendon, producer/co-director Sam Liu (The Death and the Return of Superman), co-director Christopher Berkeley (Young Justice) and screenwriter Jase Ricci (Teen Titans Go! and DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem Across the Multiverse).
Both films will have encore screenings in the Arena on Sunday, March 26. Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One will screen at 12:15pm, followed by Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham at 2:00pm
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023
Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Crunnchyroll presents ‘BOFURI: I don’t want to get hurt so I’ll max out my defense’: You’re not twinking!
‘Knock at the Cabin’: Puttin on your boogie shoes!
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Illinois’ financial crisis could bring the state to a halt
The final 6 ‘Game of Thrones’ episodes might feel like a full season
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023
