I'm going to be in Chicago for vacation, and WWC happens to be going on while I'm there. Never been to a con before, so figured I'd give it a whirl - no expectations at all, but I think it should be entertaining at the least. I've done some checking online to see what I can expect from this thing, and I'm not finding information that would be necessarily useful. The exclusives don't interest me at all, which is a shame after hearing about some of the goodies at the San Diego con. - Some events (Star Wars presentation) are labeled "ticket required" - does that mean you pay for them, or its a first come/first serve type of deal? - There are going to be a lot of artists/creators at the thing, and I see no mention of charging for autographs, though I'm not naive enough to think that its going to be free. What kind of damage can I expect? (Looking at Michael Turner, Alex Ross sigs). What about sketches? Apparently some artists do them, but what can I expect with that? I'm not going as a die-hard fanboy - other than the Dreamwave & Devil's Due TF comics, I haven't cracked any since the early 90s. I'm just looking to waste a day doing something different. But at the same time, I'd like to come prepared since it is halfway across the country for me! Any tips/advice from folks who have gone to these things before? Thanks in advance!
Been there the last 4 years running and will be there again this year. I'll be setting up wednesday afternoon and be dealing/autograph hunting thursday, friday afternoon, saturday and sunday. Presentations that are labeled "tickets" means that once you run into the doors, go to the right and pick up passes for the events. They just do this so they don't overcrowd events and don't overpopulate the lines for time reasons on autographs. They are free though. Autographs are free. A lot of times you have to wait about an hour max to get one though. There are some exceptions. I managed to walk past a 3 person line and asked what it was for. Happened to be a surprise scheduling for Brian K Vaughn. Also had the opposite and was 4th in line and waited 4 hours for a sketch by Rob Leifeld. But it was a damn great sketch. And speaking of sketches, they are a come and go thing. A lot of times, artists will draw one but might ask you to come back later when they aren't signing so as to not hold up the line. However some also charge. I have only encountered one of these though, David Mack. A lot of artists also will draw one at thei leisure if you leave a pad or something to draw on and come back for it. Check the artists in Artist Alley. A few big names are always there and will gladly draw a sketch or 2. Devil's Due is going to be there just FYI. Not sure what artists or creators will be there though. Josh Blaylock and Tim Seeley will defintely be there but otherwise not sure. Tips are as follows.: Go early before doors open and check the program when you pick up your tickets. Look to see where the booth is you want to go to and when the doors open, head right there. Go to the comic company you want a signature from and check the time they'll be there. Also a lot of exclusives are there all weekend. I usually pick minie up sunday or in the afternoon. Not many lines and they are usually readily avaliable. Anything else specific, hit me up on AIM or PM and I'll give you some more tips.
Thanks a ton for the info, Wreckgar - truly appreciated. Might hit you with an IM/PM as the date gets closer. You said you're going to be "setting up" - you working a booth or volunteering at the show? Also, I was bummed to find out that Devil's Due will actually NOT be there, despite being listed on Wizard's page. They were one company I was actually psyched to see, and the DD website and boards confirm they're sitting this one out. Thanks again for the info! (and yes, Liefeld is also on my list - granted, a lot of people hate him, but I was an X-Force junkie back in the day and would kill for a Cable sketch!)
Rob Liefeld charged for sketches when he was at Wizard World LA in March, and the proceeds would go to A.C.T.O.R., the Tsunami Relief, and another charity (forgot at the moment). I don't know if he still is, but I thought I'd just mention it here just in case. Besides, the money would go to good causes anyway.
I'll be helping out Destination Entertainment. However I will also be standing in line for autographs from Miller, Lee, Loeb, Ross and Rucka
I went to wizard con once Loved the con but hated Chicago. People are just rude there. We had a waiter give us our tip back cause it was small despite the fact he dropped our pizza on the floor and still tried to serve it to us
NO WAY! Now that friggin sad. Honestly I've neevr had a problem with the people and sorry you had that experience. Yesterday I had some lady randomly stand next to me with her umbrella so I wouldn't get soaked. Very nice indeed. And was the pia incident in Chicago proper or out by the airport?
