Cruisin' Costumes at the C2E2

C2E2, Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, is the first mainstream comics event I've attended. I guess you could count Crack Bang Boom in Rosario, but compared to C2E2, it was small potatoes. C2E2 was held in McCormick Place. To put it in perspective, this is the same location where the NATO conferences took place. Comics conferences, meeting of world leaders. Practically the same thing. C2E2 lasted three days, but I only had the stamina and money for one. I spent most of the time walking around with friends, checking out merchandise, comics, and tattoo booths and the costumes. Enjoy pictures and commentary of the event:

The McCormick Place entrance hallway.

With Max in the main conference hall. Don't our swanky passes make us look super official?

People in costumes, milling about.

Zombies on stilts? These were some of the best and most elaborate costumes I saw during the conference. 

Hunger Games costumes!

And what would a comics conference be without the Disney Princesses?

Renaissance ladies. 

Now that I've posted these photos, I see a distinct theme: lots of poofy, fancy dresses. Most people were dressed up as superheroes or characters displaying an excessive amount of cleavage, but poofy dresses apparently attracted my attention the most. 

This woman was getting a tattoo. I passed by her multiple times over a four hour period. Why would you go to a comics conference to get a tattoo?

At the end of the conference. So tired. 

Missing Argentina, but at least I have the Chicago Zine Fest

Leaving Argentina and all my friends in the comics community was quite painful. I spent the past year getting to know exciting people, learning about their lives and reading works that they’ve spent time and energy creating. When I started going to events last April, I didn’t know anyone, but the crowd was friendly and eventually I had a network of acquaintances. I wouldn’t have traded this sense of community for anything in the world. But, wait, I did. I left Argentina for the United States.

I went to the Chicago Zine Fest this past weekend and realized that I am exactly where I was last year, but this time I’m in Chicago. Zinesters (or fanzineros) have an intricate, interwoven community that I know absolutely nothing about. At first glance, most people seem pretty friendly, but probably have relationships that began years ago when they were angsty teenagers, eager to write. Do I feel discouraged, starting from square one? I still have my researcher status because I’ve been working on a report for Viñetas Series comparing income sources for Argentine and American comics creators. I do honestly want to learn about how the Chicago comics scene works. My impressions so far are favorable. Unlike in Argentina, there is a large female presence. One reason given for this is that in mainstream media there is a lack of publishing by and about women. Self-publishing offers an opportunity to people not given a voice by conventional publishing companies. Along this note, there was also a large queer community. It’s quite different from the Argentine comics community.

I started by talking with people who have done exciting things in the Chicago zine scene. Anne Elizabeth Moore, a decades-long zine creator, academic, and former Fulbright recipient, participated in an interesting talk about gender, race, and sexuality in zine culture. I spoke with her afterwards about fanzine culture in Argentina in the 90’s and later bought her book about her Fulbright teaching Indonesian women how to create zines. Sarah Becan hosted one of the workshops I attended and presented about her experiences publishing a compilation of her zines through Kickstarter. Kikstarter is a “funding platform for creative projects.” Basically, you submit a proposal and random people on the Internet send you money if they like the project. It is an alternative way of self-publishing comics that otherwise would not be able to exist. In terms of my research, Kickstarter offers a new opportunity for artists seeking to be published.

Zine Fest came at a moment when I was greatly missing Argentina. Even though I don’t know anyone and have to start over, I’m glad there is something in Chicago I can look forward to and enjoy.

Chicago Zine Fest

As many of you know, I am now back in Chicago. I deeply miss Argentina and all of my friends there, but I am also somewhat happy to be home. I am going to continue studying and writing about comics. This weekend is the Annual Chicago Zine Fest. A zine (or fanzine in Argentina) is a self-published comic. Apparently the Zine Fest also includes small and independent publishers.

If you're interested in learning more, go to the website: http://chicagozinefest.org/

And I'll be writing a bit about my impressions of the Fest when it's over.

Back in Buenos Aires

Dear Readers,

We're mid-way through July and nary a post! These past two weeks I was in Chicago, visiting my family, refusing to even think of comics during this vacation. Okay, that's not true. I went to Chicago Comics and Quimby's Comics, and ended up buying 22 comics for $24 at the Great Escape in Kentucky. I spent hours shelving the comics I bought in Argentina. Now my comics take up four shelves instead of two and a half. I introduced my family to Ordinario by Gustavo Sala, and while they didn't understand the comics with specifically Argentine humor, they laughed when I explained why a specific comic was funny. I also bought Pinocchio by Winshluss, a mostly wordless comic about a robotic Pinocchio and the gory, horrific world he inhabits. After reading the book, I spent the rest of my vacation trying to get my family to read Pinocchio by thrusting it in thier face, screaming "LOOK AT THE ART!" Needless to say, they were too terrified by my reaction (and the thickness) to actually read it.

That was pretty much the comics-relevant part of my vacation. In the next few days I will post the second half of my interview with Andrés Accorsi. I've decided to post in in small chunks so it is easier to read. Also, I've changed the color scheme because apparently white on red is difficult to read. I don't usually read my posts in blog format (except to check for typos), so I didn't realize that the colors were a problem. So, let me know if this format is more readable.

Kisses and Comics,

Claire

Here are a few pictures/ videos I took in Chicago, for those not familiar with the city:

I like to bike, and went on the lakefront path a few times. I took this video one particularly windy day.

Downtown Chicago

Art Institute Park, in the middle of the city