Well every Chicago land geeks' Super Bowl is upon us. We all count down every year until it is time for another Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (See "C2E2" get it?). Well the countdown ended today as it kicked off.. while I was at work. But I will definitely be going tomorrow.
I have been to every single C2E2 since they began way back in 2010 (wow I am old!). C2E2 was started as a direct response to the fact that Wizard World (the Chicago version of Comic-Con) became so unbelievably over crowded, and under delivering that my friends and I could not stand to give them any more of our money. The 2010 C2E2 was about 1/4the size of the crowds expected this weekend. last. year the convention drew 100,000 people and this year's should be even bigger.
I'm honestly not sure what the biggest draw is this year but to give you an idea of why I go every year, there are always at least 300 vendors selling amazing geektastic stuff. For me, the best vendors are located in "Artists' Alley" which features artists selling their original works. I can never get out of there without buying at least five things for my home or classroom. In addition to hundreds of places just waiting to take my money, there are always fans walking around in the most amazing costumes. So of the greatest cosplayers in the world attend this event. There is always a very strong showing by the 501st which is a charity run by cosplayers who have the most amazing Star Wars costumes in the world. some of the members of the 501st were even used as extras in the Mandalorean TV show. And this isn't even counting the fans who will be walking around as super heroes and obscure characters from niche TV shows... myself included.
Although I never pay for autographs, there are some very heavy hitters there this year. The Scarlet Witch, Elizabeth Olsen will be there (looking dazzling I am sure). Charlie Cox, the star of Daredevil: Born Again will be there. Now I am not one to pay for autographs, but i have to admit those would be a couple of cool people to meet. If you more into DC than Marvel, the entire cast of Arrow will be there as well as members from Superman and Lois. There are also panels featuring these stars as well as some form Fantastic Four.
But this year I have a new target in mind. Every year they always have a video game area. This year it is called Side Quest and features a ton of games from around the world. Because I know a lot of people who will be there, I actually have something to bring to them rather than just always taking things. This year I am going to let them know about a blockchain gaming platform that is in its infancy. It is called OmenX and it is trying to create a platform that will bring together gamers and game developers. The idea is to you a token called OmenX to encourage game designers to use the platform. The players will be able to play these games using the token called OmenX. Right now the platform is running a VIP program in order to give away a lot of the OmenX tokens so that players will be able to play games. The rewards start small... but they are free. If you do pay some money you can fast pass your way yo higher VIP levels that results in getting more of the OmenX tokens every Monday night for the next 17 weeks. This is definitely not financial advice, but I have gotten a lot of tokens from the VIP program and play the game every day.
If you want to check out the gaming platform I will be showing my friends this weekend, check out this site. https://omenx-starter-guide.netlify.app