Collectibles and Toys•Comic Books
Cosplayers, Creators, And Pop Culture Connoisseurs Cross Paths At Fan Expo Chicago 2025
It was a hot time in the old town as nerds and normies from all walks of fandom packed into the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, for Fan Expo 2025.
Some were trying to get inside as early as possible to be the first in line for an autograph from their favorite celebrity guests, while other attendees were simply trying to immerse themselves in the cold, loving embrace of the building’s arctic air-conditioning system before the oppressive summer heat melted their fevered fanatical brains.
The inaugural event was called “Nostalgia ’72, Chicago Comic Con,” before it was changed to “Chicago Comic and Nostalgia Convention.” But then it was renamed “Wizard World Chicago” in 1997. This lasted until 2021, when the event was sold to Informa’s Fan Expo unit and officially dubbed “Fan Expo.”
Regardless of how many times it has been rechristened, it remains the most popular and longest-running convention in the Chicagoland area. It’s a place where the freakiest and geekiest converge for a weekend of fellowship, frolicking, and feeling the mild comfort that comes with knowing that the world is full of even weirder obsessions than the one they all share.
In a strange turn of events, the organizers felt it necessary to restrict movement through ¾ of the convention center’s massive main entrance, which created a bottleneck that felt a little too much like cattle being herded through an abattoir.
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Rooms that were separated by a thin strip of doorway were blocked off, forcing attendees to traverse winding corridors and to go hundreds of yards out of their way instead of being allowed to walk a few measly feet from one place to another. No reasons were given for this odd decision, but it’s also a waste of time, energy, and sanity to apply logic to the world around us.
Aside from this setback, the entire place was teeming with enough excitement and fanatical exuberance to alleviate that mild irritation. The display tables had everything from comic books to memorabilia, real swords, ineffective lightsabers, and about 8 bazillion Funko Pops.
Whether someone is a fan of Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, Anime, Gaming, or even Gooning, the convention floor had at least one item for all forms of eccentric tastes (at least the ones that are legal). Then there’s the panels, celebrity Q&As, scavenger hunts for prizes, video game tournaments, battles to the death with foam swords, and there’s no forgetting the cosplay.
While the quantity of quality costumes was lower than most big conventions in this region, there were still plenty of cosplayers who brought their A-game and kicked out the jams with very impressive threads.
A lot of the outfits looked beyond uncomfortable to wear, while some were barely wearing any clothing at all, but not a single word of complaint was uttered about it. That’s assuming anyone could understand Darth Vader’s muffled voice beneath his mask, or Mysterio’s words echoing under the cleverly constructed one-way mirror he made for himself.
Regardless of whatever they were saying, everyone was enjoying themselves and making the best of the limited movement. Whether it be the movement in their costumes, or just elbowing through a throng of humanity to go use the restroom.
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