C U at C2E2!

By Stacey Harrison

One of the highlights of my year is the midsummer pilgrimage out to San Diego to attend Comic Con, the undisputed epicenter of geek culture. Once a niche haven for comic book/science-fiction fans to meet their favorite authors and talk about the subjects they love, the event has grown into a pop-culture behemoth, with attendance surging over 120,000 and counting. People come from all over the world and wait in ungodly long lines at every turn just for the chance  to get exclusive sneak peeks at what the movies, TV — and sometimes still even comic books — have in store for them over the next year.

Imagine my delight then in getting the chance to attend another geek nirvana much earlier in the year, and much closer to home. This weekend I’ll be filing reports from the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo — better known as C2E2 — where the Windy City will host its own contingent of pop-culture all-stars. You can check back here for updates on AMC’s The Walking Dead, HBO’s True Blood, The CW’s The Vampire Diaries, NBC’s Chuck and much more. The featured guest of the convention is Chris Hemsworth, who will hammer the box office this May in Thor. I’ll also try to hunt down Joe Quesada and Jeph Loeb, who are heavily involved in Marvel’s TV and movie projects. They’ve pledged to bring more Marvel properties to the small screen, so hopefully they’re ready to share some details. … And hopefully the lines won’t be quite so long.