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Kids at C2E2 Help Keep Fandom in the Family

By Linze Rice | April 25, 2015 3:58pm
 Thousands of people flocked to the McCormick Place over a three-day weekend to celebrate comic culture and more.
C2E2 Family Expo
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SOUTH LOOP — The force was strong among families who attended this weekend's Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo at McCormick Place. 

The annual fandom expo, held over a three-day weekend in the South Loop at 2301 S. Martin Luther King Dr., celebrates the cultural, social and political aspects of what many attendees proudly referred to as "nerd culture."

Aidan Skinner, 3, of Carol Stream has been attending C2E2 since before he was born, said his parents Jared and Nadia, who have attended the last four years.

Dressed as DC Comics hero The Flash, the mini superhero had been urging his parents to prepare his Flash costume ever since they came to the expo last year, they said. 

 Mini-Storm Trooper Felix Fojo, 6, attended the comic expo with his parents and sister.
Mini-Storm Trooper Felix Fojo, 6, attended the comic expo with his parents and sister.
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DNAinfo/Linze Rice

Aidan's dad, who is an aspiring writer and comics enthusiast, said that including his wife and son in comic fandom has strengthened their bond as a family. 

"We look forward to it every year," he said. "I saw all the kids and families coming and I wanted to bring my family too."

Nadia Skinner said despite her husband coming from a different "comic camp" — an intrafamily DC vs. Marvel rivalry — she can't deny the joy her son experiences at C2E2.

"We was like, 'Can we go tomorrow?'" she said.

That sentiment was shared by Erica Gryszkiewicz and Robert Luczak, parents to three-year-old Izabella Luczak of Belmont Cragin. Their family was dressed head-to-toe in specially made comics garb, an aspect Izabella especially enjoys.

"Mostly everyone is trying to push their kids hard into sports," Luczak said. "Let the child do their thing."

Gryszkiewicz agreed, saying while some parents only want their kids to play outside, they believe valuable lessons and meaningful experiences can be found through comic and video game culture as well.

The Gryszkiewicz-Luczak family weren't the only ones who felt C2E2 could serve as a learning opportunity to kids. 

The Eelss family, who said they were "regulars" of the comics convention, brought their 12-year-old daughter Lucy — dressed as a dragon fairy — to have fun and learn at the same time. They said in preparation for the event, they talk to Lucy about "media literacy," specifically the role of female characters in popular culture. 

Rachel Eells said her husband Brandon bought her the "Strong Female Characters" shirt she donned on Saturday as a call-out to the often poorly developed stereotypes of women in media, a subject they've talked to Lucy about. 

"I'm looking at the merchandising to see if we get to see more of the female characters," she said. "Sometimes it gets a little problematic for the feminist in me, because everything's over-sexualized, so we try to avoid that."

Lucy, whose favorite part of C2E2 is the costumes, said she felt like her own version of a superhero, and cherishes spending the time with her mom and dad. "I'm excited for this weekend because I'm coming back tomorrow," she said.

 The Eells family said they were looking forward to seeing some strong female characters.;
The Eells family said they were looking forward to seeing some strong female characters.;
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DNAinfo/Linze Rice

Siblings Catherine, 13, and Tim O'Reilly, 19, of Naperville, swam up from the depths of Bikini Bottom — the fictional universe where Spongebob Squarepants lives — to spend the day together. Catherine, dressed as Captain Magma, glowed as she talked about how special it was to be at C2E2 with her big brother Tim.

"It's been so fun," she said. "You can see how much time, money and effort everyone put into their costumes, it's just crazy."

Tim agreed, saying the opportunity to be among so many like-minded, yet diverse individuals, was inspiring. He said he was proud to share that moment with his sister, as well as the "whole universe of fandom" surrounding him at the convention.

"I think it's more fun when you have a huge universe of people you can go and celebrate with," he said. "At home you can be like 'Oh this is awesome, oh this is so cool,' but when you're in a giant convention center full of other people who love it, you're like 'Oh my gosh this is so fun.'"

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