C2E2 zooms into Chicago this weekend | Preview

Now in its third year, the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo returns Friday for three days of superheroes and Stormtroopers, sci-fi actors and fantasy authors. Typically referred to by its nickname C2E2—which, yes, sounds like a long-lost droid that wandered into the desert of Tattoine—the convention and its organizers, ReedPop, intend to lure every stripe of geekdom to form one enormous multi-genre melting pot. The hopeful result? After three days of gaming, shopping, autograph seeking, panel going and costume ogling at McCormick Place, attendees will prove that we all can get along. Yes, even Twihards and Trekkies.

Most of the events for families are loaded into C2E2 Kids Day Sunday, April 15, when kids 12 and under (with proof of age) get in free with a paid adult. Meanwhile, we’ve run through the schedule to find some kid-friendly highlights for all three days.

FRIDAY, APRIL 13 (for ages 13 and up)

Young Adult Paranormal Panel, 5–6pm
YA authors Rachel Caine, David Macinnis Gill, Kiera Cass and more discuss their novels for teens—and the appeal of everything from dystopian futures to vampire romances.

The State of Play in Tabletop Roleplaying Gaming, 5–6pm
Get the inside scoop on the latest in tabletop role-playing games. RPG designer pros give tips on great under-the-radar games available now, then name games and designers to look for in the future.

Comics And Pop Music, 6:30–7:30pm
Comic books and pop music have a few things in common, including their roots as entertainment targeted to youth that was disdained by elders and attacked by government censors.  A panel of artists and publishers—including Dan Parent of Archie Comics, whom we recently interviewed—discuss ties between music and sequential art, and the creative and commercial potential in combining the two media.