If you’ve ever attended a comic con of any kind, or a fan convention, you know the chaos, joy, and tired feet they bring. If you’ve never been to one, let me show you a bit of what you’ve missed! Last weekend, Chicago Outlander fans (including those from many other areas) and fans of lots of great shows, web series, movies, anime and more, converged on Chicago for C2E2, the area’s biggest event. We were there because a couple of our fabulous actors were in town to meet and greet us! Sam Heughan, Charles Vandervaart and David Berry sat for photos, autographs and in Sam’s case, a fun, audience-participation panel.

What is a comic con? As opposed to a single show fan convention, it’s a gathering of several different genres and their stars; authors and artists; and as many merchandise booths as the McCormick Place floor can fit. For last weekend, among others, we had the cast of ’80s film The Breakfast Club – Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall and Ally Sheedy; Hobbits Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd (also from Outlander!) and Dominic Monaghan, as well as Andy Serkis (Gollum) and John Rhys-Davies (Gimli); Casper Von Dien from Starship Troopers; and the creators and talent of the geek hit Critical Role, a Dungeons & Dragons web series!

Attendees often dress up as their favorite characters – several Spidermen, Wolverines and Deadpools walked around. We saw a couple of Toy Story Woodys, a Waldo (but where was he?), 3 definitely male PowerPuff Girls, lots of anime characters. Two guys stood at the entrance to the con floor holding signs – one said “You Look Great, and Your Cosplay Does Too,” encouraging people who might not have been completely confident in their costumes; and one holding  a sign that said “I’m Proud of You – Love, Dad.” Other signs gave a gentle warning – “Cosplay is Not Consent.”

The merchandise floor was great! Everything the geek could want. Dice, clothing, original books and comics, original artwork, tons of Disney stuff (that was my fave), and a  handful of Outlander-related items were for sale! Pictures with the DeLorean from Sam’s fave, the Back to the Future films; movie  memorabilia; even Chicago White Sox players were there. We bought fudge, stickers, magnets, ornaments, a Cinderella backpack…

But The Main Event

For this event, as for others, the con offered a premium VIP package that gave the purchasers a meet and greet opportunity, photos and autographs, and first entry into Sam’s Saturday night panel. Sam also offered an off-site Sassenach whisky tasting that many of his fans attended! Several other Sam packages were available, which primarily offered tiered entry into the panel. (Just FYI, this is not the way most panels at most cons are handled. Some cons DO offer premium packages for individual stars, and these are gaining in popularity, but they still aren’t the norm. And Sam’s panel at C2E2 required some kind of additional ticket – either a package admission or a separate $30 ticket – this is DEFINITELY not the norm. Keep that in mind if you look at attending any other convention.)

David Berry and Charles Vandervaart had long lines for autographs, and solo, pair, or triple photos with Sam were available! David and Charles chatted with all the fans who came to see them, and proved themselves to be as sweet and handsome as we always thought they were. I purchased the triple photo, and brought corny signs to give to each star. Look at the one David is holding – I did these signs REALLY fast, as I had to run out to see my dad at the hospital before I went downtown, and David insists that the red banner is actually a colon. I can see his point… at least it’s memorable. I invited my friends Alyson and Kathy to join me in the picture – the photo alone was nearly $300, but you could have up to four guests in each picture! They all had fun holding the signs (the Cathie McQuistion School of Photo Props), but as you’ll see in the photos I’ll post, Sam played it up in EVERY photo – he’s definitely comfortable with fans, and knows that we enjoy seeing his fun personality!

Here are some photos (provided by attendees) of themselves with our stars:

While fans waited in line on Saturday for David and Charles, I asked trivia questions and handed out small prizes – Outlander trading cards, magnets, and many other little Outlander trinkets. I thought I had brought enough prizes to last two days – they were gone in 30 minutes! Thanks to Kathy for lining up “contestants”!

Prior to his panel on Saturday night, Sam did a special separately ticketed whisky tasting. Everyone reports having a fantastic time at this special event!

Sam did the only Outlander-related panel at the con. Fans were lined up to get into the panel room, but I think everyone had a great time. Sam’s US booking agent, Steve Himber, brought a suitcase into the panel, and while Sam answered questions provided by the Premium ticket group, Steve changed – on stage, behind his suitcase – into a low-rent Highlander costume purchased from Amazon, including a plastic “sheath” – for a dirk, get your dirty mind out of the gutter, Sam already made that joke, and boot covers, one of which Sam used as a hat. Steve brought three of the Premium ticketholders up on stage, and had them “audition” to play “Claire” in a show reboot, dressed in another one of Steve’s costumes. The women were terrific, and it looked like everyone really enjoyed acting and the double entendres. Then Sam answered several more questions  (and signed each question card), then gave out empty Sassenach Whisky bottles and boxes.

Videos from Sam’s panel – I’ve provided individual links to each video, or you can watch them in two groups – audience questions and the “Claire auditions.”

Playlist 1: Panel Opening and Claire Contestants
Panel opening

Other videos in this playlist:

Claire Contestant #1

Claire Contestant #3

Playlist 2: Audience Questions 

How tired are you after these events?

Who would you like to work with?

Which Disney prince would you be?

What’s good to see in Glasgow?

How do  you find any privacy?

Jamie in the modern world

Business Partner Alex Norouzi

My Peak Challenge

Acting methods

What Sam likes to cook

I decided the night before to get autographs from both David and Charles on Sunday, after we had the the photo. I’m very glad I did! I got to talk a little bit with both. I had interviewed Charles before Season 7B aired, and reminded him of the question I had asked; and David remembered me from an Outlandish Vancouver event. Both said they had seen my show coverage, which of course thrilled me. I gave each of them one of the Outlander-related pins that TIBS created last year – something small has a much better chance of coming home with the actors – think of how much adoring fans happily give their favorite actors, and then think of the cost of extra luggage, when you’re considering bringing a gift to a con. Sadly, not all of it comes home. I slid one to Sam on his table after the panel Saturday night, and got a quick wink and smile in return. (You can see and purchase the pins here.)

After the autographs, I jumped at a chance to ambush… er, chat with… Steve Himber, who was hanging around the autograph booth. Steve arranged a lot of fun for Sam’s Saturday night panel, and I told him he was “cute” during the panel – “at 65,” he said, “I don’t think want to be cute any more,” he answered. He told me that he planned the fun for the panel because he knows that these events are very expensive, and wants to make sure that fans who come out to see Sam get value for their money, and I think we can all appreciate that. He said he hoped that the panel showed that he’s not just Sam’s agent, that the two men are friends, and enjoy poking fun at each other while they show that fans that they’re incredibly important to both of them. I gave Steve one of the “Forget Moo Not” pins, and he was thrilled – he said he had a Highland cow picture in his home workspace, and would keep it with that.

Wrap It Up Already

Unfortunately, between family commitments and Outlander things, I didn’t have a chance to attend other panels.  There was a Breakfast Club reunion; a HUGELY popular Lord of the Rings panel; one for the TV show Psych (star Timothy Omundsen had to cancel at the last minute, an occupational hazard as getting a part is more important than attending a con); art and author panels; one on “writing about Chicago” which I would have enjoyed.

If you consider attending a comic con in the future, there are a couple of things to keep in mind – it’s expensive, if you want photos and autographs; panels aren’t announced until very close to the event; often, guests are announced, removed, substituted constantly in the weeks prior; and in some cases, notably the bigger cons like San Diego and New York City, guests aren’t listed until long after you have to purchase tickets, so you’re going on rumor and faith. But there’s always fun, always someone you’ll love seeing, and always – always – friends to hang out with.

 

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