Comic-Con is something that’s been on my bucket list for years. Despite the fact that I’m not exactly up on the world of comics (truth be told, I could give two sh*ts about superhero movies, although I DID admittedly get pretty into the Archie series in my youth — #TeamVeronica for life!), the annual expo dedicated to all things sci-fi and fantasy has always held a certain appeal.
For one thing, there’s the fashion: Who WOULDN’T want to see a bunch of adults dressed up like animals, kids’ characters and all-around freaks?
Then, there’s the panels and celebrity guests: Everyone, from Krysten Ritter to Elizabeth Olsen (goddesses, both), has been known to hit up the annual convention to chat about their exciting projects and get a little face time with their adoring fans — plus maybe even take a few photos.
Add in booths for merch, art and plenty of grub, and you’ve got all the makings for what appears to be a damn good time.
While the real Comic-Con isn’t until July (and in San Diego, no less!), I did get a sneak peek at the next best thing — the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, a.k.a. C2E2.
On assignment for Us Weekly to cover the Clueless reunion panel featuring Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd, Donald Faison and Breckin Meyer, plus Ralph Macchio’s Cobra Kai panel with William Zabka (that’s Johnny from The Karate Kid, for those out of the loop), Kevin and I finally checked out the scene, and let’s just say, it was once in a lifetime experience.
Though I knew the crowd would be big — 2018 saw upwards of 80,000 in attendance — I was nowhere near prepared for the sheer masses of comic-lovers we were met with upon arrival (Anyone who’s been to Lollapalooza in the last, oh, say, five or so years and been completely f*cking overwhelmed by the influx of teens can relate.) Add in a complete lack of navigation and zero staff members on hand to offer direction, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for an instantaneous panic attack. (Pro tip: Should you ever attempt this harrowing journey, map out exactly where you’re going ahead of time and do not deviate from the path. I repeat: Do not. Deviate. From path!)
Style wise, it was really hit or miss: We saw some really cool standouts (see below for my faves!), and others, we found to be … a bit lacking. Listen, if I’m subjecting myself to a wading through a sea of thousands of people — many of whom aren’t all that adept at the concept of walking at a normal human pace — I want to see some cool shit. A one-piece bodysuit you can buy on Amazon for Halloween isn’t gonna cut it!
The panels, however, made it all worthwhile. The intimate sessions were fun and well-thought out, with roughly 30 minutes for moderation and 30 for fan Q & As, and, as a big Clueless fan (shoutout to my childhood bestie Tracy Miller and her big sis Katy who watched it on repeat with me at their house), I was pretty jazzed to see the old crew back together and hear their stories.
Who knew that Alicia Silverstone could basically give 0 f*cks about fashion? “I had one green T-shirt and a pair of jeans that I wore every single day, so I didn’t understand why someone would care about their clothes, cause I just wasn’t like that,” she said at the event. “There were 64 costume changes for me [in the film]. … Like I said … I had the green T-shirt and the jeans and that’s it, so I had no idea why we were doing this.”
What’s more, the American Woman alum wasn’t all that fond of her character, Cher Horowitz. “I thought she was really materialistic and annoying,” she said. (I know, guys, I know — I died too.)
As for her onscreen love interest, Paul Rudd, the Ant-Man star had the room cracking up with his one filming regret. “When I go to the kitchen, and I make the sandwich, I would put the mayonnaise on the bread, and not directly onto the turkey itself,” he confessed. “A little thing about is I hate mayonnaise and I hate condiments.” (Say what?)
He continued: “And, and it skeeved me out, so I had never had mayonnaise on a sandwich, I was so nervous with the timing of the scene, I just put the mayonnaise on the turkey. Now, when I see that scene, it’s like nails on a chalkboard.”
Alrighty, then! Moving right along …
The following day, we attended a panel for Cobra Kai, YouTube’s spinoff series of The Karate Kid. While this one was admittedly a bit *too* focused on the show (listen, guys, I don’t even really know WTF a crane kick IS), it was definitely still interesting to watch the stars I remember from my youth interacting as grown men and reliving their glory days together — like that time William Zabka accidentally kicked Ralph in the face, only for real.
“We had one accident, … an accident, with uh, where Ralph turned his face into my right roundhouse kick,” the real-life Johnny explained. “It was a 2 ‘o’clock in the morning, we were exhausted, and that round kick to his face, ‘Ooo!’ He drops down. … They were running the camera angles around and my foot was planted in a certain way for it to stop in a certain direction and move the camera and I didn’t plant this foot in the heat of the moment.”
“It was an ACCIDENT,” Ralph teased, mimicking director John Avildsen, who he said cried out, “‘That’s the one! That’s the one! Ralph, do that one more time!”
The My Cousin Vinny star also shared his favorite “Miyagi-isms”: “You know, walk left side, right side, middle gets squished like grape, I mean, there are so many of them,” he told the crowd of his on-screen mentor, the late Pat Morita. “You know, balance for your whole life, I think that’s the ultimate lesson, you can find that balance in your family, in your marriage, in your diet, in how you approach any situation, I balance, try to balance my career, as an actor, where I keep one foot in Hollywood, but I live back in New York, in my hometown … it’s tougher to do that, and you lose opportunities as an actor and I lose time with my family when I’m on the other side, but if you can balance it, that sort of works for me, so I guess … finding balance in all areas of your life as being what Miyagi left me to take.”
Scroll through to relive some of the madness we experienced.
Badass Babe
Far more interesting that the store-bought versions of this costume that we saw 20,000 of was this badass babe, who crafted her own top out of cardboard (!).
Teen Queens
These mini-cosplayers, ready to fight crime at a moment’s notice, were absolutely adorbs.
Total Bettys
The fandom was in full force at the Clueless panel, where imposter Chers, Tais, Dionnes and even a Miss Geist were running rampant.
Two-Faced ‘Toon
Karate Masters
Nintendo Royalty
Though the kids these days call this character “Chompette,” I merely appreciated the look for the throwback it included to the Nintendo villains of my youth — the Chain chomps!
Double Trouble
X-Men‘s Storm and RAVEN, as I’ve been informed by a reader (good looking out, Ian!) made for quite the menacing — and fashionable — pair!
Back in Black
Does anyone else suddenly have the urge to rewatch The Matrix, orrr???
Il-LUME-inating
Naturally, my favorite look of the entire convention belonged to the incredible man who dressed as Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast. Everything about his ensemble, from the aristocratic white wig to the flickering “candles”at the tip of his fingers was on point. Walt would be proud, sir. Walt would be proud.
Did you attend #C2E2 this year? What were your thoughts? Sound off in the comments below!
Xo, Nicole
