Haunted Emporium Magazine: costumes

This year marked the 10th Anniversary for Chicago's annual C2E2. The Comic Con's anniversary would celebrate by giving it's fans a jammed packed weekend.

I will admit, I've never attended the Comic Con prior to this year, I've been missing out!

Celebrity lineups and scheduled panels were impressive and fun. The variety of books and artists were likely some of my favorite things to explore at the convention.

Artist Alley allowed a very intimate place for fans to get close to some of their favorite artists and authors.

The opportunity to attend free classes was another great feature. These classes covered a variety of topics, including NANOWriteMO's session on how to stop overthinking and write a Novel in 30 Days.

Unlike many conventions, C2E2 knew how to keep kids entertained, which is important!

The Gaming Zone was a fun way for families to spend time together. Dremmel tools hosted DIY make and takes.

And SYFI Wire gave both kids and adults a chance to geek out again over their favorite TV Shows.

Video SYFY Wire

SYFY also moderated Adult Swim's 4th Season of Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell Panel. And the Crown Championships of Cosplay, Presented by Singer, was the final stop of ReedPop's global Championship of Cosplay Competition Series.

Comic Book fans and Literary Geeks, such as myself, had so many new options to check out. Picked up a copy of Steve Aoki's Neon Future, which is good.

It was fun to see both Harper Press and Anderson Books setup with booths. Picture Opportunities were everywhere - Marvel Comics was just one of the many vendors offering free photo opps for fans to take against a green screen.

Attendance was great all 3 days, even for what was expected to be slow periods such as Sunday afternoon, which may have been more crowded the previous day.

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Enjoy the additional pictures! Were some more fun moments that deserved to be shared

Happy Halloween!

Was yet another amazing year in St Louis - spent 3 days on the floor and I'm certain that I still missed quite a few things. There were some fantastic new products along with some good solid staples - I feel quite positive on the outlook for this season. It's going to be fun and terrific

Owners, I have a small handful of suggestions that you may find interesting. One that really blew me away preyed on sensory perception http://www.darklabyrinthentertainment.com/ The situations are easy to believe - and adjustable - some may be controversial. If you're looking for something additional to throw your audience off balance or even bring a little more revenue into a festival, this may be very well worth looking into. Want to thank my friend Josh Spradlin (Terror in the Graveyard) - and Arcane Concepts - http://arcaneconceptsfx.com/ for helping me out on this interview. Recommend checking Josh's work out

The second were some stunning visual effects created by Venue Magic - https://www.venuemagic.com/

Their visual here showcases their work with Jim Henson's Creature Shop (little nerd out..up /down and side to side movement on the jaw - truly beautiful work). Their main gig is selling show control software - which incorporates visual, lighting and effects - at an affordable price. Which means small theaters, musicians and home haunters can afford this investment making your work on par with major businesses.

There is a 15 day trial if you're game for giving it a test spin - can find this on their site.

Here is a short video I shot of their demo

For smaller attractions, home haunters and those with tighter budgets - there were some fantastic and affordable selections. Felt there were more offerings this year over others - I could even afford to buy something. Being a haunter, I try to make mostly everything but there are times you want a cool little bump in style. It was good to see those options available. Placed some links for you underneath the photos if you'd like to check these out.

Also wanted to congratulate Kyle LaFlamboy (Hellsgate / Statesville) for winning the President's Award at the Oscares Ceremony - all of your creations are beautiful - well deserving of that.

Hope you guys enjoy the photos

Had an absolute blast checking out everything cool this year - always an amazing show to be at