“It’s a strange existence,” actor Jake Lloyd bluntly tells the Chicago Comic Con crowd about working the convention circuit. Lloyd, best known as playing young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), has largely grown out of acting and moved onto other endeavors (film editing) hence why talking about a childhood role can be so awkward. Yet Lloyd remains an avid Star Wars fan and will be forever connected to what comic con fans love: iconic characters.

The tens of thousands of attendees who poured into the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center August 19-22^nd in some way were all looking to embrace the heroes and villains they grew up with. And this includes attending panels with actors like Jake Lloyd, buying dirt-cheap vintage comics, picking up a T-shirt, or recreating the characters themselves in costume. Regarding the latter, homemade Iron Man and War Machine costumes were just a sample of the incredible cosplay seen at “The Con.” A female take on a beat-down Kick-Ass also remains ingrained in my mind with her all too real make-up job.

Characters were hardly restricted to fictional beings though as impeached Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich proved with his controversial appearance and pricey autograph session. But Blago aside, what made the Chicago Comic Con such a success this year was the attention paid to bringing out the people truly responsible for the characters beloved by so many. This meant cover artists like Marvel Comics’ Greg Horn or actors like Brent Spiner, who spoke like a natural born stand up comedian in addressing his days playing Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Sure, it may be a bit strange for some of these folks to talk about past roles and work, but they know their audiences aren’t going to soon forget what they’ve created.

Words by Max Herman