Following my first Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (otherwise known as C2E2) back in 2011, I wrote that I believed the event had a ton of potential going forward. Having the opportunity to attend again this weekend, even I was surprised at just how much it had grown in only two short years. Granted, this time around I was visiting on a Saturday as opposed to a Friday. That said, in 2011 I was mostly able to enter the convention floor at my leisure without even a hint of a wait. This year, I found myself buried a few thousand deep in a line not terribly dissimilar from ones I’ve encountered at that one convention that’s held in San Diego every summer. I may be wrong, but I can’t help but think that the day of the week I attended isn’t solely responsible for the increased demand.

After the jump you can check out some photographic highlights from my Saturday at C2E2 2013 in Chicago’s McCormick Place. Mostly comprised of Cosplay, some of my personal favorites include Chewbacca sharing a moment with Mega Man, Zombie Robin, Wayne’s World, and a stellar Spawn costume just to name a few. For this and a lot more, join me after the break.

The first question from those who miss out on Dragon*Con is always “how were the costumes?”  Too great to explain in words.  The amount of craft, effort and sometimes sheer genius that goes into Cosplay is overwhelmingly amazing.  Dragon*Con distinguishes itself from other conventions by having more of a fantasy angle than specifically sci-fi or comics, but the Cosplay is all over the board — from movies to TV shows and fantasy novel series, almost no fandom goes unrepresented by the devoted.  One of the biggest parts of Dragon*Con is the parade, and though I don’t know the exact numbers yet for this year, I know that the con grew 30% in attendance from last year, which means about 60,000 folks, plus all of those who just showed up for the parade and to see the costumes and sights.

For pictures of all kinds of incarnations of the Avengers, Star Wars, Star Trek, Catwoman, Bane, MegaMan, Doctor Who, Avatar, even Legends of the Hidden Temple (a personal favorite), and some things that just can’t be defined, hit the jump.