This year’s FanExpo Chicago took place from August 14 to 16, 2026 in the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, and was a fun time had by all! It can be said that this convention is Chicago’s summer answer to San Diego Comic Con, filled with celebrities, panels, and vendors galore. This year’s celebrity guest list boasted some big names and satisfied all sorts of fans into sci-fi, horror, anime, gaming, literature, and comic books.
The main hall is comprised of aisles upon aisles of vendors, creating in effect the most elaborate geek mall. You can purchase anything from Disney original animation cells to original paintings of DC and Marvel characters to rare board games and underground “green market” DVD sets. While shopping, conventioneers wander the aisles in costumes of characters mostly taken from comic book realms. More and more the convention in recent years is shifting to anime culture since it has been popular lately. While there is still an emphasis on FanExpo being a comic book convention, in practice it is a convention that accommodates all stripes of geekery and has become a pleasant all-geeks-on-deck send-off to the summer break before the return to serious starts again.
There were many comic book vendors on hand concentrated in an area of the vast hall. Here you can buy dollar comics, usually unbagged and unboarded. Great deals were had for the comic collector here, and no price was set in stone. For collectors of Silver and Bronze Age comics, there was an abundance of these at prices that beat online listings. Passionate comic book fans on the hunt for treasures gathered at comic long boxes. The best shopping time is always the first hours of the first day of any convention, and some grails to fill collection gaps were found by those seeking them. Charlton Comics seems to be getting more talked about and collectible as their prices in the market are increasing. Charlton Comics gave birth to characters that DC Comics later acquired such as Captain Atom, the Peacemaker, and Blue Beetle. Purveyors of fine comics were also present, as they are every year, selling Golden Age comic books–comic books from the dawn of the comic era that fetch upwards of five figures or more each. These dream comics formed a museum at FanExpo to gawk at and admire. Graded comics and signed comics also fetched high prices. There was one booth of the convention that showed some iconic comic issues in hermetically sealed museum-quality display cases for everyone to see and make offers on.
Artist Alley is not only an area of FanExpo that is dedicated to local creators and independent creators. Here, there are established big names in the comic industry, such as Frank Miller, who had his own ticket for purchase titled the “Frank Miller Experience.” Fans lined up to get their comics signed by their favorite comic writers and pencillers, increasing the value of their comics by doing so or just having them personally signed to themselves by the creator for their own amusement and safekeeping.
Celebrity guests included famous names such as Mel Gibson, John Carpenter, Jared Padalecki, and Elijah Wood. Stars with large followings were seated upstairs in a loftier space of the convention center than celebs on the main floor. Celebs on the main floor included guests from Star Trek to anime all the way to voice acting guests who interestingly didn’t have their own photos displayed but depictions of their animated characters displayed instead. Mr. T was also present, a rare appearance from the star of The A-Team from the 1980s. He and his staff were all in Chicago Cubs jerseys. Dolph Lundgren, the star of Masters of the Universe (1987) and The Punisher (1989), among other films, was also signing for fans on the main floor. There were many Lord of the Rings fans this year since the four actors who played Hobbits in the movies were there, a fantastic reunion that pleased the fans. Michael Johnston, the main character from the immensely popular new horror movie Obsession (2026), had many clamoring for his autograph, even having replicas of the terrifying One Wish Willow signed by him.
FanExpo promises to always put together a celeb guest list to rival other conventions in the area. It will be interesting to see what celeb guests will appear at FanExpo next year, and what all the components of the convention will look like. FanExpo will be held in the same venue on August 20 to 22, 2027, and will be another fantastic time filled with comic book dreams, memorable celebs, and amazing creators!
