Like other aspects of life impacted by the pandemic, fan conventions thrive on the personal – the spectacle of thousands of people dressed as fictional characters under one roof, mingling with authors, actors and entertainers, pollinating Deadpools with Doctor Whos.

It’s been three years since there were more Joker masks than N95s, but this summer, major pop culture fan conventions around Chicago are getting closer to the old days.

Although, like all the other universes affected by the pandemic, this one has also changed.

The once-hot C2E2, which hosted a milder convention in December 2021, returns just eight months later, looking emaciated — if its first guest list is any measure.

That said, two other local shows — two of the funniest — return in much the same way. (Actually, bigger.) What follows is a little guide to nerd extravaganzas worth waiting for.

Excessively corny, oddly charming. (Your friend who thinks she’s “such a nerd” because she loves “Stranger Things” will reconsider her words when she arrives.) It’s the world’s biggest meeting of fans of Godzilla and other such cases. Japanese pituitary.

Special guests: Hiroyuki Kawase and Tomoko Ai – and if you know these Japanese actors, clear your schedule. (They were in the “Godzilla” movies of the 1970s.) For the casual G fan, the real special guests will be the many homemade Godzilla costumes running around.

What there is to know: What started as a small gathering of like-minded Japanese monster movie fans in 1994 is coming together for the 27th time, after losing years to the pandemic. The leader from the start has been JD Lees, a retired high school teacher from Manitoba who flies in every year to present screenings, panel discussions and artist talks. “Since the last time we met, there’s been the Godzilla anime, ‘Godzilla vs. Kong,’ the general growth of the Monsterverse,” he told me. “We have a lot to catch up on.” Indeed, if pre-registration is a measure, the usual 3,500 or so attendees should increase. »

Imagine toy vendors selling Japanese rarities, panel discussions on Godzilla and culture, screenings of lost production footage, and (my favorite) a Saturday costume parade that’s both impressive for its intelligence and hilarious for its image of men (and children) in monster costumes waddling around a huge ballroom. If that sounds a little too much, the Pickwick Theater in Park Ridge offers “Godzilla” movies all weekend in its 900+ seat venue.

If you are going to: July 15-17 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, 9300 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. in Rosemount. For tickets: Convention-wise, a relative flight at $55 for all three days for adults (or $35 for one). Children under 16 cost between $25 and $10 (depending on the day). And children under six are free. More information on g-fan.com

Family friendly, crowded, lots of variety, with a welcome eye for comics and artists rather than B-list celebrities. My favorite local convention since it started in 2010.

Special guests: At last check, the lineup is being finalized, but looks iffy, even compared to a smaller C2E2 last winter that boasted Hayden “Anakin Skywalker” Christensen and John Cena. Right now your draw is Billy Dee Williams. (But I’m told announcements will come.) As usual, the lineup of comic book creators is strong, with Jonathan Hickman, Scott Snyder, Jenny Frison as well as Chicago stalwarts such as Gene Ha.

What there is to know: Like other convention organizers, it’s been a tough few years for Connecticut-based ReedPop, which produces New York Comic Con and Star Wars Celebration. They lost shows and staff. They tried a reduced and masked C2E2 before last Christmas. Now that Fan Expo is becoming one of the biggest players in this industry, they face more competition. Still, Kristina Rogers, vice president of events at ReedPop, said it also allowed them to focus more on providing “a complete experience.”

You also hear variations on this from other showrunners. They learned – much like Lollapalooza did with its audience – that 21st century crowds are there for the experience itself. “They’re drawn to names,” Rogers said, “but at the end of the day we have to deliver value, not just photo ops or signs — that has to be it. It has to feel like a mini vacation. Immersion, essentially.The specifics of this C2E2 remain sparse, but expect a strong after-show party, a large aisle of performers, thoughtful panels – something closer to the origins of comics she (Expect C2E2 to return to its regular spring schedule next year.)

If you are going to: August 5-7 at McCormick Place, 2301 S. King Drive. Tickets are $99 for all three days, or $40 on Friday, $50 on Saturday or Sunday. Children 6-12 are $20 for three days (or $10 on Sundays only). Again, remember that autographs and photo ops will cost you. Billy Dee Williams is $210 a pop; Villain “Obi-Wan” Rupert Friend is $80. More information on c2e2.com

Hardcore horror movie fans at the moment, no joke, pretty cool.

Special guests: The big bad this year is Robert “Freddy Krueger” Englund, but if you grew up around a VCR in the ’80s and ’90s, expect plenty of bloody deja vu: the cast of the original ‘Halloween’ , two different actors who played Jason in the films “Friday the 13th”, a cast reunion of “Night of the Comet”, “Nightmare on Elm Street”. Also less scary: Robert Carradine from “Revenge of the Nerds” and Alex Winter, aka Bill from “Bill & Ted”. This year’s star director is Steve Miner, the Chicago-born filmmaker behind episodes of “Friday the 13th”, “Halloween”, “House” and…”Dawson’s Creek”.

What there is to know: A true mom and pop production, now in its 20th year. One of the longest-running horror shows in the country, it started (and remains) a byproduct of the fandom itself: couple Niles Mike and Mia Kerz wanted a daytime horror encounter, a festival of horror movies at night. “We were fans,” said Mike Kerz, “because horror is the ultimate category of independent film, full of people with few constraints who are eager to break into the business. There’s a real energy there- down. For a time, they screened movies in the parking lots of convention hotels. Shortly after, they bought the Midway Drive-In, about two hours south of Chicago in Dixon. Today, all Flashback’s profits go entirely towards maintaining their investment.

Year one, Bruce Campbell (along with cast and crew) presented a live-action recreation of their cult classic “The Evil Dead.” Building on its goodwill that first year, Flashback quickly attracted Sam Raimi, George Romero and John Carpenter. It now attracts 10,000 people a year. This year, expect filmmaker-led “Friday the 13th” screenings, celebrations of Chicago-born horror movies, and even a Saturday night vampire ball. “I feel like we’re at a perfect size right now,” Mia said. “It remains personal, for us and for everyone else.”

If you are going to: August 5-7 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, 9300 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. in Rosemount. Tickets are $75 for a weekend pass. $40 to $45 the day of the show; $35-$40 in advance. Kids 7-11 are $10 a day, while kids under 6 are free (but my God, what kind of parent are you? It’s a horror convention.) Plus, Freddy Krueger will take your selfie for $140. More information at flashbackweekend.com