This weekend is C2E2 here in Chicago. For the un-nerdified, that stands for Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo.

Yes, I am going to a comic book convention. And I’m ridiculously excited about it.

If you’re laughing to yourself and picturing the attendees dressed up like Batman, or Captain America, or a zombie; rest assured. They’ll be there. And I’ll be smiling and gawking too. But if you’re getting up on your high horse and looking down on me for wanting to go see the spectacle, well realize this: events like C2E2 are about comics the same way amusement parks are about roller coasters. They may nominally be the reason for existance, but you could spend an entire enjoyable day doing everything else.

My C2E2 weekend will start on Friday after work where I’ll see Patton Oswalt and a few others perform under the Comedy Death Ray banner. (And if you like comedy but don’t know of CDR, google it. You’re welcome.) Saturday I have convinced Emily to come along and we’ll be going to cast-and-crew panel Q&A’s for little shows like The Walking Dead, Chuck, True Blood, etc. And then there will be the show floor with miles of vendors selling funny tshirts, obscure books, DVDs, graphic novels, collectibles, and eveything else the 13 year old boy that drives this train might want.

This, truly, is the age of the nerd. And I’ve never been more comfortable with wearing my nerdiness on my sleeve.