C2E2 2025 Exhibitor Spotlight

C2E2 is one of the larger of the comic conventions in Chicago, IL, and is held in the famous McCormick Place halls, which is usually known for its amazing car and trade shows. Every year, vendors, artists, and even celebrities grace the halls to the awe of the thousands of attendees. But what makes a vendor or artist shine? What can create a lasting impression on an attendee or at least turn heads?

Well, this year's event featured an interesting mix of vendors, making it difficult to choose only a few. After much debate and deliberation, and even some collaboration from other attendees, I have compiled the top 6 exhibitors of C2E2 2025 who truly stood out from the crowd!

Project Good Apparel

We will start our list out with a vendor that is not only interested in selling items to make a profit, but also to help out good causes! Co-founders Neil Dickerson and Matt Brosseau created Project Good Apparel back in 2020, when both felt the need for more affordable button-up shirts, but also felt a strong desire towards sustainability and eco-friendly clothing. They set out together to make creative, interesting, and comfortable clothing, while using a blend of nylon and recycled single-use materials, they call their BottleBlend. This cuts down on wasteful fabrics and what will eventually end up in landfills.

And if that was not enough to get you to stop by their stalls at an event, this duo of fashion and fish-friendly vendors has also made it a staple of their business to give part of every sale to charities. That’s right! Every sale of every shirt benefits a wide range of charities, handpicked and which they truly believe in. They give anywhere from 10% to 100% of their profit from each shirt sold.

Their shirts come in quite a few sizes, and range from XS all the way up to 4XL, and they have plenty of designs for just about anyone interested in a button-up shirt could want! From candy canes and poinsettias to donuts and coffee, from beautiful plants to gaming-related shirts, these guys have an ever-expanding selection to choose from.

Keep an eye out for their upcoming shirts and their new charity partners. These guys are a fun stall to see, and always welcoming new people as if they were family! They truly care, not just about the planet, but the people that live on it too. Check out more here.

Tough & Tiny

Based out of Arizona, this fun vendor sports a unique view of Pokémon and various video game characters by making them all buff. Owner Chris Marzuola was inspired by the famous bodybuilder and Tough & Tiny partner, Jeremy Flex. This vendor has created art in the most interesting way: make the character with muscles!

Chris and Jeremy started this creative, clever take on characters about 13 years ago. Their first creation was two iconic Pokémon: 'Bulk-asaur' and 'Pika-huge.' Ever since these two have 'bulked up' into an all-out craze and taken off like the lightning from Pikachu’s head! From t-shirts, bags, and blankets, to stickers and pins, this vendor has created a cute but frightening niche for themselves. And while 'Bulk-asaur' and 'Pika-huge' were the first, Chris admitted that his absolute favorite buff Pokémon would be 'Massive-harp.' I have to say that my favorite is 'Snore-flex,' but that may be a bit biased as my favorite Pokémon is Snorelax regardless.

While this clever niche is amazing in its own right, the other side of this vendor’s stall were fans, not just admirers, but rather the type a person one might use to cool themselves down in the hot sun. These fans have also gained traction because the fans have their own Instagram! The fans come with all sorts of interesting pictures, such as a ouija board or tentacles, others have funny sayings like “Send Noods” on a picture of a noodle, or “Notice Me Senpai,” and others still with mesmerizing designs. The creator said that this is his true passion and fan-favorite at his booth in almost every convention that he attends, stating that while the Pokémon are silly and funny, the fans love their fans! Check out their fans here.

Look out for every convention and see if you see the Tough & Tiny vendor, you will not be disappointed!

Gigawatt Coffee

When I first met this vendor, I was at a more local artisan market, and that is where you usually find this type of vendor: at a small hole-in-the-wall selling out of their trunk. But not Gigawatt, these guys are aware and remember their small beginnings, but are starting to branch out more and more each and every month! Eliott “Eli the Coffee Guy” Coleman and his wife, Jennifer (Jenn), are an amazing duo of creators. Eli makes the coffee, not only because it is a great business and makes him money, but because his love for a simple, good cup of Joe is something he knew others truly look for, and he wanted to be the one to bring it to them.

Back in 2020, when COVID really hit, Eli retired from being a private investigator, and his wife asked him what he would be doing next. While Eli pondered over this, he realized that the one thing he knew was always missing from his many travels was a solid cup of that beautiful nectar in the morning. He would find a few small places and really cherish the nice cup of coffee, but knew that he would leave the area and would have to go on to try to find another one, usually without much luck for long periods of time. So after a time, he finally decided to make his own brew as a hobby to fill the time at first, and realized he had a knack for the much-needed anti-napping liquid, and with the help of his wife, they have turned the hobby into a business. Jenn works the backend and logistics, and Eli creates the cherished variety of amazing coffee. Both show up to events if needed, but Jenn enjoys allowing Eli to be the face of the company because of his passion for his craft and pure enjoyment of seeing others light up when tasting his coffee.

Eli has created over 30 different brews, varying in taste and strength, and continues to create more and more as time goes on. Gigawatt has been expanding their website to include more and more options for customers to enjoy. On the horizon for this great company are the ideas of canned coffee, instant coffee, and more merchandise.

“Gigawatt is a customer-centric company, quality product at an affordable price,” says Eli, “I enjoy the act of honing the craft, the ability to try all sorts of coffees, but I want to make it so others can enjoy it too!”

This company is one that I will be keeping my eyes peeled for at each convention that I attend from now on, and so should you!

Butts on Things

Ever wondered about what various characters would look like if they had butts on them? What about various objects in your life, like a cup of coffee or a taco? Well, that is exactly what you will find at this vendor! You will find the creative art of Brian Cook, who has made it his niche to sell the idea of Butts on Things.

Based out of Portland, OR, Brian spends his time thinking up what it would look like to see a ninja turtle with a butt, or a random Pokemon, or normal objects he sees in the world around him. It all started when Brian was just an illustrator back in 2016, and he has tried different artistic series before. This one took off for him with his first drawing of a simple Starbucks coffee mug that has a bit of a tush on it, from there he has expanded to hundreds of rear ends!

He loves the flexibility of making whatever he wants, unlike previous illustration and artist jobs, and can come and go as he pleases, too. At Brian’s stall, I found pins, stickers, and cards, but he does not plan to stop there, hoping to expand to plushes and other toys, all with their signature booties.

If you want to get a smile on your face, make sure to look out for the Butts on Things vendor Brian Cook!

Eric Palicki

The last, but certainly not least, is Eric Palicki. Erik is a very nice guy and has over 15 years of comic artistry under his belt. His art ranges from working with Marvel, Dark Horse, Black Mask, AHOY!, and Mad Cave. His best seller and favorite comic that he has made so far is the Black’s Myth series, which he started in 2020, has 2 full volumes that include 10 stories in each!

Growing u,p Eric has always been a comic fan, loves to tell stories, and always had his eye on making his own comic. “Comics were always a way to have an introverted person connect with others,” Eric said as he looked down at his array of comics in front of him, “And it always helped me to get my stories onto paper so I could read them again, rather than try to remember them later”.

After going to college for English, Eric came into his own work with comics as a writer and has never looked back. Right now, Eric is working on a new book for AHOY! Comics, but could not really go into too much detail yet.

Eric has even written his own comic with his sister, the sweet and beautiful sister, Adrianna Palicki (Orville, G.I. Joe Retaliation, and Legion). This comic looks awesome, so I won’t spoil it for anyone, but I got to meet both of these great people, and if you see Eric Palicki at any convention, make sure to check out his work; it is absolutely fantastic!

Rough Magic

Now, this vendor was a little different because Rough Magic is not just one or two people selling items, but rather a collaboration of amazing crafters and game enthusiasts. At the Rough Magic stall, I was able to meet up with my friend Saucy Makes (from a previous article that I wrote), where he was selling his amazing 3D dice towers and goblets. But along with Saucy’s work, there were also dice and mats that were sold by both Saucy and his friend Ken. While speaking with them about their wares, they told me that they also had another room on a different floor of the convention center that was being used to run a variety of TTRPGs throughout the convention hours.

After searching this room out, I was amazed to find that the room was filled with about a dozen tables that had different games going on all at once. Sure, it was a bit loud at first, but overall, it was an amazing sight to see. Rough Magic also had a slew of Dungeon Masters and Game Masters that not only ran various DnD games, but also created their own full games too! I sat through a new game that is coming out called Godvein, with the GM and creator of the game, Dano.

So, not only does Rough Magic sell great items at reasonable prices, but they also have awesome people who run games too! This separated them from a lot of the other vendors because most vendors only worry about either running games OR selling items. But with Rough Magic, it was a one-stop shop!

Once I finished my game with Dano and the small group of adventurers (and I would highly suggest you look into Godvein if you like TTRPGs because it is a GREAT concept and different from most TTRPGs that I have played), I started to walk out of the room. Then I noticed a single person sitting at a table that looked similar to a Tarot reader’s table. And again, I was introduced to a new form of TTRPG because he did, in fact, use Tarot cards to create the game. I do not want to spoil the fun, but it was pretty cool the way that this storyteller was able to spin a great story just using cards, and asking for my input for the story too.

Leaving that room was one of the hardest things to do, but I knew I had more of the convention that I needed to cover, and I will be keeping my eyes peeled for Rough Magic’s stall at the next convention too! Check them out on Instagram.

The Wrap Up!

So while enjoying the convention is always the plan, these 6 vendors truly made this convention a pure joy and fun. I look forward to the next convention where I get to see these great vendors again and explore what cool new things they have to offer!

See you all at the next convention!