Anaheim, CA – This year, Southern California was blessed with its first ever WonderCon! Normally held in the Bay Area, the venue was moved to the Anaheim Convention Center due to renovations being made at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. As a result (and thanks to a professional pass through Danny Chiang at Dated Future Productions- http://www.datedfuture.com/), this meant I finally had an opportunity to cover Comic-Con’s smaller, yet equally exciting sister event!
For those that don’t know, WonderCon and Comic-Con are conventions that deal with all things related to comic books, all sorts of sci-fi genres, movies, tv shows, and related art. These events draw hundreds of thousands every year. Make no mistake- you may assume that this is a nerd mecca, but it is far from it. There’s something for every body, for all kinds of interests. Whether you’re into steampunk, cosplay (which I will get into later), anime, video games, card games, comic books, Japanese collectibles, horror films, meeting your favorite authors and artists, or looking for the latest scoop on a movie, odds are you found something that brings out your inner fanboy/girl. The main sections of the event includes the exhibit hall, where various companies, large and small display their wares and/or upcoming products. A large section called the Artist’s Alley is dedicated to artists of all backgrounds. And third, one of the most important parts of these conventions are the various panels held throughout the day, where important people will talk about their upcoming works- for example, we were able to watch a special preview screening of 21 Jump Street, and see the ever-so-dreamy Channing Tatum in person. Or perhaps you’re interested in the direction of LGBT characters in comic books. Whatever your interest, there was probably a panel just for you!
As an aside, we usually cover car-related events here- and I’ll just say it straight out- there’s better overall eye candy here in the form of cosplayers (which are generally regular attendees in costumes) than there is at any car show I’ve been to recently. When you have the likes of Jessica Nigri and Linda Le dressed up as your favorite fictional character that you wish were real, you can forget about the girls who think having implants and a skimpy bikini is a recipe for success. Also refreshing is the lack of pretentiousness of cosplayers- here, they actually WANT to have their pictures taken and will gladly drop their bags of loot for a pose (that’s more than I can say for the recent trend of models sitting behind their booths all day, flanked by some security outfit, hoping you’ll buy an autographed picture of them, or the ones being paraded around by some guy, like a pimp and his ho. I can understand the security issue, but.. it’s not exactly accessible. You don’t get networking potential by projecting the image that you just want to get paid or acting like you don’t even want to be there). There were so many great, ridiculously intricate outfits, that it’s hard to pick just one.. but I have to give huge props to the guy in the WoW paladin T2 outfit wielding Ashbringer.. that $#!t was just amazing.
But I digress- I had a ton of fun at WonderCon, and it was a much more exciting event than I could have imagined. I was never too interested in attending Comic-Con because I felt it wasn’t relevant to me, but I couldn’t have been more wrong, and I can’t wait to attend this coming summer. Without further ado, check out the pics of some of the wonderful cosplayers and exhibits. Be Jealous, Larry! –Dave Luong, Madlight Media
[…] To see the complete gallery and read Dave’s take on his first nerd prom: make sure you visit the gallery on Dave’s site http://www.madlightmedia.com/events/wondercon-2012/9688 […]