It's okay. You know, th-there's always WonderCon in Anaheim, you know? That-that's just as good ... excuse me! ~ runs away crying ~
WonderCon Anaheim Reboots the 2022 Con-Season
Sky-blue cosplay wigs, Lolita dresses, Dr. Who trenchcoats and Steampunk are back in style. (JK. Steampunk isn’t back in style.) Yet, the rest of cosplay has finally returned to one of SoCal's most mildly-anticipated conventions: WonderCon Anaheim (WCA). Runner-up to the reigning champion of all comic-conventions, San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), WCA returns April 1st - 3rd to the Anaheim Convention Center, nestled across the road from Disneyland and the Mouse House's un-ticketed, shopping-and-dining, hotel district, Downtown Disney.
It’s been two years since SoCal's large-scale comic-events, like conventions, were cancelled due to covid, with the exception of an off-season, little-noted, mini-SDCC held during Thanksgiving Weekend of 2021. Now, back to a regular schedule, it seems, WCA is fighting the covid-bite, clawing its way back to normality and testing the landscape for SDCC, which returns to San Diego in July of 2022.
The origins of SoCal comic-book conventions were straight-forward: trading, buying and selling of comics, and a small-con camaraderie amongst approximately 300 visitors, in 1970, at the U.S. Grant Hotel in San Diego's Gaslamp District. Today, WCA SDCC (with recorded 2019 attendances of 66K and 135K visitors, respectively) are more pop-culture, public-education, cult-of-celebrity and art-awareness than just a meeting room of comic-books and some Adam West Batman fans. (We miss you, Mayor West.)
As comics, anime, cosplay, sci-fi and fantasy casually merged into the mainstream over the decades, what used to be the demure dork's domain, became the cocksure hipster's haunt. If only the Drama Club and Muppet Show Fan Club had been this popular in high school.
Showplaces for cosplay, from homemade and horrible to posh and professional, comic-conventions are public promenades for the geek-chic, geek-curious and authentic-geek sets. Alongside Hallowe’en and Renaissance Faires, comic-conventions are annual, creative releases where dragon wings, anime hair, chainmail, Chewbacca masks and Princess Leia buns are not only acceptable, but expected, and appreciated. For a blessed few times a year, if you’re not in costume, you’re the weird one.
As comics, anime, cosplay, sci-fi and fantasy casually merged into the mainstream over the decades, what used to be the demure dork's domain, became the cocksure hipster's haunt. If only the Drama Club and Muppet Show Fan Club had been this popular in high school.
Showplaces for cosplay, from homemade and horrible to posh and professional, comic-conventions are public promenades for the geek-chic, geek-curious and authentic-geek sets. Alongside Hallowe’en and Renaissance Faires, comic-conventions are annual, creative releases where dragon wings, anime hair, chainmail, Chewbacca masks and Princess Leia buns are not only acceptable, but expected, and appreciated. For a blessed few times a year, if you’re not in costume, you’re the weird one.
Once upon a time, the concept of masks and face-coverings were relegated largely to the domains of medicine, asbestos removal, armed robbery, masquerade balls and Ghost Adventures’ Zak Bagans, when he's investigating dank basements and moldy tombs. Today, too many years after the covid invasion of personal space, masks seem to be headed back to whence they came; most folks and businesses, even museums, schools, airlines and airports are either weaning off, or off the mask altogether. So, be aware, WCA still has rigid restrictions in-place. If you plan to attend - and unlike coveted SDCC badges garnered months in advance, WonderCon badges can still be purchased on-site - be ready to follow their covid guidelines: fitted masks, worn everywhere at all times, inside and outside of the Anaheim Convention Center, plus, either proof of “full vaccination” or negative test results no more than 72 - 24 hours before entrance, depending on the type of test. In case you think these rules are loosely enforced, WCA notes in their press-guidelines, “There will be verification stations outside the perimeter of the Anaheim Convention Center.” How very Death Star.
Note: face-coverings as part of a costume are not acceptable masks. CDC-approved masks must be worn, even over a costume mask.
Exhibitors and vendors: Panty Cat, Japan Funtime, Crafty Geek Girls, Ashley Eckstein/Her Universe, Blue Bird Doll Shop, Kawaii Plushies Plus, Ageless Geeks, Anime King, Funko, Gallery Panda, Michael Carbonaro/The Carbonaro Effect, Nerds & Nomads, Pendragon Costumes
Gaming demos and tourneys: Machi Koro, Doomtown: Weird West, Villains & Henchmen!, Pathfinder Roleplaying, Starfinder Rolepaying, Prove It!, Web Spinners, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon, Cthulhu Dice, Zombie Dice, Winds of Fortune
Panels and programs: “Mythology of Final Fantasy”, “The Business of Independent Art and Comic”, “Tarzan, Jane Porter, and the Expanding Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe”, “Developing the Future of Art”, “Reading and Writing Our Feelings: How Emotions About the Real World Affect Consuming and Creating Art”, “Hulu’s The Hardy Boys series”, “DC Showcase/Constantine: The House of Mystery”, “Disney+: The Quest series”, “29 Years of Power Rangers”, “Discovery+ and Trvl’s Expedition Bigfoot”
Films: The Bob’s Burgers Movie (sneak preview), Children’s Film Festival, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace, The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition, The Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood, John Carter, Dune (2021)
*Note: Because I care about you and respect your time, you should know, The Lord of the Rings showings, Extended Editions, run about 4hrs, each. So, you know.
Anime: Comet Lucifer, Mahoraba Heartful Day, Sherlock Hound, Ms. Vampire Who Lives in My Neighborhood, Hi-sCool! Seha Girls, Hayate the Combat Butler, Snow White with the Red Hair, Koi Koi Seven, Plunderer, Cutie Honey Universe, Please Twins!, Food Wars!, RIN-NE
Autographs: Ashley Eckstein (Star Wars v/o artist, model and founder of fangirl-design-label “Her Universe”), Larry Thomas (Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi), Herbert Jefferson, Jr. (Battlestar Galactica’s Lt. Boomer), Rico E. Anderson (Truth Be Told and S.W.A.T.). Bobby Clark (original Star Trek’s Captain Gorn), Tracee Lee Cocco (Baywatch, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek: Voyager)
Masquerade: on-stage costume/cosplay competition, Saturday April 2 at 8:30pm, Anaheim Convention Center, ballroom TBA.
Generally idiosyncratic and odd to the uninitiated, WonderCon, like SDCC, is actually an immersive, creative, imaginative, empowering, beauteous, exhilirating, freeing, claustrophobic and anxious fellowship of folks whom like D&D, LOTR, SW and BBT as much as you do. A Con is kind of like a bowl of wet chia seeds: so many individuals crammed together in a shared space, but each one surrounded by their own, safe bubble of moist, muculent, sticky fantasy: bumping into others, a gestalt of geek, but safe from too much contact. If it were anywhere else, save maybe Disneyland or Le Louvre in the Summer, being around this many people would not be an option; most Con-goers would opt to stay home and write posts about Cons. Yet, it is WonderCon and it’s the first one since 2019. The crowds are relatively light, compared to SDCC, and, unlike the July Con, it's cool enough to wear velvet, and one can always find an outlet, a seat somewhere on the ground and a hotel room within walking distance of the convention center. So, we need to take this opportunity to train. We have to get ready because, in just three months, the first full-SDCC since 2019 returns, full-force. If you think corset-bruises, stiletto blisters, the suffocating oppression of a leather frock coat and the overall, penetrating body odour that caanopies a convention, a smell known lovingly as Con Stank, is bad after three days in Spring, just wait until five days in Summer. Fellow dorks, we have a lot of work to do.
Other than masks and medical verification stations, WCA should function as usual: below is a fun sampling of on-site exhibitors, vendors, events and activities. For a full map of the Exhibit Floor, including Artists’ Alley, Small Press and Fan Tables, visit the WCA Exhibitors-page; for a full schedule of panels and programs, including films, games, anime, autographs and the Masquerade contest, visit the WCA Programs and Guests-page.
Exhibitors and vendors: Panty Cat, Japan Funtime, Crafty Geek Girls, Ashley Eckstein/Her Universe, Blue Bird Doll Shop, Kawaii Plushies Plus, Ageless Geeks, Anime King, Funko, Gallery Panda, Michael Carbonaro/The Carbonaro Effect, Nerds & Nomads, Pendragon Costumes
Gaming demos and tourneys: Machi Koro, Doomtown: Weird West, Villains & Henchmen!, Pathfinder Roleplaying, Starfinder Rolepaying, Prove It!, Web Spinners, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokémon, Cthulhu Dice, Zombie Dice, Winds of Fortune
Panels and programs: “Mythology of Final Fantasy”, “The Business of Independent Art and Comic”, “Tarzan, Jane Porter, and the Expanding Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe”, “Developing the Future of Art”, “Reading and Writing Our Feelings: How Emotions About the Real World Affect Consuming and Creating Art”, “Hulu’s The Hardy Boys series”, “DC Showcase/Constantine: The House of Mystery”, “Disney+: The Quest series”, “29 Years of Power Rangers”, “Discovery+ and Trvl’s Expedition Bigfoot”
Films: The Bob’s Burgers Movie (sneak preview), Children’s Film Festival, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace, The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition, The Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood, John Carter, Dune (2021)
*Note: Because I care about you and respect your time, you should know, The Lord of the Rings showings, Extended Editions, run about 4hrs, each. So, you know.
Anime: Comet Lucifer, Mahoraba Heartful Day, Sherlock Hound, Ms. Vampire Who Lives in My Neighborhood, Hi-sCool! Seha Girls, Hayate the Combat Butler, Snow White with the Red Hair, Koi Koi Seven, Plunderer, Cutie Honey Universe, Please Twins!, Food Wars!, RIN-NE
Autographs: Ashley Eckstein (Star Wars v/o artist, model and founder of fangirl-design-label “Her Universe”), Larry Thomas (Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi), Herbert Jefferson, Jr. (Battlestar Galactica’s Lt. Boomer), Rico E. Anderson (Truth Be Told and S.W.A.T.). Bobby Clark (original Star Trek’s Captain Gorn), Tracee Lee Cocco (Baywatch, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek: Voyager)
Masquerade: on-stage costume/cosplay competition, Saturday April 2 at 8:30pm, Anaheim Convention Center, ballroom TBA.
Generally idiosyncratic and odd to the uninitiated, WonderCon, like SDCC, is actually an immersive, creative, imaginative, empowering, beauteous, exhilirating, freeing, claustrophobic and anxious fellowship of folks whom like D&D, LOTR, SW and BBT as much as you do. A Con is kind of like a bowl of wet chia seeds: so many individuals crammed together in a shared space, but each one surrounded by their own, safe bubble of moist, muculent, sticky fantasy: bumping into others, a gestalt of geek, but safe from too much contact. If it were anywhere else, save maybe Disneyland or Le Louvre in the Summer, being around this many people would not be an option; most Con-goers would opt to stay home and write posts about Cons. Yet, it is WonderCon and it’s the first one since 2019. The crowds are relatively light, compared to SDCC, and, unlike the July Con, it's cool enough to wear velvet, and one can always find an outlet, a seat somewhere on the ground and a hotel room within walking distance of the convention center. So, we need to take this opportunity to train. We have to get ready because, in just three months, the first full-SDCC since 2019 returns, full-force. If you think corset-bruises, stiletto blisters, the suffocating oppression of a leather frock coat and the overall, penetrating body odour that caanopies a convention, a smell known lovingly as Con Stank, is bad after three days in Spring, just wait until five days in Summer. Fellow dorks, we have a lot of work to do.
ICYMI, JennyPop knows her Cons. (She also knows vintage clothes and accessories, everything about the 18thC. in Europe and America, how to complement colours with anything, how to choose a ripe avocado, is a passionate yet struggling Irish Step dancer, speaks four languages - not Klingon, never ever again with the Klingon - and only knows how to cook baguettes fromages and espresso … but, for now, we’re talking about pop-culture and comics. Don’t get distracted. Focus, Pinky.)
She’s been covering SDCC and WCA since Steampunk was cool … well, was it ever really cool? She thinks so, but it wasn’t. It never was, JennyPop.
Anyhoo, read her Con-coverage and, even better, her published-articles from “The San Diego Comic-Con Official Souvenir Book”. She's the longest-running contributor (10 consecutive years until stupid covid interrupted life) with the longest name in the book. Jennifer Susannah Devore’s historical-retrospectives include Bongo Comics and The Simpsons, Betty & Veronica and Archie Comics, Batgirl, Catwoman, Tarzan, The X-Files, Conan the Barbarian and Peanuts. In their own, 2010 Peanuts retrospective, TIME magazine cited Jennifer's first SDCC article, a Peanuts-history titled “First Beagle on the Moon”.
JennyPop knows her pop-culture, kittens! Follow her @JennyPopCom on Insta and Twitter and Substack!
She’s been covering SDCC and WCA since Steampunk was cool … well, was it ever really cool? She thinks so, but it wasn’t. It never was, JennyPop.
Anyhoo, read her Con-coverage and, even better, her published-articles from “The San Diego Comic-Con Official Souvenir Book”. She's the longest-running contributor (10 consecutive years until stupid covid interrupted life) with the longest name in the book. Jennifer Susannah Devore’s historical-retrospectives include Bongo Comics and The Simpsons, Betty & Veronica and Archie Comics, Batgirl, Catwoman, Tarzan, The X-Files, Conan the Barbarian and Peanuts. In their own, 2010 Peanuts retrospective, TIME magazine cited Jennifer's first SDCC article, a Peanuts-history titled “First Beagle on the Moon”.
JennyPop knows her pop-culture, kittens! Follow her @JennyPopCom on Insta and Twitter and Substack!
