SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

April 21, 2013 by Lori Henderson

WonderCon Anaheim 2013

April 21, 2013 by Lori Henderson   Leave a Comment

Over the last weekend in March, WonderCon, a smaller brother to San Diego Comic Con, took place in Anaheim, California. Being local to the area, my family and I attended the three day convention. We are veteran comic convention attendees, having attended San Diego Comic Con for most of the 00s. We stopped going when it became so crowded that you couldn’t move in the exhibition hall and it took hours in line to attend just one panel. One of the things that is so appealing about WonderCon to us, besides the close proximity, is the smaller size. You’ll probably hear this a lot if you look into WonderCon reports, but WonderCon really does feel like how San Diego was in the 90s-00s, before Hollywood moved in. It is a much more intimate con and therefore much more enjoyable. Even though there were more people here for the second year, there weren’t the oppressive crowds like you can get in SDCC.

The Exhibition Hall, where all the vendors, publishers and artists were set up, took up two halls this year. There were some familiar faces as well as some new ones. Both my husband and I were disappointed that tables we had seen last year were not there this year, but this con was really more for our kids. This year was the first year we let our two girls, ages 16 and 14, go off on their own. They had money they had saved from Christmas and their birthdays as spending money. We only had panels we wanted to attend at the beginning and end of the day, so we spent most of the first day in the Exhibition Hall. It was fun running into them as we walked around. The girls also went off onto a panel on their own, How to Get a Job in Video Games, something my oldest daughter is especially interested in. It was a big step, not just for them, but for me too. They got to be one their own with the ‘rents hanging around, and I was able to let them go. Though I’d be lying if I didn’t worry about them one in a while.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

There was a lot of Cosplay, people who dress up as their favorite characters, at the con. The Anaheim Convention Center has a large fountain at the entrance to the center, and well as a small alcove along the way to the arena and another fountain in front of the arena. These areas were taken up by the cosplayers and were great for photo opportunities. There was a wide variety of genres covered: Superheroes such as Batman and Superman, TV shows such as Adventure Time, movies such as Star Wars, and video games such as Mario. Doctor Who had a strong presence too, with both new and classic Doctors running around. My youngest daughter chose to dress up as Jade Harley, her favorite human from Homestuck. We found the Homestuck meetup on Saturday in time for her to participate. It was interesting to see one of these meetups in action. It was run but some older kids, maybe college age. All of the older folks there were like us, there to take pictures. It was organized by character, and photographers were given 10 seconds to get their photos. It was fun seeing the variety and ingenuity the kids put into recreating the likenesses of their favorite characters. Cosplayers in general are friendly people, always happy to pose for a pic and sometimes engaging in silly behavior. Saturday was also the only day to sell out at the con, and therefore the most crowded, so checking out the cosplayers was a great way to get away from the crowds.

There was a good variety of panels this year. Besides the panels that kids would enjoy, there were a lot of others for the adult and academic minded. The Comics Arts Conference had a lot of interesting topics, such as Comics, Queerness, and Identity, The Filter of Fiction: Batman, Spider-Man, and Real Life Drama, and Comics, Culture and Change. There were also a lot of panels about creating your own comic and self publishing. And then there were just the fun panels like Starship Smackdown Presents Alien Armageddon, which has fans pitting different aliens ships from sci-fi against each and deciding who would win, or The Psychology of Star Trek vs. Star Wars as psychologists and writers compared the worlds of the two shows, and even the fandoms to decide which one was the best. Hollywood did make a small showing, as Warner Bros and Sony brought sneak peeks, trailers and full episodes of some of their genre shows such as Revolution and Evil Dead.

If you just want a taste of what a con like San Diego or New York is like, WonderCon is a good place to start for West Coast fans. While Wondercon has been in Southern California because of scheduling issues with its usual venue in San Francisco, Anaheim has been such a success for them, that they are looking at have two WonderCons, one for each end of the state! I hope so, because even though I’m getting too old for the three-day con, my kids love it, and I want them to keep being able to have the experiences I loved so much when I was there age.

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
comicsConventionscosplayWondercon

About Lori Henderson

Lori Henderson is a mother of two teenage daughters and an avid reader. She blogs about manga at her personal blog Manga Xanadu as well as contributing and editing for Manga Village. She blogs about all things fandom (mainly Doctor Who) at her other personal blog Fangirl Xanadu. She's been at it so for over 5 years now and counting!

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

February 2023

Graphic Novel Series Tie-Ins Encourage Creativity | Roundup

by Lori Henderson

December 2022

Two Gardening Books to Read Now | Reviews

by Lori Henderson

November 2022

Animal Rescue Friends | Review

by Lori Henderson

October 2022

Review: Parachute Kids

by Lori Henderson

June 2022

Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #331 | Preview

by Lori Henderson

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

One Star Review, Guess Who? (#184)

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day – Trees: Haiku from Roots to Leaves by Sally M. Walker, ill. Angela McKay

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Review: Nat the Cat Takes a Nap

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Here Be Monsters: On Horror, Catharsis, and Uneasy Truces with Yourself, a guest post by author Rebecca Mahoney

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Newbery Medalist Amina Luqman-Dawson visits The Yarn

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

12 Essential Nonfiction Graphic Novels for Kids and Teens

10 Manga Titles for Teens Who Watch Anime

The 2019 Eisner Award Nominations, Reviewed

Superheroes Meet Real-Life Science in DC’s ‘Flash Facts’

'Salt Magic,' 'The Legend of Auntie Po,' and 'Run: Book One' Among 2022 Eisner Award Winners

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023