WonderCon

BEST: Probably one of THE best events in San Francisco. It is a much, much smaller version of the Comic-​Con in San Diego, so you actually get the opportunity to do something substantial at this convention rather than shoulder to shoulder, long lines, and B. O mess.
The process is very simple.
Arrive before 8am to stand in a small line that have very little wait time.
Go through the doors then down the escalators then through the doors to the floor to pick up your badge and other goodies. You are lead to the vendors immediately which typically opens at convention opening times.
Or you can go upstairs and wait in line for the Ballroom where they host panels of upcoming movies. Famous creators and actors are there to talk and promote their latest project usually out by the summer.
WORST: 2012 they moved Wondercon to LA because Moscone Center is under construction. Hopefully this would be just temporary and WonderCon will be back in the Bay Area once again!

Wondercon is typically held in San Francisco but this year it is going to be held in Anaheim. Now for NorCal fans this kinda sucks since both Wondercon and Comic Con are held in Socal in 2012. The expectation is that Wondercon in Anaheim will be have better attendance than in SF but will see. As a fan I kinda liked having an annual trip up to the bay area. It gave me the opportunity to see family and friends.
The Con is the baby brother of SDCC so although you still have a little bit of everything, its just on a smaller scale which allows you to appreciated all the exhibits as well as get some time in on the panels. Also the location in SF is great with many great restaurants and hotels in the local vicinity. Chinatown is about a 15 minute walk but great to grab some dim sum before a day of geeked out entertainment.
Wil see how this year goes in Anaheim, hopefully it will be back up in SF for 2013.

Awesome it was my 1^st time going to WonderCon it was so AWESOME: D
I recommending people to buy there tickets early because it’s cheaper …
It also gets very busy …

I went for the three days and though it was a good show, it was not as celebrity happy with stars as in past years. And that was strange because this was Wondercon’s 25^th anniversary! No Star Trek stars; only a few celebs I really wanted to see. Past years had Nicholas Cage and Roy Thomas of Marvel fame. This year hardly any writers I wanted to see. Last year we had Joe Kubert and his family. Not this time. DC comics really promoted their new films hard. Marvel comics just put up a couple of posters. No panels, no celebs from Marvel. Marvel Comics is a pale ghost of the great company they once were.
Even if you’re not a comics fan you should come to this show every spring. I resent the stereotype of «nerd» and see nothing wrong with people who want to be involved in pop culture, even dressing up as their favorite video game or comic book character.
People not in the know (Mundanes or Muggles) can still have fun.
Reality is for those who can’t face comics!

I missed last year and almost missed this year but made it out late on Saturday. Had a blast!
Ran around like the paparazzi taking pix of the costumed people (I alas didn’t plan ahead and went as myself). Bought a panda hat… don’t know why but I love the animal hats! Saw Jaws from James Bond… so cool! Took a picture on a throne and one with a giant ugly doll. Saw a woman with underarm hair so bushy I followed her around for 20 minutes because I couldn’t believe my eyes. Ran into Unemployed Man on our way out and were serenaded by a guitar playing Poison Ivy. It was a good day =)

It’s definitely a geek fest, but one I am proud to enjoy.
This is a great gathering for anyone interested in comic books and super heroes. You can find that missing comic from 1987 or the newest variant incentive cover. Besides comic books, rare and hard-​to-​find action figures, DVDs and video games can all be found here. They have demonstrations for upcoming games as well as trailers and panels for SciFi movies and television shows. If you’re into celebrities, they show up as well — I’ve seen Christian Bale, Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Gerard Butler just to name a few.
There are a ton of people in costume, but everyone is here to have fun. The Moscone Center is the perfect venue for this.

I visited Wondercon with my husband and daughter, who are a self-​described nerd and nerd-​in-​training, respectively. This really isn’t my scene, but I would have enjoyed it if it weren’t so terribly crowded.
The exhibit floor has something for just about anyone. I liked the cute stuff like the Finn & Jake (from Adventure Time) hats. It’s also a blast to people-​watch here. I saw Grant from Mythbusters and it made my day! I was too shy to ask for a photo, though.

I’m still decompressing and sleep-​deprived from the weekend spent in the Bay Area for this con, but I’ll give writing the review now a try. I actually started this review Monday morning, and finally came back to it Tuesday night still somewhat mentally drained. Anyway…
My general reaction to WonderCon was that it was rather underwhelming for a 25-​year-​old major metropolitan convention.
The exhibit hall, while at a manageable size, was rather small and crowded. Their floor’s somewhere between a quarter and one-​third the size of Comic-Con’s (with about quarter the number of attendees), and yet aisleways were still clogged.
The panels lacked a certain «WOW!» factor (well, except maybe Sunday’s «Dr. Who» panel, of which I’m not a fan, but hey, they had Neil Gaiman). Granted I was pleased with what we could get, but the biggest name on Saturday (the biggest day of any convention) was Jon Favreau, and he was only given 30 minutes at the beginning of the day. Marvel’s got «Thor» and «Captain America» coming out soon and they didn’t have a panel for either of them? Really? Favreau said it himself when he asserted that most industry seem to ignore WonderCon and focus all of their marketing firepower on Comic-​Con.
There was a rather unfortunate shortage of cosplayers, which the convention understandably does not control. It seemed like there was one cosplayer per 50 people. Still, to those who did come in costume, huzzah for you.
My biggest gripe was with badges. My friend lost hers within 10 minutes of getting it and I spent another 15 retracing our steps looking for it. There were several problems with this. 1) They didn’t print names on attendee badges. Anyone could have picked up her badge and run off with it to give to a friend or sell in the street. 2) The registration clerk took the print-​out of her barcode and so she couldn’t bring that as proof of payment or who she was. 3) But she just needed to show her ID, right? Apparently WonderCon’s registration doesn’t require names or addresses and all she had in the system was her first name (since a mutual friend bought her badge for her). As far as I know they ended up forking over $ 40 for a new badge.
There was, however, one very noticeable positive difference between WonderCon and its big brother, Comic-​Con — how congenial the general con-​goers are. Most people are not disgruntled and mean or elbow you or sneeze on you without apology. For the most part, people were nicer, they smiled, they joked with strangers, and the staff were helpful and friendly.
In closing, I’ve been to over 60 fan conventions, and they had one thing I’d never seen before: a woman, in the middle of the exhibit hall floor, lifted her shirt and exposed her bare chest and started nursing while walking the floor. Only in San Francisco?

Not many conventions can rival Wonder-​con. I went with a group and had a blast. The Moscone Center is huge, more than capable for sustaining the traffic. Unfortunately, It’s size still won’t protect you from the legions of sideswiping elbows and shoulders. Oh yeah! The venues a little smelly too.
On the brighter side, the cosplaying was spectacular. Lots of Star Wars reps and more Power Rangers than I’m use to seeing. I only have a minor gripe to pick with morbidly obese women wearing Princess Leia’s slave outfit. Ladies please leave that shit at home.
The vendors were out in full force with all of their best comic-​related offerings but I was disappointed by the lack of fan specific merchandise from comicbook publishers. Particularly hoodies/​t-​shirts/​toys/​keychains etc. I don’t need these events to buy books, Amazon helps me do that. I like conventions for finding rarities/​fanfare; things that are sometimes harder to get. Ultimately, I walked out of Wondercon with a Capcom bag… This is an issue.
But I digress, if you need an intro to geekism, this is the best place to start.

Let me just first off say I don’t think I could ever do Comic Con in San Diego. Which is why I love Wonder Con. It is manageable to walk through this place. It was crowded, but not to the point I was going crazy. I loved seeing people in their costumes. Especially families, so cute!!!
My other favorite thing was the celebrity row. I got to see people who I never thought I’d see in my lifetime. 2011– Timmy from Lassie, Original Catwoman TV series, Battlestar Galactica Original Boomer, Sinefield’s Soup Nazi, Survivor’s Goth guy.
My favorite artists were Camila D’Errico and Britney Lee. They can also be found at the APE expo.

Crowded like crazy, but a great convention no less.
Lots of comic booths selling comics ranging from official ones to indies type. Lots of great fan art and drawings.

I remember WonderCon from its infancy. This was way back in the days when I used to run the Live Programming division for FanimeCon. We liked to support our fellow animé cons in the Bay Area, and this one was no exception.
Only, WonderCon doesn’t need help anymore. Not since ComicCon incorporated them.
One word, luvies — UNBELIEVABLE!
This year, yet again, I was not privileged enough to attend ComicCon down in San Diego, but WonderCon is quickly becoming their Northern California counterpart. Last year, they boasted a total of 34,000 attendees, and this year was even bigger! And my god man! The costumes!!!
Since my Live Programming days, I’m not much for one to go to all the panels and events. I just go to hit the dealers’ hall and take photos of all the amazing costumes walking around. Last year, one guy boasted an EPIC Bumblebee costume, made from real metal and stood about 10 feet tall! (Look!
) Sadly, he wasn’t here this year, but that’s okay. There were plenty other cosplayers that took our attention, like that sexy Mandalorian!
For the first, I didn’t really dress up this time. I just threw on my cat ears and fox tail and that was it. Pretty low key for me at these kind of events. Maybe next year I’ll get more dressed up. I’d love to do an Inara (Firefly) costume someday.
The only thing I griped about missing was Ryan Reynolds, that super hottie! I was going to have him sign my boob with a tattoo pen, but I missed him. So sad. But at least I got to see Elvira, the original Elvira! Her boobs are as perky as ever! You go hot stuff!
Anyhoo, WonderCon is getting bigger and badder every year passing, so if you missed it this year, make sure you go next year. Get your g33k on with me baby! I’m always down for taking scandalous shots with other hotties at the cons.

My very first WonderCon this year. A and I bought our one-​day tickets online in advance, so it was a couple bucks cheaper. We went on Friday because we figured it would be less crowded and easier to get around. It was pretty easy to walk around and check everything out, which is pretty much all we did since it was our first time. We weren’t sure about any of the panels or other events, but I loved seeing all the people dressed up in costumes and checking out the artwork of the artists in Artist Alley, as well as all the «celebrities» sitting at the tables waiting for someone to pay them to take a picture with them.
Next time I’m going to read up beforehand to figure out all the times of the panels and everything to make sure I get to see everything I want to see!

Not my first convention, but first at wondercon. Ill be brief. My recommendations are plan ahead and know what you want to go see. I suggest also go early, because by the end the crowds will wipe u out. What weirded me out that massive amount space that was wasted for registration, where they could have spread the convention floor by another 50 feet so you could get some breathing room. It was so crowded, you could barely move. Its hard to shop or even get in line for a event. By the later afternoon, your tired of the screaming moms with their brats and the hot stinly mass of people. Moscone center, plan the layout better!
Otherwise, great showings, costumes, great things to shop for and lots of signings (could not find Robert Kirkman (the walking dead) to save my life even though he was on the flyer).
Ill come back next year, just a lot earlier!

What I liked:
— Batman!!! My favorite super hero :)
— The table selling hats with animal ears!
— HAGGLING! FTW
— Talented artists, most of whom would draw you something awesome. (Mine was me hugging batman with my cat-​ear beanie on)
— ART ART ART! COMICS! ANIME! CUSTOM DRAWINGS/​PAINTINGS!
— Cast of Chuck
What I didn’t like:
— Sunday was slow… not very many people in costume…
— Table selling hats with animal ears was so overpriced, as were ALL the tables selling anything. $ 15/​hat after haggling…
— Everything seemed soo expensive…(t-shirts were $ 20+, one sketch my friend bought was a mass-​produced drawing that you could get anywhere… for $ 18!)
— No beer… or they ran out by the time we got there. boo.
— No Final Fantasy stuff anywhere… ! Minus the Helios table giving away a Cloud and Chocobo doll to the winner of the name drawing contest. (Was not happy to constantly see the winner of the chocobo doll … grr)
It was a fun experience overall but I don’t think I’ll be back. I def. want to check out ComicCon before I die, though!

This is my second time (I’m not a Wondercon virgin!) and I came back for a reason.
Wondercon is effing awesome.
I don’t read comic books, I don’t scour the internet looking up blogs on obscure superheroes, and I do not play video games.
HOWEVER…
I have way too much fun here. I dressed up as a scandalous Lara Croft (booty shorts and a tank top, plus heels to make the nerds sweat) and ran around dancing with Lady Gaga (whoever you were, girl you rocked that shit and were fierce as hell) and chatted up Lou Ferrigno (who was terribly intimidating, he just has those intense eyes.)
My one gripe is this, and hopefully Wondercon organizers are reading this:
WHERE IS THE BAR?
Cmon, I’m not powered by juice. Roll out a mini bar and my life will be complete. And if you really wanna impress me, bring out some PBR, please and thank you.

Yummy, nerdy-​licious!
First WonderCon visit, but not the last.
Dressed as a Fem Trooper and it was FUN.
Met a lot of cool fellow geeks and fans.
Ran into Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca actor) and Sioux Sinner (internet nudist), all entertaining and amusing.
$ 12 entrance fee offset the $ 20 Moscone parking garage fee.
Next time, I will wear civilian clothing for one day to *really* check out the vendors’ booths; it was nonstop paparazzi dressed in costume.
RECOMMEND for all comic book geeks or just geeks in general. If you’re a deep undercover geek like me, it’s RECOMMENDED, too. ;)

The best thing about the Wondercon was the look on my nephew’s face when he saw Batman, while wearing his Batman shirt (with cape), Batman beanie, Batman jacket and holding his Batman costumed Monkey. Yeah, the kid likes Batman.
He’s 3 years old, so it was a blend between pee in your pants excitement over seeing your favorite superhero ever and being terrified of someone dressed up as your favorite superhero. He was scared of the Alien and Storm Trooper costumes, how do you explain they are not real if they are standing in front of you.
I like checking out the memorabilia, but I’ve grown out of buying collectibles since they dont exactly go with my décor at home. The kid inside of me will always have an appreciation for comics, cartoons and video games, so I love visiting the Wondercon every year.
I noticed that this year’s show was more crowded than last year, despite being on the holiday weekend. Way to boost the economy, Comic geeks and Fan Boys! :)

Just the attendees of WonderCon thought all hope was lost, the Unilocalettes swooped in with the best food and drink recommendations around town!
Ligaya — Katana — like the sword: sharp, deadly and direct.
Connie — Lady X — enigmatic and demure, some say she is from the future.
Nicole — Ms. Fierce — ’nuff said and don’t even ask about those boots.
Jessica — Blaze — scorchin’ hot, and we’re not even talking about her superpowers.
Together, we are: Foxy Freedom Force 4.
I gotta say, being a Unilocal promo gal at this event was amazing! People really go all out for this and dress up in some very cool costumes.
If you want to check out ours:

It’s Saturday morning and somehow I find myself standing in a crazy line of 1000s of people at the Moscone Center in SF… oh yes, I am at WonderCon 2009.
To be fair and offer full disclosure to this review, I’ve never been to a convention before nor am I big comic fan. I was all about checking out the following things: Disney previews, «9» preview, checking out costumes, and finding the ultimate Naruto gear…
As others said, the place was SO packed that it was crazily overwhelming. The main hall was filled with tons of booths with apparel, collectibles, and some signings. I usually don’t get claustrophobic but it was too much for even me (including all of the smelly people… yeah, I said it!)
The upstairs floors offered panels and pre-​screenings of films/​shorts. My highlight of the day was seeing the sneak peeks to «9» and «Up». I also enjoyed hearing the panel with folks from «9″ – that included Elijah Woods — yay Frodo!
Costumes were pretty cool too! Tons of Princess Leias, Jedi Knights… but the awards goes to two costumes in particular. The first to a full fledged «Bumblebee» from Transformers costume. It was amazing! And second, goes to a trio who dressed up like the aliens (the Yip Yips) from Sesame Street. They were hilarious – costumes and sound effects!
Would I go again? Eh, not too sure. It was good entertainment but pretty darn exhausting and crowded. My advice if you plan to go, wear comfy shoes & light clothing (it gets hot!), bring cash, and be prepared to get pushed around a bit.
ps. Sadness because I didn’t find the ultimate Naruto gear :(
pps. The bf LOVED the preview of the New Street Fighter