Disneybounders Unite! by Eri Kagami
Hosted by Nolan Brewer, Crystal Rose Creations, Holland Phoenix, Little Fantastic and myself, this panel focused on dressing up in Disney style. While we have covered this topic last year, this year brought in a full house of Disney enthusiasts who are current Disneybounders and also new to Disneybounding. The panel consisted of a slide show that ran alongside the panel as Crystal moderated. Questions asked were how to encourage new people to bounding, what is bounding etiquette, and if we have any favorite accessories to go with our bounds. The panelists talked about their favorite bounds and what they will plan to bound as in the future. Nolan went into detail on how he was able to pull off a full Aladdin group for the 25th anniversary. It is an honor and privilege to be a part of this panel – would love to help out again!
The X-Men: The Animated Series 25th Anniversary by Jared the Greek
One of the most influential kids shows of the 90s was x-Men. A series offering a more mature storytelling style that took chances with heavier plot lines that led the way for Batman The Animated Series as well as other darker themed kids shows. This panel brought together several members of the production staff to tell their stories including the difficulties of getting the show on air in the first place. While it is easy to take the series for granted now, it was a difficult task to bring out a show that covered topics like racism, depression, death, and faith. This was an amazing panel and learning that the staff worked on a behind the scenes book got many people rushing down to the dealer hall. If you can see the staff in person or pick up the book then do so as the stories are almost unbelievable.
Dealers Hall / Artist Alley by Eri Kagami
Every Wonder Con visit is not complete unless there’s a visit or two to the massive dealers hall and artist alley. This took over the first floor of the convention center. The most wonderful thing about the dealers hall is that it never felt too crowded for as large as a convention as Wonder Con. There was enough space to browse and shop. Wonder Con had vendors that sold anime stuffies and figures, toys from yesteryear, geek fashion apparel, a row of indie authors and publications, and publishing houses ready to meet aspiring artists. The artist alley was also integrated with the dealers all. This got pretty crowded and hectic throughout the weekend. There were a variety of artists from across the country, some traveling as far as Boston and Orlando! I managed to mingle with artists that I don’t normally see on the west coast. I also picked up several cat related artist alley prints, bookmarks, and keychains.
Music in Animation by Jared the Greek
This panel brought in the composers of hit shows like Rick and Morty, Adventure Time, and big Mouth, as well as the composer for the recent movie Early Man. The panel consisted of questions about the process of writing music and the differences between TV and movies. To add to the fun songs from the various shows were played and the composers talked about how they came to write them. Even if you do not know much about music there is plenty of interesting things to learn in this panel. This was a pleasant surprise and hopefully they will bring in more composers next year because their stories are fascinating.
Pop Culture Exchange in the Pacific Rim by Jared the Greek
This was our final panel for the day and although it was one of the last panels of the day it still brought in a good sized audience. The panel began by looking at the early Marvel inspired super sentai series then shifted into the Marvel anime series as well as the Star Wars manga. The panel even explored the beloved Godzilla series as well as some of the lesser known American super sentai adaptations. It was a fun panel and a great way to wrap up our panel run for this year’s Wondercon.
