Wonder Con never ceases to amaze me. I wouldn’t call myself a pop culture geek who is into everything – I’m more of an anime nerd than anything else, but I do dabble in Disney, Star Wars, and other pop culture this and that. However, Wonder Con is always fun and I don’t have much to complain about it. It is a giant pop culture show – it’s “San Diego Comic Con Lite” for those of us who can’t make it down to San Diego in July. It does have a good mix of pop culture for everyone.
Many thanks to the Wonder Con staff for accepting three of our panels and being flexible of rescheduling one when we found out that two of our members had a last minute prior commitment. It was very nice of Wonder Con staff to send us a “thank you” card. However, I’m forever grateful that Wonder Con has continued to give us this opportunity and space to present on topics that aren’t usually presented at western heavy pop culture events. Jared the Greek got to talk about Final Fantasy – at times mistaken for an industry professional. Stan and Deb got to talk about Tokusatsu and even one of the suit actors stopped by their panel! Also, much thank you to Crystal Rose Creations for having me again on the Disneybound panel. It’s always a delight sharing stories and insight on Disneybounding.
While we won’t go into too many details, I also have to thank Wonder Con security for being aware of a credible threat to one of my colleagues. In this age where cosplayers and attendees face harassment, I’m very glad that staff took our harassment case seriously and gave us contact information should the issue escalated. Thankfully, the issue did not escalate at the convention; neither perpetrators attended. It is worth noting that Wonder Con cares about the safety of attendees.
Programming at Wonder Con is always robust. I feel there’s always something to do and to try out, even out of the faintest of curiosities. I always like perusing the dealers hall and artist alley because I normally don’t see these type of nerdy themed fashion vendors at the usual conventions I attend. This is also gives me an opportunity to try on dresses and cardigans for purchase without having to risk getting the wrong fit and size online.
This was also a nice location for cosplay photoshoots. I was able to shoot with Chloe Flores, Team Misaki, and Michael Greening. There’s a lot of neat photoshoot locations at the Anaheim Convention Center, even moreso than the Los Angeles Convention Center. I didn’t attend any cosplay meet ups this year because most of them conflicted with panels we were running. However, I did cosplay as Usagi in her school uniform. I don’t usually cosplay anime characters at comic conventions, but I forget how well Sailor Moon is received at general pop culture events. Shoutout to Celestial Skye for getting this costume done for Wonder Con – most of this was already complete for the past few years, just had to make the skirt.
If you’re in the area and want to get a slice of San Diego Comic Con without the bum rush for presale tickets, I highly recommend checking out Wonder Con for a day. It’s easier to get tickets online. If you’re from out of town and want something more than just your local comic con, Wonder Con is worth traveling out to and making a weekend out of it. Disneyland is literally across the street and you can get some sweet deals on hotels while you’re staying for the convention. We are looking forward returning to Wonder Con in 2019 – hopefully running more panels and giving indie creatives our money. Until then, the convention is what you make it, so make it a good one.
See you at next con!
Written by Eri Kagami
IG: @erikagami
Twitter: @erikagamisews