Wonder Con 2019 came and went. I’ve been attending Wonder Con on and off since the 2000’s as a college student in San Francisco. It’s amazing to see the rise of this mega convention. I don’t usually attend San Diego Comic Con, but this is a good substitute if you’re looking for industry hype and premieres of comic con and mingling with comic artists. Southern California has been getting some of the best pop culture oriented events in the past years. I like and prefer Wonder Con over SDCC because of the accessibility for tickets and it’s down the street from where we live. While traffic might be crazy going into the convention center, we do save a lot by commuting!
As someone who cosplays and likes attending industry panels, I didn’t really see much on the programming guide that was a “must see.” I liked that I attended the Joelle Jones presentation and got front row seats. Yet, nothing really came out strong. I was wondering where the “1989 is the Best Geek Year Ever” panel went, but it appears that the panelists were not attending Wonder Con.
As a panelists, the Wonder Con programming staff was super accommodating. We had two out of our four panels approved for Wonder Con. I’m very thrilled anytime we have the opportunity to present. We ran Mythology of Final Fantasy and East and West: Pop Culture Exchange in the Pacific Rim. Wonder Con is the biggest nerd gathering event where we have this opportunity to present among our peers. We are thankful to be a part of this family.
The dealers hall was vast and wide! You would need almost a full day to look through everything. I really liked looking at the artist alley. I took home some enamel pins and some prints for my office. Definitely budget some spending money when you’re at Wonder Con. You never know what kind of gifts and trinkets you can find here.
As a cosplayer, this had a few cosplay photoshoot locations. Everyone gravitates to the palm trees. I personally like shooting on the second floor balcony. You get a nice view of Anaheim and you can do some really cool hero roof stop style photos here. I wore Enterprise, Sailor Princess Leia, and Belle to Wonder Con. Most of them got some good reception. Sailor Princess Leia gets a lot of love from anime fans and lady fans of Star Wars. I did get odd looks from elite Star Wars costuming clubs when I was in Sailor Princess Leia, but that’s okay. If you don’t like it, well, I pity you. Also, shoutout to everyone who took my photo and wanted an impromptu photoshoot!
Overall, Wonder Con was just a con that came and went. It was well run on a smooth baseline. While I think I had more fun in the previous years, I liked how this year was ran. Wonder Con was more of a business / networking convention for our team. This is not to say we had fun, but the older we get, the more we see comic cons as an opportunity to network with industry. I would highly recommend Wonder Con to nerds of all walks of life. I really feel that there’s something for everyone here.
Written by Eri Kagami
IG: @erikagami
Twitter: @erikagamisews