Wonder-Con 2012: A Weekend to Remember

A comic book convention can best be described as often exhilarating, sometimes exhausting and rarely dull.

The 2012 Wonder-Con this past weekend in Anaheim had a little of everything, a dash of comic book heroes (legends like Jim Lee and people in various costumes), a sprinkle of movie heroes (legends like Sir Ridley Scott), and a treasure trove of goodies in the Exhibit Hall.

To truly appreciate the wonders of a comic book convention is to attend with a young fan for his first con. A source of fascination was to see the look of amazement in my five year-old son's eyes as he "met" many superheroes, people in wonderful costumes, and then to watch the grin on his face as he posed with Batman, Spiderman, and Ghostbusters.

There is so much to see and experience at a comic con that time inevitably runs out. One can lose plenty of time perusing the variety of exhibitors in the big Exhibit Hall and the plethora of choices for classic and new toys. If you always wanted to have that awesome Flash T-shirt in orange color (yes, it's really cool) or the newest poster for the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises, it was among many great items available in the Hall.

The programming schedule always include many panels featuring working writers, animators and artists discussing different topics and answering questions from attending fans. Every hour had four or five panels ranging from The Psychology of Batman to How to Build Your Own R2D2. There were plenty of spotlights on individual artists and writers as well as previews of upcoming comic book series from DC, Marvel and other publishers.

Some of the panels were all in good fun as seen on Friday by The Digital Bits' own Bill Hunt and Adam Jahnke in the hilarious panel of It Was 30 Years Ago Today: Celebrating 1982-Greatest Geek Ever! The panelists were not only funny but also pointed out interesting facts and arguments, such as how special effects made in 1982 hold up quite well often better than today's CGI effects.

There were panels for anyone wanting to pursue their dreams whether The Writer's Journey: Breaking into Comic Book & Hollywood Scriptwriting or Indy Comics Marketing and PR 101. In the former, many excellent nuggets of information were provided by TV writers Keto Shimizu (of SyFy's Being Human), and Brandon M. Easton (of WB's ThunderCats) about networking, researching and the realities of the industry. In the latter, five great guests, including writer Sam Humphries (of Our Love Is Real and Fraggle Rock) and Chip Mosher (part of the marketing team at comiXology) offered a plethora of information about writing your project, marketing yourself, and best of all, focused on what makes each attending fan's project unique.

And that's not all. For movie fans, there were a solid offering of previews of upcoming movies from Battleship to The Amazing Spider-Man with exclusive footage and giveaways. You never know who might show up. Take the Prometheus panel that featured not only Sir Ridley Scott but also stars Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender. The fascinating aspect was the Q & A with the audience and the reaction from the stars on the stage. For example, one young boy, between 8-12 years of age, asked a question to Theron, who made the young lad blush when she told him how adorable he was... little moments that make attending a comic con a unique experience.

The Wonder-Con in Anaheim turned out to be a fun and informative weekend filled with great guests, excellent panels and a huge variety of treats to bring home. There will plenty to look for in San Diego on July 12-15 during the big annual Comic-Con.

Mario Boucher
marioboucher@thedigitalbits.com