WonderCon is an annual

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, and

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

convention held in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

(1987–2011), then—under the name WonderCon Anaheim—in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

(2012–2015, 2017–present), and WonderCon Los Angeles in 2016."WonderCon Moves To Anaheim With Costumed Avengers In Tow"
CBS 2 San Francisco (March 17, 2012). The convention returned to the

Anaheim Convention Center The Anaheim Convention Center is a major convention center in Anaheim, California, and is the largest exhibition facility on the West Coast of the United States. It is located across from the Disneyland Resort on Katella Avenue. The original co ...

in 2017 after a one-year stint in Los Angeles due to construction at the Anaheim Convention Center. The convention was conceived by retailer John Barrett (a founder of the retail chain

Comics and Comix Comics and Comix Co. (C&C) was a comic book retailer based in Berkeley, California, that for a short time also had a publishing division. The company was founded by Bud Plant, Robert Beerbohm, and John Barrett. Comics & Comix operated from 1972 ...

) and originally held in the Oakland Convention Center. In 2003, it moved to San Francisco's

Moscone Center The George R. Moscone Convention Center (), popularly known as the Moscone Center, is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, California, United States. The complex consists of three main halls spread out across three bl ...

. The show's original name was the Wonderful World of Comics Convention.

History

Retailer Joe Field (of Flying Colors Comics and Other Cool Stuff) and his partner

Mike Friedrich Mike Friedrich (; born March 27, 1949) is an American comic book writer and publisher best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics, and for publishing the anthology series '' Star*Reach'', one of the first independent comics. He is also an ar ...

owned and operated the convention for fifteen years. In 2001, they brokered a deal with the management team which runs

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

to make it part of the Comic-Con International convention family. That gave the

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

show a wider audience and has made it a venue for previews and early screenings of major motion pictures, in particular ones based on comic books. The events have included ''

Spider-Man 2 ''Spider-Man 2'' is a 2004 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of Spider-Man. Directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story conceived by Michael Chabon and the writing team of Alfred Gough and Miles ...

'' in 2004, ''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy), Bruce Wayne / B ...

'' and ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

'' in 2005, ''

Superman Returns ''Superman Returns'' is a 2006 American superhero film directed by Bryan Singer, and written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris from a story by Singer, Dougherty and Harris, based on the DC Comics character Superman. It serves as a homage ...

'' in 2006, ''

300 __NOTOC__ Year 300 ( CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1053 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 300 ...

'' in 2007, ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

'' in 2009, and '' Kick-Ass'' in 2010. All of the events featured the stars of the movies fielding questions from the audience. WonderCon had 34,000 attendees in 2009, 39,000 in 2010, and 49,500 in 2011. The show left the Bay Area after the 2011 con, because San Francisco's

was being remodeled. The convention moved to

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

in 2012, and was rebranded WonderCon Anaheim. When the move to Anaheim was first announced, Comic-Con International said they would be returning to San Francisco after the Moscone Center renovations were complete; however, the convention ultimately stayed in Southern California. In 2016, a new convention started in the Bay Area, called the

Silicon Valley Comic Con Silicon is a chemical element; it has symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre, and is a tetravalent metalloid (sometimes considered a non-metal) and semiconductor. It is a member ...

. WonderCon moved from Anaheim to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 2016, and is now called WonderCon Los Angeles and was held March 25–27, 2016 at the

Los Angeles Convention Center The Los Angeles Convention Center is a convention center located in the southwest section of Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. It hosts multiple annual conventions and has often been used as a filming locat ...

. The 2017 edition of the convention returned to Anaheim and was held March 31 – April 2, 2017. The WonderCon logo was designed by

Richard Bruning Richard Bruning (born February 7, 1953) In print issue #1650 (February 2009), p. 107 is an American graphic designer and comics creator. Biography In 1979, Richard Bruning opened a design firm in Madison, Wisconsin, called Abraxas Studios. ...

and Tim Zach. The 2020 edition of the show, scheduled for April 10–12, was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

.Mancuso, Vinnie
"WonderCon 2020 Postponed Indefinitely Due to Coronavirus; No Decision Yet on San Diego Comic-Con"
''Collider'' (MAR 12, 2020). The 2021 edition of the show, scheduled for March 26–27, was cancelled again due to the

Event history

Features and events

While the main attraction of WonderCon has always been various retailers selling back issues of comic books and action figures, the exhibitor list has grown to include retailers of specialty DVDs. There is also an "Artists Alley" featuring mainly comic book artists selling artwork, signing books, and doing sketches; and mainstream celebrities signing autographed pictures. WonderCon hosted the

Harvey Awards The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which wer ...

ceremonies from 1997 to 1999.Press release
"2003 Harvey Awards Banquet Cancelled, Awards Unaffected
Comic Book Resources (January 24, 2003). Since 2007, academicians and comic industry professionals have held the

Comics Arts Conference The Comics Arts Conference (CAC), also known as the Comic Arts Conference, is an academic conference held in conjunction with both the annual San Diego Comic-Con in San Diego, and WonderCon in San Francisco.Chicago in 1994 and 1995 before a 1997 hi ...

in conjunction with WonderCon. In addition, WonderCon features "Trailer Park", an event where trailers for upcoming films are shown. The WonderCon masquerade competition usually takes place on Saturday after the convention closes. Awards are given to those with the most creative performances, though anyone can participate.

References

External links

*
WonderCon feature
on ''

Sidewalks Entertainment ''Sidewalks Entertainment'' (1988–present) is a weekly American television series that is a combination of a talk show, magazine show and variety show featuring celebrity interviews, music, artistic and novelty acts, and rising performers. Th ...

''
WonderCon founder's website
{{Multigenre conventions in North America Multigenre conventions Gaming conventions Comics conventions in the United States Conventions in California Recurring events established in 1987 Tourist attractions in California 1987 establishments in California