Wondercon 2007
WonderCon Moscone Center South San Francisco, CA March 3-4, 2007 Our local comic book store, Isotope, hosts a big party on Saturday night of WonderCon. So for WonderCon this year, we parked at the store and took the 'cross town bus' to the con. We got there around 11:30 on Saturday. There was a huge line, which was delightful for the convention, if not for the pale people waiting to get in. I understand that the line to buy tickets was relatively long, but that once you purchased the tickets you could go right in. And there was an immediately noticeable difference from last year — the convention was moved to Moscone South. Moscone South is much bigger than Moscone West, where the convention was held last year. Last year — when the fire marshal had to stop all entrance to the con because it was too full. That was clearly not going to be a problem in the new location and I was thrilled to see people able to come and go as they please. I did a large amount of socializing this convention. I had originally written myself a list of all the people I ran into and hugged and smiled with and laughed with, but the list was so long and I was afraid I would forget just one person, so I'm going to skip the details. I did get to thank Steve Leialoha in person for the interview we did in Tart recently, and was glad for that. This year was going to be the Year of Comics for me. I've been frustrated with the growing media-consumption-catch-22 which has devoured San Diego Comic-Con. SDCC seems to be only marginally more than 50% about comics anymore, as the "tie-ins" like Serenity, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc. start taking up more and more floor space. Don't get me wrong — I can waste an entire day watching LOTR again, and I cried when Ian McKellen stood up there in that crisp linen suit and smiled gently at all of us, years ago, and called us his biggest critics. But it's overpowering at SDCC now. I can hardly get up the energy to get from Artists Alley to the Independent Pavilion — which just isn't right. So I was adamant that I was not going to any of the big movie panels at WonderCon or support that unfortunate side of the conventions, which is growing rapidly. Then I saw Richard Hatch. Before I knew it, I just leaned in to tell him he rocks. (Because he does. Rock.) He smiled so big, and said "Really?! High five!!" How can one not high five Richard Hatch? He practically commanded me to! So I high fived Richard Hatch. How quickly we fall off the wagon and into the media-movie-TV frenzy, huh? But it was Richard Hatch! Right. So ... disappointed in my easy slide into media-holism, I focused on comics. I went to the Vertigo panel and learned a bit about some new upcoming works (and have to ask Willingham about issue 61 of Fables ... ). I talked to some indy creators and made some new acquaintances. I saw some new costumes and some regular attendees (*cough*stormtrooperelvis*cough*). I caught up on books that I seem to have missed over the last year and picked up a pile. I soaked in the smell of fresh comics and the new con season beginning and just enjoyed the hubbub around me — not too crowded, but definitely full on a Saturday afternoon. One thing that made me really happy was realizing just how many women were there. The Vertigo panel was nearly half women (as well it should be — Tart wouldn't be Tart without Vertigo, I dare say). There were women with partners but also women on their own, of all ages. There were even a few packs of young girls — perhaps not more than 12 or 13 years old — giggling and talking! about! comics! (One group I saw was actually taking pictures of the guys there — how's that for turnabout?). Saturday night at the Isotope party I got to meet a number of great creators. J.M. DeMatteis was the guest of honor and the place was packed. We were having a good time and I went to bed at a relatively reasonable hour. Sunday I confess to spending a large part of the day hanging out talking to friends — from one booth to the next, there are so many nice people in the comics industry. Even before I became a Tart, certain publishers recognized us as people who return to the conventions year after year. People at Abstract Studios, Oni Press, Slave Labor, and Top Shelf were always welcoming. We've become good friends with these people because they've remembered us from the years before and been open and welcoming at their booths. So I spent most of the day wandering from booth to booth, saying hi to old friends, and making new ones. I wandered the aisles, looking at the artists and the indy people. I was glad I couldn't find Steve Leialoha again or I may have bought art. It's been my experience that if you want to get sketches or signings or buy art from some very famous creators, that WonderCon is the place to do it. APE is too small for some of the more mainstream creators, and San Diego is way too big. For the Bay Area, WonderCon is the best combination of the two. Which is just one more reason that I return to it year after year. The Moscone South location was great, the weather was perfect, and the smiles were everywhere. WonderCon was great this year. Let's all do it again next year, shall we? Yes, let's.
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