WonderCon: Day 2

Alright, I had intended to do these entries each day I returned home, but I had forgotten just how exhausting these weekends can be and I allowed my goals to slide.  But I’m back now, so let’s do this.  One unfortunate note; I’m not sure if my camera can properly link to my computer because the OS has advanced in the last couple years since I’ve uploaded pictures, so until I figure out a solution I will not have any pictures of the event.

Much like the previous day, I ended up attending two panels, one early and one late, and spent most of the time in between browsing the exhibitors’ booths on the floor.  Unlike the previous day, it was pouring rain and absolutely packed inside.  I had expected it would be a lot busier on a Saturday than it would be Friday afternoon due to school or work, but I still was not prepared for just how chaotic the floor would be.

Although I write this blog with the intent of keeping a positive tone, at this time I would like to address everyone who attended the event with a baby-stroller or, God forbid, a double-seated stroller; congratulations, you have succeeding in earning my intense dislike.  With that settled, let’s move on.

Much like Friday, I avoided purchasing anything, though I did browse around a lot for clothing or items I’d be interested in getting the final day of the convention.  Shifts at the bookstore have become few and far between due to the slow period in the middle of the school semester, and I’m going to be attending the San Diego Comic-Con in July, so I have several reasons not to spend thriftily.  By the second day of touring the booths, I had seen pretty much every exhibit set up and, other than checking out the various signings, the whole thing had become fairly monotonous.  One highlight did include walking right by DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio for the second time in as many days, though I did not speak with him, mostly because I wouldn’t have really had anything to say other than “please give me a job” or “I haven’t really read comics, but I hear the most awful things about you online.”

As the lines for the incredibly overpriced concessions (not that I’m one to talk, I used to work at a movie theater) were just too severely long for my taste, I decided to brave the rain and head outside the convention center for eating.  Though I mentioned in the previous entry that I hope one day SDCC will pack up and move to Anaheim once the contract is up, the one downside is there’s little to eat immediately around the center, and Downtown Disney and the Anaheim Gardenwalk are about fifteen minutes or so on foot from the center, and that’s not counting the time just to walk from the back of the convention center to the front entrance.  However, it beat standing in line and I’m no stranger to long-distance walking, and I wanted to get out and get some fresh air.  Not to reinforce geek stereotypes concerning hygiene, but there were times walking by where it smelled like some patrons had died earlier that week and were only kept active by their undying passion for comic-related media.

I had about a four hour period between panels, so I took my time and walked out to the Anaheim Gardenwalk and ended up going to the California Pizza Kitchen there.  It ended up being crowded, not with WonderCon attendees but volleyball teams from the tourney that was going on in the convention center that weekend.  Fortunately I was by myself and was able to grab a seat at the bar and eat there.  After making it back to the con, I was able to meet up with a friend of mine who was pitching his comic around at the event, and we wandered around a little and I was even introduced to one of the owners of the Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach, which was pretty cool.

Of course, the most fun came from the two panels I attended that day.  The first one was the World of Capcom panel, which I waited in line for outside because the previous panel had filled the entire room.  Apparently Adventure Time (which I’ve never watched) is insanely popular.  The panel featured some of the higher-up Capcom staff, and they basically covered the games that had just recently come out, especially Street Fighter X Tekken, and their other titles that would be released within the year, namely Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Dragon’s Dogma, Devil May Cry HD Collection, and Resident Evil 6, as well as a host of PC games.  They had a few attendees come up to play some Street Fighter X Tekken, some of whom had clearly played the game more than others, and they closed off with a viewing of the trailer for Resident Evil 6, which unfortunately had the sound off by about ten seconds and amused the crowd more than anything else.  Then after asking if the fans wanted to know more about the game, which was met with cheers, they said they couldn’t and they’d tell more about it in San Diego, which was not met with cheers, and the panel ended.

The second panel I attended was probably the most fun I had all weekend, and that was the panel for DC Nation, the new programming block on Saturday mornings on Cartoon Network.  I’d been a huge fan of Young Justice since I got into the show around early 2011, and I was excited to see the creators, Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti, as panelists for the event.  Alongside them were also James Krieg (who I’d see at another event the next day) and Giancarlo Volpe for Green Lantern: The Animated Series, and Ben Jones (Batman: The Brave and the Bold) and Lauren Faust (My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic).  All of them got strong reactions from the crowd, in particular Lauren Faust, which surprised me for a moment before I remembered that MLP is insanely popular with adult males for reasons I don’t entirely understand.

There was a ton of great stuff at this panel, but I’ve already written quite a lot already, so I’m considering devoting a whole new post just to the DC Nation panel.  Otherwise, stay tuned for day three!