WonderCon: Rises of the Pixel Paladins
At the tail-end of March I tagged along with my most excellent friend Jay as he rolled into Anaheim for WonderCon. It was my 1st time attending this convention and I gotta tell you it was exciting! Seeing as I hadn't expected to go to WonderCon I had originally disregarded the registration email they sent me - lucky for me my last name falls near the end of the alphabet and the people at the pro-reg desk were very helpful / cool. I was really impressed with the entire event from it's sheer size too the staff I dealt with, the ideal "vendor parking" and their $10 burrito -which I didn't have but had on good word kicked-ass, indeed if its anything like the $10 burrito @ the Staples Centre (in LA) I'd be inclined to believe it. I didn't really get to see much of the convention oddly enough due to the fact that it was all business helping out at the table where/when I could slangin' pixels and keeping the table stocked. I couldn't believe how busy and fast paced the first couple days were and honestly much of the convention feels like blurred out.
As luck would have it a couple of friends make their home in Long Beach; our hostesses Angel and Kayla were awesome in giving us a place to crash and for helping to procure food (eat fresh) at the convention. They do a good deal of cosplay and/or costuming [link] as well as artistic endeavours of all sorts not to mention being geektastic so of course they'd be down to attend as well. Found myself staying in comfort and semi-productivity once provided with an open space to work. I've always been fond of Long Beach; in my youth I made a couple trips there with friends which were filled with skating and giving into reckless abandon -I remember Zima being en vogue at that time which is an odd memory. Years later that town is still pretty dope, being back there conjured lots of good memories of the last time there but this time 'round I feel I have all-new better memories to replace the foggy distant ones. West coast living is what it is but living in California must be on some other-shit.. I don't know cause I haven't been up in the pacific north west just yet, but as far as living goes southern California seems right -one just has to figure on how to afford it, yeh? It was unfortunate and a bit distressing that the convention itself was held in the shadow of "the Mouse" right across from a major theme park, it would figure we'd find ourselves in just another tourist trap during a portion of the trip. As noted before the parking was ideal (once we got there) so unlike Comicon I didn't grumble one bit about the gouging of $12 each day. In San Diego they take your money then make you walk 2 miles to the convention where you spend the entire day either walking or standing in line for something.
I found the WonderCon to be a great alternative to Comicon; I've heard tell before that its just like Comicon only smaller - true enough but once you've been to one convention like this they all look the same. Sadly I didn't really get to see much of the convention outside of the "Artist Alley" area our table was in. I did make it to the Copic booth and picked up a free brush/pen which was cool and got to put in a couple minutes on a <drool> Cintiq </drool> aside from wandering outside the convention centre for a slurpee and stopping in on some familiar faces - NINJABOT was there and Zero Friends were represented.. just about everyone you'd expect to see + Joel Gomez. Our table was super busy and space was limited but I felt we made an impressive showing especially considering that we ended up getting there late to the convention 2 out of 3 days. Time is money but who's counting, yeh -so our operation needed to be powered by more caffeine maybe but the effort was undeniable. It was enjoyable seeing peoples reaction to pixel-arte, kids love it and grown-ups see it and remember their youth. I found myself taking extra satisfaction from making and selling Mega Man inspired pixels not only cause I love the games but also seeing just how many others share that same passion. Its nice seeing someones face light-up when they see their favorite character in pixel form -makes the time toiling in the pixel mines worth it. Had a blast this my first time @ WonderCon and hope to attend again in the future!
San Diego is a total reversal from Vegas, climate or otherwise. I always look forward to making it down there and in the last 8 years I've only missed out a couple times. In the past we'd always stay in La Mesa which is a ways out from the downtown where the convention takes place. For the last couple years we've been staying with our friend Geoff on Coronado Island (not really an island, more of a peninsula) and his family. Silver Strand is a dope place and more precisely its where base camp was. I've enjoyed kicking it there each year cause of the fact that we have the ocean all around us and rabbits seem to infest the place (although I hardly saw any this time) theres also the added bonus of seeing and hanging out with an age-old friend and his clan. The weather down in San Diego is always nice and this trips forecast was no exception, overcast for much of the time and hardly what I'd call "hot" -least ways not when compared to Vegas temperatures.
As for the convention itself.. bananas. Just a teeming mass of humanity rolling around in itself own regurgitated pop-culture non-sense ..when viewed one way, if seen through a cape and cowl then one might appreciate it on a different level. I guess I fall somewhere in the middle; while I'm aghast at the sheer size of the convention I'm also keenly aware that it was bound to happen, and while I'm not the rabid fanboy I used to be I still appreciate the culture and the fandom thats intrinsic to it all. I did my part to fuel the consumerism on the convention floor, my big purchase this year was the MM25 Ltd. Ed. Hardcover from UDON Entertainment. Supposedly limited to only 100 copies, this book is the ultimate collection of Mega Man art (thus far) spanning the classic series all the way thru the X-series. Outside of that purchase my convention going experience was pretty sedate. Walking the floor is fun till the sheer volume of people starts to become tedious at which point you can always go upstairs for air and take in a couple of panels or workshops. Last couple years I've taken in quite a few fun and informative panels but this year it was very hit or miss. It was only a few years ago when I attended a couple panels that really set me off in the direction of working digitally with my art -huge for me cause its been a change that has been both challenging and rewarding. This year the only thing I took away from the panels I hit was a bunch of regret. We attempted and ultimately failed to obtain some of the SDCC Lego exclusives. I did however manage to snag the Petco Yoda ears which I thought would be a neat thing to take home -though nether of my cats thought so. 
One nice thing about Comicon is that its draws people in from all over the country and that means getting to see friends from all over. We got to see our friends Matt and Shauna as well as Chris Hamawi. They were all down there absorbing as much as they could and reporting back through the interweb for Matt's podcast/site. Also got to see our good friends Angel and Kayla who hosted us when we were in Anaheim for Wondercon. Comicon offers everyone a little something different, be it the latest offerings from your favorite comic publishers to the next wave of television programming. I'm amazed at the level some peoples passions drive them and how their devotion to a certain thing can create spectacular results such as all the great costumes people put together, maybe they work on them all year in some cases - SyFy has caught onto that with their "Heros of Cosplay" program set to roll out. Out there as well are those who hunt after a particular item or memento - you're sure to find it in San Diego as anywhere, yeh? My level of obsession led me to spend hard earned $$$ on a hardbound book in this the age of nooks and Kindle Fires. Its always nice coming back with souvenirs and thats pretty much my one and only. Sadly, I ate all the Alien Fresh Jerky I bought while in SanDiego so I didn't even have that to bring back.
