WonderCon 2016 Takes Over LA
For the first time ever, WonderCon was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center and was hands down one of the best WonderCons I attended.
Earlier this year I went to the Los Angeles Convention Center for the LA Fit Expo and it was chaos. The staff could not control the crowd, people cut in line, and everyone bum-rushed their way in when the doors opened. WonderCon had none of these issues thanks to their new tap badges. With the new badges, attendees had to tap their badges against a sign when they entered and exited the main hall, a panel, a premiere, and any WonderCon-related section. Thus making it impossible to bum rush the doors and also prevent people from sneaking in. While this may seem annoying to some people, this lets the people behind WonderCon find out where people are going, what panels they are attending and gather data to improve the next WonderCon. Instead of using surveys to find out what people want at WonderCon, they can use the data to see what people really go to. The people behind WonderCon also made smart use of the Microsoft Theater next to the convention center to host the world premiere of the new DC animated movie and the West Hall to make it the designated badge pick-up section. Los Angeles Convention Center had the space to handle the event and the people behind WonderCon made use of it.
WonderCon came out with some amazing guests for 2016. The cast and crew of the new Justice League vs. Teen Titans and LEGO Scooby-Doo: Haunted Hollywood held panels after the world premiere of their respective movies. DC Comics live streamed the official announcement of DC Rebirth with special guests like Jim Lee, Geoff John, and John Romita Jr. to talk more about DC Rebirth in detail. My biggest takeaway was that there will officially be an Asian Superman, Kenji Kong. The cast and crew of Legends of Tomorrow and The Hundred also made appearances on panels and were generous enough to do roundtable interviews to talk more about their roles in the series. Marvel even made a rare appearance and had the cast and crew of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. come out for a panel. Unfortunately, I found discovered this last minute and I’m still bitter that I missed the opportunity to see Ming-Na Wen in person.
Exhibitor-wise, WonderCon never disappoints. Booths such as Loot Crate, Funko, Nintendo, Capcom, and Marvel Collector Corps easily drew some of the biggest crowds at the convention. FlexComics apparel is a personal favorite of mine and they brought an all-new Hulk design for WonderCon entitled, “Smash Gym.”. The Tower of T-Shirts is always a crowd-pleaser and a great location to meet up with other people. While it might just be me, most of the comic book booths were centralized in one area and this was very convenient. It was easy to look around, compare prices, and buy the books I wanted. ThatSpidermanBooth had everything half-off and I couldn’t resist connecting covers of Hulk at such a great price.
WonderCon went all out with their attractions and exclusives this year. LEGO Scooby-Doo: Haunted Hollywood is a great animated movie adaptation of the beloved series with special guest star, Elvira the Mistress of the Dark. Justice League vs. Teen Titans was a great versus movie, arguably better than Batman vs. Superman. Starfire and Nightwing’s little chat over the laptop was easily the crowd favorite. The official announcement of DC Rebirth drew one of the biggest lines at WonderCon 2016 and Jim Lee was kind enough to sign a DC Rebirth lithograph for every attendee of the announcement.
Even the cosplayers went all out this year. My personal favorite was a Lady Death and Thanos cosplay made by Cinema Makeup School. They easily caught the attention of every attendee, including a Deadpool that went up to Thanos to fight for Lady Death.
WonderCon 2016 was one of the best WonderCons I have attended and if it’s any indication of Comic-Con, it’s going to be insane.
- WonderCon 2016
The Verdict
Well-organized, plenty of amazing exhibitors and guests, and the Justice League vs. Teen Titans movie is a must watch.
You can almost see me in my Easter Wolverine tradition cosplay (I call it “Logan Cottontail”) next to Thanos. Great article. It was my fourth Wondercon in a row.
Lol Lon
Hey Lonstermash, glad you liked the article. I’ve seen you at every con I’ve been to in socal. Loved your Gaston/Wolverine combo at D23 Expo.