A Dozen Things I’d Do Were I Able To Attend This Weekend’s WonderCon



1. I think I'd pay attention to the crowd and the mood and what's selling and who's doing that selling pretty closely at this one. WonderCon isn't a newer show like the New York convention and it's not the crown jewel in the one of the three big companies' array of convention offerings like NYCC, San Diego or Wizard's Chicago show. Rather, it's a solid, enjoyable, not as much in the way of bells and whistles comics-oriented convention in a city that offers all sorts of entertainment dollar competition. I think it's a good one by which to take the temperature of convention-going generally.

2. I'd try to visit as many hometown exhibitors as a I could. Because it's San Francisco, there are some awesome companies for whom WonderCon is their hometown con, and they should be there in full force or at least with buoyant spirits. This included but is certainly not limited to must-visits-at-any-show SLG (707), Last Gasp (625, 627), Lee's Comics (1007) and Comic Relief (807). One of the great things about a show like this one is that it's graspable, you can almost certainly walk the floor and see most if not all of the exhibitors. It makes take a considerable investment of time, but it's not one of those shows where you talk to people after it's over and are frequently, completely baffled about where stuff was. You might miss something, but not wide swaths of stuff.

3. I'd go to a party. People in the Bay Area are cool, and the San Francisco shows have a great reputation for late-night hanging out and drinking in odd and wonderful spaces.

4. I'd hit Artist's Alley. There are old favorites here, like the always-awesome Sergio Aragones and the equally great-to-meet Stan Sakai. I always enjoy seeing Keith Knight. There are some big names, like Roy Thomas and Jim Lee and Mike Mignola. There are also some people I'd like to meet, like Steve Englehart, Ernie Chan and Tony Dezuniga. Solid.

5. I'd eat out. C'mon, it's San Francisco. I don't really know anything about that neighborhood, but I'm sure I'd find something. In general, I always encourage people attending a convention to do something other than simply go to the show. If you don't have time to do something more elaborate in that great city, making sure you exit convention-world and sit down for a proper meal is a great way to cheat and get that experience without maybe deserving it. I think it makes for a richer overall convention-going experience.

6. I'd attend a metric ton of programming. It starts here. They've put together a solid line-up of spotlight panels alone -- you could do nothing but attend those and have a pretty good time. A couple of things that aren't quite spotlights that jump out at me are a Michael Chabon/Matt Fraction panel on Saturday, Fraction again with Ed Brubaker on Sunday, and a Stan Sakai/Mark Evanier/Sergio Aragones panel on Saturday. If you only have time for one panel at a convention, go to one with Sergio Aragones on it.

7. I'd go stare at Gene Colan art at the Cartoon Art Museum.

8. I'd take advantage of any sales and/or discount comics. I suspect that this will be a big year generally for exhibitors taking stuff to shows that they think will move. Ironically, this will likely include both high-end stuff that seems impervious to any downturn in the market and the discounted stuff where there's a high occasion for day to day churn. I'd be looking for the second, and I'd be armed with enough packing material on my person to send this stuff back to my home without having to carry all of it on the airplane.

9. I'd keep an eye out for Bob Levin. I don't know if Bob will come to this event, but he attends a number of area comics shows for a brief time. You should buy his book Most Outrageous -- just a stunningly great book about comics, although not always an upbeat one. Here's what he looks like.

10. I'd buy something I'd never seen from someone I'd never heard of before at a price I couldn't fathom generally paying and then store it away to read at home, later, when I wanted to remember the show just past. Because in a lot of ways, that's what these shows are about.

11. I'd seriously consider going to the masquerade. If I could get in. I don't understand the costume impulse at all, but I do understand arbitrary competitions that make little to no sense and the people at these events seem to have more fun in that couple of hours than I had in the entirety of my twenties.

12. Finally, I'd keep a special eye out for anything and everything to do with S. Clay Wilson this weekend, including any way I could help out with a purchase or donation. It looks like the CBLDF party will have a Wilson component -- a raffle. I'd also try to seek out any floor presence for the people giving Mr. Wilson a hand. S. Clay Wilson is an important figure in comics history through the taboo-shattering nature of his work and how it inspired many other cartoonists to be more fearless in how they pursue their art. If this year's WonderCon turned out to be the WonderCon where Wilson received a lot of help, it would be a very memorable show indeed.
 
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