Ye know, I've been to plenty of cons in my day. I could sit here all day and list them off like crazy. But I won't. To much to type to be quite honest with ye.
Normally with big cons you get an mass influx of Movie studios trying to promote there upcoming releases. Because of that, you fail to get true comic fans and instead are stuck with a bunch of screaming teens clamoring over us geeks in order to stare at a Twilight star from 500 yards away. (I'm looking at you San Diego). Because of that the comic fan themselves get lost in the shuffle and are once again made to feel belittled and ashamed and outcast.
The smaller cons are no better. It's filled with 3 or 4 truly great indy comic gems buried underneath a calamity of 50 year old has been 1 movie forgotten "stars" or 20-30 or so comic book shops trying to sell you a comic worth $2 for $20 with a slash through it trying to make you feel like you got a deal because you're not spending $30 on it.
I personally kinda like the little cons because as a press site we are able to find those small indy comic gems that I speak of and read something not to many people have seen before. Also, as an indy comic creator myself, I like to think I am one of those gems teehee.
The bigger cons for me have always been an insane experience in wishing I had a machete to hack through the crowds and being able to watch as people we think are big names wander through the floor showing off how much of a geek they are as well. But sometimes it just becomes to much to handle. Each day is work. Not just to promote your comic but to walk on the floors and geek out. So much effort to weed through the thousands of people just to get to the bathroom that was only safe to use the first hour of the doors being open. Exhausting I tell ye.
Wondercon was something new. A wonderfully joyous experience that reminded me of why I fell in love with comics in the first place. It was ALL comics ALL the time. For those of you who have been to SD Comic Con, imagine the convention center. Ye know how it's 2 really big buildings with the glass elevator in the middile? Well imagine the right side building. Now imagine half of that. That is Wondercon. 1/4 of the space 1/4 of the people 100% comic books. No movies or big name entertainment ruining everything. Just a bunch of really awesome people and really awesome fans in a perfect setting. I was able to not only meet but geek out with some of my favorite authors and artists without feeling uncomfortable, pressured, or crowded. It was awesome. You could literally turn left or right and talk to that random person about comics and instantly gain a friend. I loved it.
I got a bunch of great interviews and some decent pics, all of which I will post at the end of the week to accompany this weeks PanelCast. Don't worry, I think you'll enjoy them. If you haven't been and always wanted to go, then head to WonderCon next year and remember what it means and feels like to be a geek.
