This is bound to confuse some people…
The folks who operate the Comic-Con International in San Diego each year are also responsible for the WonderCon, which has usually been in San Francisco some time between February and April, and the Alternative Press Expo, which happens in San Francisco in Autumn. (This year's APE is October 13-14)
The WonderCons in S.F. are held at the Moscone Center which is a fine facility in a great location. The biggest problem with it is that it's run a little different from other convention centers. Other convention centers love to lock in a successful con to multiple years and will commit way in advance to dates. The Moscone sometimes turns down big conventions in favor of ones that might have special cultural or civic value and they do not commit to dates far in advance. Usually, when a WonderCon ends there, it will be months before its operators can secure dates for the next one.
And sometimes, they can't. Last year because the Moscone was undergoing renovations, fewer conventions could be held there and WonderCon didn't make the cut. The Comic-Con folks wound up staging WonderCon in Anaheim instead.
WonderCon was a big hit in Anaheim so they've now arranged to stage another convention there next year. It will be Easter Weekend, March 29-31, 2013. It may be called WonderCon but then again, it may not.
They're still dickering with San Francisco for dates next year. Some sites are reporting that they may only be able to secure dates at the Moscone in Fall. I'm hearing that earlier dates in 2013 are not completely out of the question. So here's the situation…
Within about two months, we should know if these folks will be staging a convention at the Moscone at any point during 2013. If they do, it will be called WonderCon and the March 29-31 con in Anaheim will be called something else. So they'll do three conventions plus APE.
If they can't secure satisfactory dates at the Moscone, they'll just do the two cons plus APE, and the Anaheim one will be called WonderCon. Either way, the March 29-31 convention will happen at the Anaheim Convention Center.
It'll be a shame if WonderCons in San Francisco do not happen again. It's a great place for a great event like that. I hope they can make this work in the future.