WonderCon in Anaheim starts two weeks from today and they've just posted the entire programming schedule. I'm hosting six panels and I'll be posting the list here in a day or three. I need to make a few adjustments in who's on a couple of my panels because of certain folks suddenly not being able to be there.
If you're thinking of attending, get your badges now. Saturday is sold out…can Friday and Sunday be far behind? Whatever admissions are left can be purchased here.
And if you're going, spend some time on the WonderCon website. A lot of people who have complaints about this convention and Comic-Con International come to me with them, in a few cases wrongly thinking that I'm part of the staff or that I have the power to make more parking spaces magically appear. I would say that a good 70% of the complaints sent in my direction fall into two categories, the first being Unrealistic Expectations.
Unrealistic Expectations can range from the big to the small. The small can be to expect that dealers will have all the merchandise you seek at prices you'll be happy to pay…and it's somehow the fault of the convention if they don't. Or to think that you can go to an event that will attract a dozen thousand attendees and you'll never have to wait in a line or not be able to get down an aisle without someone bumping into you.
Yes, it's crowded. That's because you're not the only one who wanted to be there. They could reduce the crowding by not letting as many people obtain badges but then you'd be joining the group complaining you couldn't get a badge.
The Really Unrealistic Expectations? Well, I can recall a guy a few years ago who went to several San Diego conventions and was steamed that Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko was not present and signing autographs at any of them. The following conversation ensued…
ME: Steve Ditko doesn't go to conventions, sign autographs, grant interviews or even allow his photo to be taken.
HIM: Well, the convention should do something about that.
More recently, I got a long, rambling e-mail from a gent who was parboiled that he went to Comic-Con International with the intent of hooking up with someone at Marvel who would hire him to write the X-Men comic book. He admitted that there just might be others in the hall who had the same wish-dream but he was upset that he never found a way to even apply for the job. I'm guessing that was because the convention was too busy sending a squadron to New York to capture Steve Ditko and drag him to San Diego against his will. The Unreasonable Expectations people need to appreciate what's there — and believe me, there's plenty — rather than to bitch 'n' moan over what's not.
The other category is the Criminally Unprepared…and if you're going, you can do an awful lot to avoid joining this throng. Do a little research, starting with the convention's most-informative website. Take the time to look over that Programming Schedule I just mentioned and make a list of events you must see, events you might see and events you might go see if your first choice is full.
Look over the list of exhibitors, note where they're located and spend enough time on the map of the hall to get a little sense of where things are.
Plan when you're going to get there, where you're going to park, where you're going to eat, etc. If you want to meet up with others, see if you can make appointments in advance instead of hoping to run into them or finding them at their table or panel. Just put a little time into it and you'll maximize the joys of your visit.
Comic conventions have gotten incredibly diverse. This is good because there are lots of different things happening there, some of which will enrapture you and some of which could cause drowsiness faster than a fistful of Ambien. It's bad because you have to do a little more work to locate the stuff that's of interest to you and to avoid that which is not. The videogame aisles can be a very good place to visit if you're sick of being able to hear.
But do the work. You'll be glad if you do…and so will I.