A week from today, WonderCon kicks off at the L.A. Convention Center. I will be there and if you knew how much I dislike the L.A. Convention Center, you'd think, "Gee, if Evanier's going to go there, that must be a helluva convention." And if you go on my recommendation, do not blame me for the traffic outside, the parking or even for the way the convention center was designed.
But I always have a great time at a WonderCon so I'm going to brave my least favorite building in Southern California. Not only that but I will be presiding over a number of panels. You can find the complete programming schedule online but here are the events I'll be hosting. I am still adding participants to a few of them…
Friday, March 25 – 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM, Room 502A
THE SERGIO AND MARK SHOW
Spend an hour — or about as much time as it takes Sergio to draw an issue of Groo the Wanderer — with the folks who bring you that comic book, the award-winning team of Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier. They'll tell you all about Groo and other weird things they've done or are planning to do, plus you'll also get to meet the hardest-working man in comics, Tom Luth, who has to color it all.Saturday, March 26 – 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM, Room 403AB
QUICK DRAW!
It's one of the most popular panels at Comic-Con each year but it was born years ago at WonderCon! Three cartoonists! Lots of paper and Sharpies and silly ideas! Watch the battle of wits and markers as amazing cartoons are created right before your eyes by Sergio Aragonés (MAD magazine, Groo the Wanderer), Scott Shaw! (The Simpsons, The Flintstones) and Kyle Baker (Why I Hate Saturn, The Bakers). Your moderator Mark Evanier throws the challenges at them, many suggested by the audience. So maybe you'd like to be part of that audience.Saturday, March 26 – 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM, Room 403AB
CARTOON VOICES
Talk about super-powers! Here's a panel with heroes who can put voices into the mouths of your favorite animated characters. They'll tell you how they do it and there will be an unrehearsed reading to show how they do it! With Maurice LaMarche (Pinky and the Brain, Futurama), Candi Milo (Curious George, Jimmy Neutron), Townsend Coleman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Tick), Chuck McCann (Duck Tales, The Fantastic Four) and others! Your host is Mark Evanier (The Garfield Show).Sunday, March 27 – 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM, Room 502A
COVER STORY
Some of the greatest artistry in comics today can be found not in the books but on the outside. What goes into designing a memorable, magnificent cover? This topic is discussed with examples by folks who've done it: Russsell Dauterman (The Mighty Thor, Nightwing), Paolo Rivera (Daredevil, The Valiant), Bill Sienkiewicz (Stray Toasters, Elektra: Assassin) and Annie Wu (Black Canary, Hawkeye). Presiding over the discussion is Mark Evanier.Sunday, March 27 – 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM, Room 502A
JACK KIRBY TRIBUTE
They call him the King of the Comics and his influence is unescapable around the industry and around this convention. 22 years after he left us, there's still so much to say about him and some of it will be said by Steve Sherman (former Kirby assistant), Charles Hatfield (Author of Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby), Paul S. Levine (attorney for the Rosalind Kirby trust) and your moderator, Mark Evanier (former Kirby assistant, author of Kirby: King of Comics) and another special guest or two.
As always, things are subject to change at a moment's notice, including times, room numbers, panelists and Donald Trump's positions. When I am not doing these things, I will not be found at a table because I don't like sitting behind a table at a convention, at least a table where people expect to find me. So when my knee permits, I'll be roaming about and when it doesn't, I'll be sitting where no one expects me. Since I'm quite large, it's not hard to find me if you want to say hi.