From the Power Rangers and Star Wars Rebels to the many Spider-men and Harley Quinns that gathered over Easter weekend to be at WonderCon 2015 at the Anaheim Convention Center, it was an action-packed weekend.
Thousands in attendance for this convention of comics, video games, TV, film, and anime were dressed up as their favorite characters in an art form known as cosplay; dressing up as a character as well as taking on that persona.
TV shows such as “Gotham,” “iZombie,” “Teen Titans Go!” and “The Flash” held previews of what’s to come for the future of their programs.
The casts also attended question and answer sessions as well as limited autograph signings.
Day one kicked off on Friday, April 3 at noon with hundreds lining up to enter the exhibition hall early just to buy limited edition items that booths had to offer: Toy Wars with their Holographic Emperor that glows in the dark and even an opportunity to see their favorite comic book artists signing their work.
The entire convention center was booked for the different panels and screening rooms. Stuntmen answered questions, the cast of “Last Man on Earth” made an appearance, the 75th anniversary of “Batman” was celebrated and everyone was invited to find out how to get a job in video games.
Even Spock from Las Vegas joined in on the fun. If attendees wanted to take a photo with Spock they were required to donate any dollar amount to the Epilepsy Foundation.
One of the biggest highlights of the first day were the advanced screenings of “Gotham,” “The Flash,” “Teen Titans Go!” and “iZombie” shown in the arena. Most of these episodes were scheduled to be on TV two weeks later due to the Easter weekend break.
In the evening, the world premiere of the animated movie “Batman vs. Robin” was screened and included a panel of the director and voice actors for Batman, Robin and Nightwing.
The second day started at 10 a.m. but many lined up early to try their luck and win a raffle to receive a wristband for the limited signing events. Among all of the panels, the most pined after was the raffle for “Gotham,” which promised that the young Commissioner Gordon (only a detective in the show presently) played by Ben McKenzie, would be in attendance.
As the day went on, more guests arrived to the convention center and it was much busier than the first day. A myriad of cosplayers were roaming the halls in eccentric and accurate get-ups.
The cast from the late ’70s and ’80s “Superman” movies, directed by Richard Donner and starring the late Christopher Reeve, held a panel and their own meet and greets that brought many childhood fantasies to life.
Margot Kidder and Marc McClure, who played Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen made appearances.
Other interesting panels and events included careers at Disney Animation, Big Hero 6: The Art of the Story and Convergence—a look at the latest story arc in DC Comic Universe.
Closing off the evening was the 11th Annual WonderCon Anaheim Masquerade, which is an on-stage cosplay competition to see who was the best of the best.
The third and final day consisted of many exhibits finding themselves extremely busy as guests did most of their shopping before the convention ended. A few had run out of exclusive merchandise that was only at WonderCon.
One of the busiest sections was known as Artist Alley—where talented amateur and professional artists set up shop to sell their work. Many of the artists who were featured in Marvel and DC Comics also held their own booths were they did commissions and signed comics they had been a part of.
Over 300 guests showed up early the third morning for a chance to win the raffle for the limited signing with the cast of “The Flash.” Only 100 were able to be a part of the special experience.
Actors Carlos Valdez, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker and executive producer Andrew Kreisberg were the stars of the signing. A panel was also held discussing the future of the show.
“Dreams,” “Pissed,” “Frosty” and “Tears” were the words that each person shared about their character or the show in general. Kreisberg carefully monitored what the actors were able to say, but the audience went wild with any information they could get.
Overall, WonderCon Anaheim satisfied many different cravings in the “nerd world” with the different panels, TV show and movie previews, cosplayers, video game previews and exhibits.
The biggest announcement was that WonderCon would be moving to Los Angeles next year which in turn caused rumors to spread about ComicCon being then moved to Anaheim with the expansion of the convention center.
Fans will just have to stay tuned for any further announcements. At least they’ll have a whole year to plan their next cosplay.