Man, oh man was I excited for this year. I had been out of town several times and even seen how people outside of Cali were living it up towards the end of the pandemic. And it was very impressive to see. Miami and all of these other states outside of here were having events and going about their daily routines. I remember even checking out Miami Swim Week at the same time and loving every minute of it. It was sure nice to see events coming back. But for all of the car shows, fashion events and even some food events (believe it or not) one type of show that I had not been to was a Con.
After nearly two years of not going to any Comic Cons or Pop culture expos I was excited to (finally) check one out. There were so many that had been delayed by the pandemic (and some with absurd entrance requirements or prices) that it had felt life forever since any had ever even happened. And wouldn’t you know the very first Con that I would go to would be a throwback to the very first show that I had ever been to. Yes folks, it was Wondercon. For me, the mother of all shows.
If any of you have been around long enough then you know that long ago, even before I had ever even started Spektrum I had heard about Comic Con. But, even back then (which is about 10 years ago now) I was not able to check the show out. Tickets were always sold out and it was nigh impossible for a newbie like me to go. I didn’t know about pre-registration or anything like that. But, you know an opportunity presented itself in the form of another show. That show was Wondercon, and holy crap would I capitalize on that immediately. I would finally be able to check out a Comic-Con type show (yes, I know, Wondercon is owned by Comic-Con but I was none the wiser back then) and even better the show was in my backyard.
So, upon hearing that Wondercon would be back I couldn’t help but buy up another ticket. Finally I could go check out all kinds of cool merch, new comics and see tons of cosplayers. It was definitely exciting. And this time around I would be joined by one of our very own team members, Natalie. I didn’t know until I had talked to her about it randomly but she is a huge nerd and a big fan of animated shows (such as Bob’s Burgers). That was all news to me, so when I took a shot and asked if she wanted to go with me let’s just say that I don’t think she breathed more than one breath to say yes.
So when the day finally came I was giddy with excitement. I had a rush of feelings that I had not had in forever. That feeling of nostalgia is strong and even at my age (I feel young but my body sometimes tells me otherwise) I can’t get enough of it. I mean, who doesn’t get excited at seeing a sexy Chucky doll, or even a Super Mario diagram? Well, maybe it’s an acquired taste, but dammit I’ll stand by it until the day I die!
Yeah man, that show was great. And it was just one more step to feeling like we were back in the better days. Oh 2019 how I miss you! So, while Wondercon came and went I can’t even begin to think of all of the shows that would come after it. And since then it’s been a barrage of events nearly every weekend for several months straight. But, I can honestly say that Wondercon is and will always be one of the most memorable. Don’t believe me? Just check out some of these pictures from the show.
Words and photos by Daniel Navarrete
This article was prepared or accomplished by Daniel Navarrete in his personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Spektrum Magazine, or its affiliates.
Tags: abigailmorris, amazing, anaheim, anaheimconvention, anaheimconventioncenter, anime, art, artist, artists, artwork, chucky, comicbook, comicbooks, comiccon, comicexpo, comics, cosgirl, cosplay, cosplaydaily, cosplayer, cosplayers, cosplaygirl, cosplaying, culture, dccomics, lifestyle, marvelcinematicuniverse, marvelcomics, popculture, spektrum, spektrummag, spektrummagazine, spektrummagazinegirls, toys, wondercon, wondercon2022, wonderconanaheim
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