My headline is probably a bit of an exaggeration, but given the dismal economic news that's been hitting the headlines lately, it was a nice surprise to see that Saturday at WonderCon was just bustling with fans of all ages, eager to see the latest in movies, video games, comics and toys. I wasn't able to get attendance numbers from the Comic-Con International crew, but from where I stood (and the many lines I stood in to see some of the hottest panels and movie previews), things were hoppin' at San Francisco's Moscone Center South this past weekend.
According to the official WonderCon website, over 29,000 fans came out to see WonderCon in 2008. This year, the exhibit hall seemed more crowded and the hottest panels were harder to get into. But the $10,000 question for exhibitors (and the pop culture biz) is, were these fans just looking or were they in a buying mood?
SATURDAY'S WONDERCON CROWDS CAME TO SEE AND SPEND... TO A POINT I asked Daniel Davis of Steamcrow Press and creator of the Monster Commute webcomic for his take on WonderCon weekend 2009, and by his account, "(Saturday) was the best WonderCon day we'd ever had. Other exhibitors told much of the same... business was up, mostly on the back of a grand Saturday." He continued, "While Friday and Sunday were fairly slow, Saturday was something special." However, he offered this caveat, "I also heard that some of the larger (less indie) folks may not have had the same luck, as their product was readily available beyond WonderCon."
I also saw crowds four-deep checking out the demo of the new Street Fighter IV game from Capcom, and a LOT of Star Wars fans willing to pay actor Mark Hamill $100 for an autograph (and $90 for each additional signature) on their favorite Luke Skywalker 8"x10" photo. Carrie Fisher, who was also on hand on Saturday, was asking for a much more modest $35 fee for her signature on an array of available Princess Leia photos, including every fanboy's favorite pinup, Slave Leia. Go figure.
WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN? ALMOST EVERYBODY Meanwhile, I could not even beg, plead or squeeze my way into Saturday morning's Watchmen panel, because the huge Esplanade Ballroom quickly reached capacity levels. Little wonder, since director Zack Synder, artist Dave Gibbons and some of the cast came by to give the WonderCon fans a peek of this season's most talked about movie.
Even though I missed the Watchmen panel, I did get to check out the Cartoon Art Museum's exhibit of props, costumes and designs from the Watchmen movie, along with displays of the original pages and sketches from the original graphic novel by Dave Gibbons (who was also on hand at Friday night's opening reception). The show's up until July 19, 2009, so check it out if you're in the Bay Area -- it's well worth a look.
There was also a line that snaked as long as the exhibit hall as fans queued up to grab freebies from the DC Comics booth, including a Wonder Woman tiara (with a flashing red star light), Watchmen sampler comics, posters and buttons. I saw a few folks walking around with those humungous shopping bags from San Diego Comic-Con 2008, as if they were hoping to scoop up as many tchotckes as they would at SDCC.
ASTRO BOY GENERATES YAWNS, EVENTUAL END OF NARUTO INSPIRES DREAD
I stuck around to see a clip from the upcoming Astro Boy movie, just because I wanted to see if it would generate any appreciative buzz from the fanboy set. Alas, following the explosively violent and action-packed CGI-generated disaster scenes from Knowing , the relatively benign scenes of Tezuka's atomic-powered robot boy discovering how to use his rocket-powered legs were greeted with polite murmurs.
Many of the panels I checked out were held in the dark, claustrophobic bowels of the mezzanine level of the Moscone Center. So at Saturday morning's Otaku USA entertainingly geeky panel, (with more than a little chatter about yaoi manga), I got through some of it, until I was looking for the exits so I could get some sunlight and air. I missed most of the panel, although I did enjoy manga blogger, editor and cartoonist Shaenon Garrity's tongue-in-cheek answer to that age old question, 'What's the future of manga and anime?'
"I don't know much about anime, but the future of manga is that in a few years, Naruto will end and destroy the Japanese and American comics industry," she said.
See this quip for yourself by checking out Anime Diet's extremely entertaining YouTube video diary of Saturday at WonderCon. This clip includes scenes from the Otaku USA panel, the WonderCon masquerade, and has all the snarky "you call this an anime convention?" comments that anyone could wish for.
WONDERING WHERE WAS THE MANGA AND ANIME AT WONDERCON? ME TOO.
Overall, WonderCon is a nicely-run show. It always attracts a lot of comics creators, both visiting and local talents, which makes its artists alley a blast to check out. As the smaller, Northern California sibling to the mega-sized San Diego Comic-Con, WonderCon has the cred with Hollywood to bring in the stars and the movie previews and premieres that every fan wants to see and talk about.
But as I watched the Anime Diet clip, I found myself agreeing with their comments about the anemic level of manga and anime programming at this show. It was great to see VIZ Media, Eigo Manga, Dark Horse showing off their latest releases, Bandai hosting an anime panel and even Sakura of America offering manga drawing lessons to kids at the show. However, longtime WonderCon exhibitor TokyoPop wasn't on hand this year, which cut down the manga presence considerably.
San Francisco-based VIZ Media was a last-minute addition to the exhibition floor, when a space became available in the final weeks before the show. They made the most of the opportunity by showcasing their VIZ Kids and VIZ Signature titles, and previewing their Haikasoru sci-fi novels, which'll be out this summer.
Most times, it seemed like manga and anime was an afterthought in this mostly movie, comics and sci-fi-focused convention. This probably has more to do with manga publishers cutting back on their convention commitments this year than any lack of desire from the Comic-Con International folks for this kind of programming, but as New York Comic-Con illustrated -- if you give them something worth seeing, anime and manga fans will come out to pay and play in that comics/sci-fi/pop culture playground called the comics convention. And they'll come in much more interesting costumes too.
To see the interesting costumes, creators and yes, crowds that came out this weekend, check out my WonderCon 2009 Photo Gallery. I've got a few photos up now, and will be adding more soon. Enjoy!
Image credit: © Deb Aoki, © Comic-Con International
Comments
At Duncan Rouleau’s table I overheard two guys talking about how the recession was affecting our buying habits. They seemed to agree that low end items – such as comics, sketchbooks, prints, and action figures – were selling but original art was not.
The trick to getting a good seat for the Watchmen presentation was arriving early. My brother and I went in an hour before it was scheduled. Even then it was fillng fast.