WonderCon returned to the San Francisco Bay Area for its 21st year at its largest venue to date, the Moscone Center. Courtesy of WonderCon.

The first weekend of March saw the return of WonderCon to the San Francisco Bay Area for its 21st year as Northern California’s largest celebration of comics and popular culture. This year's convention took place at San Francisco's Moscone Center South, the largest venue to date for WonderCon, which originated across the Bay in Oakland in 1987.

Friday, March 2, 2007
The first day of the convention, as usual, was for the comic fans. Crowds are a bit thinner on Day One, allowing Con-goers shorter lines for registration and entrance, easier access to the visiting artists, less hectic browsing and shopping and more comics-centric programming than the other two days of the convention. Individual artist spotlight panels focused on DC Comics creators Tony Harris, Phil Jimenez, Brian K. Vaughan and Judd Winick; small press superstars Linda Medley and Terry Moore; legendary EC Comics creator Al Feldstein, and a host of other panels geared toward longtime comic fans and would-be comic creators.

In addition to the more relaxed convention experience and first crack at the bargain bins and toy shelves, each of Friday’s visitors was eligible to win one of 300 tickets to see a sneak preview of Frank Miller’s latest film, 300, a full week before its nationwide premiere. As with last year’s V for Vendetta premiere, news of this advance screening received a fair amount of mainstream local press coverage, which brought a large number of first-time attendees to WonderCon.

Saturday, March 3, 2007
As always, Saturday was the largest day in terms of both attendance and in convention programming. Hundreds of attendees arrived at Moscone South more than an hour before the 10:00 am opening, and the line for entry stretched out the front door and around the block as thousands of eager visitors patiently waited to enter the hall. WonderCon volunteers and Stormtroopers worked the line as well, attending to any problems or special needs (and, presumably, to vaporize any troublemakers). Despite a record number of pre-registered guests, the Comic-Con International (CCI) registration staff processed incoming visitors quickly and efficiently, dealing with thousands of con-goers over the course of their 12-hour workday.

WonderCon volunteers and Stormtroopers answered the call of duty by attending to the special needs of the record number of pre-registered guests. Unless otherwise noted, all images courtesy of Andrew Farago.

One of the big draws for this year's WonderCon, as it has been for the past three years, was the presence of Hollywood, in the form of sneak previews, teaser trailers, film clips, visiting movie stars, actors and a full slate of exclusive programming. The Moscone Center’s Esplanade Ballroom was packed for seven straight hours with movie buffs eager for up-to-the-minute information on this summer’s upcoming blockbusters. Special guests included writer/director Brad Bird and voice actor Patton Oswalt discussing their upcoming Disney-Pixar film, Ratatouille (see below for details on the panel); producer Joel Silver and stars Hilary Swank and Idris Elba promoting Warner Bros. film The Reaping; 300 director Zack Snyder and stars Gerard Butler and Lena Headey; a sneak peek at never-before-seen footage from Spider-Man 3; plus a DC Comics animation panel promoting their upcoming direct-to-DVD specials based on classic DC comics and graphic novels.

The ever-increasing Hollywood presence has resulted in a major upswing in attendance both at WonderCon and at the nation's largest convention over the past several years, the San Diego Comic-Con International, but many artists and comic fans have mixed feelings about the trend toward more of a pop-cultural catch-all convention and less toward the promotion of the comics medium. Debbie Huey, creator of the all-ages comic Bumperboy noted that the weekend was billed as "Big Movie Saturday” and "Big TV Sunday," driving home the new popular-arts-driven version of WonderCon. "What happened to focusing on comics?" Huey wonders. "I'm not complaining about this, however, only because I think the movies and TV shows that are featured at the con bring in more people. If this helps get more people into comics, then it's a good thing."

One wrong turn at the end of the Small Press area brings you to yet another aspect of the Hollywood/comics intersection, the Autograph Area. This was the most heavily and consistently congested area of the convention hall, with fans blocking the aisles while chatting with Ernie "Ghostbusters" Hudson, Noel "Lois Lane" Neill, Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson, former WWF superstar Virgil, Peter "Chewbacca" Mayhew and over a dozen other former stars of science-fiction TV and movies.

Those who preferred to focus their attention on comics were far from forgotten, however, with more than 20 comics-centric panel discussions scheduled throughout the day and literally dozens of notable comic book creators and cartoonists signing autographs, selling their wares and chatting with fans. The only comic creator that seemed to generate long lines with each appearance was Brian K. Vaughan, writer of the hit series, Y: The Last Man, and critical favorites Ex Machina and Runaways. Nearly every other artist and exhibitor was readily accessible to fans, creating an oddly relaxed atmosphere despite the large number of attendees.