Anime fans enjoyed non-stop screenings and a plethora of manga collections, action figures and DVDs for sale throughout the convention hall, but TOKYOPOP and VIZ Media were both MIA.

Saturday night saw the return of the WonderCon Masquerade, hosted once again by Phil Foglio, creator of the popular webcomic, Girl Genius. Pirates, superheroes, space cadets, vampire slayers and monsters prowled the convention floor throughout the day, and they all converged on the Moscone Center’s Esplanade Ballroom for the big event. "All of the costumes were pretty competent," said Foglio. "However, I must say that the only one that I really remember was the one that won, and deservedly so, the “Best In Show" award, which was the giant Lego Star Wars guys. [CCI staffer] Martin Jaquish and his crew did a great job this year, there weren't any technical difficulties at all. I didn't even have to tell any jokes."

Sunday, March 4, 2007
Sunday, also known as "Big TV Sunday," was busier than Friday, and most retailers reported an increase in sales from 2006. Said comics dealer Steve Wyatt, "Sales are always good! I bring merchandise to the San Diego Comic-Con, Super-Con and WonderCon that I only make available at those conventions, and my customers expect it." Local retailers Comic Relief, Bud Plant and Last Gasp were also a major presence at the convention, selling a wide array of graphic novels, rare and out-of-print items, artist sketchbooks and other convention exclusives. Al Kizziah, proprietor of Al's Comics says that despite the expense of exhibiting at the convention, it’s a necessary part of his business. "If you're a local retailer, it's a no-brainer. You've got to get your name out there, and make people aware of your business. It’s a great opportunity to bring more customers into your shop long after the convention's over."

Artists in the small press section, however, were displeased with the layout of the convention hall and its effect on business. Major publishers and retailers were positioned at the main entrance of the exhibition hall, with individual artists and small publishers relegated to the far side of the hall. "I'd rather the small and independent publishers were more centrally located instead of the big booths selling the same old crap," said Foglio. "On the other hand, that section of the floor was choked solid, whereas we folks out in the hinterlands had a steady but relaxed flow of traffic."

Debbie Huey also felt that artists would have benefited from a better distribution of the larger publishers amidst the smaller ones. "Getting more traffic into Artists' Alley would've been nice," she said. "Artists' Alley was frequently deserted, or many patrons were simply walking through rather than slowing down to look at tables. It felt like a ghost town at times, and didn't feel very inviting."

Avatar from The Last Airbender and Scorpion from Mortal Kombat come together at WonderCon.

Also puzzling to attendees was the absence of three major comics publishers, Marvel, TOKYOPOP and VIZ Media. Marvel has scaled back its presence at conventions considerably over the past five years, so their absence was not particularly noteworthy, but given the rapid expansion of the manga industry during that same period, the nonappearance of America’s two largest manga publishers was surprising, especially considering that VIZ Media is located in San Francisco.

VIZ's official presence at the convention was limited to a single Saturday-afternoon panel discussion, which was among the best-attended non-Hollywood programs. Fans of Japanese culture seemed fairly content with WonderCon's offerings, which included non-stop anime screenings and a plethora of manga collections, action figures and DVDs for sale throughout the convention hall. Oddly enough, VIZ was among the largest exhibitors at the preceding weekend’s New York City Comic-Con, some 3,000 miles away from their home offices.

Despite the occasional slow periods punctuated by periodic traffic jams, the convention hall remained busy until closing time on Sunday, with many exhibitors closing last-minute deals with customers as security began their efforts to clear the exhibition hall.

Disney-Pixar Presents: Ratatouille
Eddie Ibrahim, Comic-Con International’s new director of programming, kicked off WonderCon's "Big Movie Saturday" lineup by thanking the convention attendees and Hollywood studios for their continued and increasing involvement in CCI’s convention programming. An informal "applause" poll seemed to indicate that about one-third of the audience had never been to a comic convention before, suggesting the success of Hollywood programming in luring new attendees to WonderCon. Addressing piracy concerns, Ibrahim warned the audience not to photograph or record any of the film previews or exclusive footage that would be shown throughout the weekend, as any footage leaked to Internet sources would likely discourage Hollywood's continued participation in CCI programming.

Big Movie Saturday opened with the upcoming Disney-Pixar feature, Ratatouille, about a gourmand rat named Remy who lives in a Parisian restaurant and dreams of becoming a chef. "I like good food" is Remy's justification for all of the trouble that his obsession causes.