WonderCon 2006 set attendance records. This San Francisco convention has quickly become a major event for Hollywood studios to preview their wares. All images courtesy of WonderCon, unless noted otherwise.

The 2006 convention season kicked off on February 10 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center West, home of the 20^th annual WonderCon comic (and popular arts) convention. The three-day expo featured all of the class convention fixtures — old comicbooks for sale, artists greeting their fans, marathon RPG sessions, guys dressed in Stormtrooper outfits and $10 hot dogs at the concession stand — while relative newcomers from the videogame, anime and movie industries once again increased their presence. The “comics-only” Comic-Con is quickly and quietly disappearing, and, by all accounts, the “mass-media extravaganza” is here to stay.

Attendance was up from last year’s total of 14,500, marking yet another record-breaking year since the convention moved from Oakland to San Francisco in 2003. Convention-goers lined up around the block each morning, and the Moscone Center rapidly filled up each day as legions of comic (and movie) fans swarmed downtown San Francisco. WonderCon showed some of its first signs of growing pains on Saturday as fire marshals limited access to the convention hall several times throughout the afternoon. The lines once again stretched out the doors at one point, with only exhibitors and comic professionals permitted to enter and exit the hall without interference.

It was a far cry from the first San Francisco-based WonderCon, at which large sections of the exhibit hall were left empty, roped off and hidden by curtains. As more mainstream media events are added to the programming, and as comicbooks become more mainstream themselves, convention organizers will have their hands full dealing with these issues in years to come.

Comics are still the driving force behind WonderCon, but Hollywood’s presence at the convention has grown considerably from the days when Corey Haim and the Lupus from The Bad News Bears were the biggest celebrities in the house. Sure, Peter “Chewbacca” Mayhew and Herbert “Lt. Boomer” from Battlestar Galactica Jefferson were hanging out in the autograph area as usual, but the Hollywood hype machine was out in full force at the convention.

Bryan Singer (right) presented a sneak peek on the upcoming summer blockbuster, Superman Returns, and introduced surprise guest Brandon Routh, star of the film.

This year’s programming highlights included presentations from LucasFilm, director Bryan Singer’s sneak peek at the upcoming summer blockbuster Superman Returns (featuring a surprise guest appearance from the film’s star, Brandon Routh) and an advance screening of the controversial Wachowski Brothers film V for Vendetta, based on the acclaimed DC Comics series by Alan Moore and David Lloyd.

In recent years, DC Comics has become the major presence at WonderCon, and this year was no exception. DC’s biggest guns were in attendance, with Sin City creator Frank Miller on hand to discuss his current and upcoming Batman projects and superstar writer Grant Morrison promoting his current comics, All-Star Superman and Seven Soldiers. Miller and Morrison drew long lines of fans throughout the weekend, with each panel appearance and autograph session pulling in attendees by the dozens. Jim Lee, artist on Frank Miller’s All-Star Batman and Robin and one of the most popular comic artists of the past 20 years, caused a near-riot with an unannounced appearance in the Artists’ Alley section of the exhibit hall. Fans filled the narrow walkway to capacity in the hopes of snagging a quick sketch or an autograph. Crowd control was an issue throughout the weekend, but fire marshals and the security staff managed to prevent any major disruptions.