WonderCon offered advanced looks at Justice League: The New Frontier (left) and Batman: Gotham Knight. © Warner Bros. Home Video.

Many exhibitors reported strong sales, and popular artists such as Keith Knight, Mike Mignola, Herb Trimpe and Sergio Aragones had a consistent and steady stream of visitors throughout the weekend. Phil Foglio reported that while sales were good, this year's totals marked a downturn from his previous appearance at the convention. Despite the decrease in revenue, Foglio enjoyed the convention and plans to return next year. "I believe that the downturn in sales is due to outside economics, and not related to WonderCon per se. I expect this downturn to affect all conventions for perhaps the next two years."

Veteran comic book inker Al Gordon has been in the Artists Alley section of WonderCon every year since the show's inception. He enjoys the social aspects of the convention, but would prefer to see a shift away from the "pop culture and comics" direction and see a renewed focus on comic books and creators. "It needs to be more local-friendly and a little more like [San Francisco's Alternative Press Expo] in terms of self-published folk, for it to be completely cool for me."

David Glanzer, Comic-Con International's director of marketing and public relations, is pleased with the direction that WonderCon has taken in the past five years, and looks forward to further establishing the convention as one of the premiere destinations for fans of all forms of popular culture. "We have spent many years making sure that each of our events are fun, educational and diverse enough to attract a wide array of attendees. It is in this way that we are best able to promote our mission statement that tasks us in '... creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms.' And it's a task we take on happily." (See sidebar for full interview.)

Anecdotal evidence from fans and professionals alike indicates that this was one of the most enjoyable WonderCons in years, and nearly everyone that I interviewed has a favorable attitude toward the convention and plans to return in 2009, which is the mark of a successful production.

Andrew Farago is the gallery manager and curator of San Francisco's Cartoon Art Museum and the creator of the weekly online comic serial The Chronicles of William Bazillion.