WONDERCON 2024... STILL WAITING ON 2025!!!

Welcome to April CRAZIES!!!  Can you believe we're a quarter of the way into this mess of a year already?  Well, that's not why we are here today.  We are here to have good times and leave our cares behind, if only for a few moments.  And there's no better distraction than WonderCon...  WonderCon 2024!!!  Wait a tic, 2024?  But that was last year's show!  Shouldn't we be covering this year's edition?  Well of course we should!  And next week, we will!  Come on folks, y'all know by now I write these well in advance.  Hell, WonderCon 2025 hasn't even happened yet as of this writing!  We're still nearly two weeks away!  But, we still have some time before then, so we gotta keep this ball rolling while we can!  Comb the Dorito dust out of those neck-beards and hold on tight because the CRAZY WonderCon Countdown is still on!  Enjoy...

Where's Winston when you need him?!?

Well goooooooolly!  Nothing puffed about this stuff!

Anastasia cosplay?  It's always nice to see Don Bluth films getting some fandom love, and that movie is one of his better flicks.

Welcome to Duddleyville!  D-Von, Bubba Ray and Spike were looking for some tables as this ECW cosplay was next level!

Zeo Rangers!  You don't often see any of the later seasons of Power Rangers cosplayed, despite many of them being very popular and successful.  I guess that first incarnation was just that popular and nostalgic.  And for those that never watched, those are the Gold and Red Rangers (Latter's pretty obvious).

Looks like Veruca finally got her way!

Cannot say enough what a godsend the food trucks at WonderCon are.  You'd think there'd be more food options nearby with all the hotels and Disneyland being right next to the Anaheim Convention Center, but nope.  Just a Morton's and the upscale hotel restaurants.  Nothing against those places, but they aren't exactly the kind of places to go on a con budget!

A nice sunny day greeted us on opening day, but that rapidly changed by nightfall as it was pouring the rest of the weekend!  Hopefully next week's post will boast of more cooperative weather!

This Scarlet Witch cosplay is next level and very simple in approach!

Ed was there with some of his fast food contemporaries!  Sadly, not many courtyard dance parties last year due to the weather.  Here's hoping to this year!

The Rocketeer blasted his way into the Convention Center lobby and reminded everybody of what a badass he was!

This couple's been coming to WonderCon for years now and they always do a fun variation of Belle and the Beast.  This time around, they were Ghostbusters!

One of the coolest things about WonderCon is that you really get a good chance at seeing artists at work and see the creative process in real time!  I always love watching fellow artists work and seeing how they create while learning new techniques in the process.

We'll conclude today with this cosplay tribute to legendary manga creator Akira Toriyama, who had passed away not long before WonderCon took place.  Toriyama was a huge influence on me as an artist and his greatest creation, DragonBall, is what got me into anime in the first place.  It was nice to see the love his fans still had for him show up at cons last year and hopefully we'll see the DragonBall Experience return to SDCC this summer at the Marriott!

And that was WonderCon 2024!  Despite the weather, it was an awesome show!  I spent WAY too much money, but the comics, art and toys I scored was totally worth it.  It's okay to spoil yourself every once in awhile.  Just don't let it become a habit!

Well, only one more post to go, but I promise you that we will conclude the CRAZY WonderCon Countdown 2025 on a high note, so be sure to come back next week and see how it all ends!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!

WONDERCON 2025 IS HERE!!! BUT FIRST...

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  IT'S HERE!!!  WONDERCON 2025 IS HERE!!!  Okay, okay, gotta calm down. But how can I not be excited?  One of the best weeks of the year is FINALLY here!  So much is going on right now.  So much prep and packing!  I think it would probably be best to just get straight to the pics, am I right?  Hold on to your Batman Underoos CRAZIES, because the CRAZY WonderCon Countdown is a go!  Enjoy...

The MacDalorian!  He's fetching the bounty on Grimace!

What's this?  What's this?  Jack has grown and Sally's shrunk!

Horned King cosplay!  Among Disney's most obscure villains, he's also probably among their most terrifying.  I get why Disney's down on The Black Cauldron.  It's not a good movie by any means.  But the books it was loosely based on are good and could serve as a great series of live action fantasy films if given the proper time to develop.

I kinda miss the days when every con I went to was filled to the brim with Doctor Who cosplay!

The Diamonds meet the Hitchhiking Ghosts!  They found the spooks adorable!

A live action Snow White?  I'm sorry, but the trailers just look awful, especially the CG dwarves.  Is effort really so much to ask for?  It's not like they can't afford it!

The family that cosplays together stays together!

Doctor, Doctor...

It's wild to think that these two visionaries are not only gone but left us in the same year no less.  I'd like to just wipe 2016 from my memory altogether

Somebody forgot to put Blanka's leash on!

Link and Zelda made the trip to meet up with some pals from Middle Earth!

The Savior of the Universe!

Man, Power Rangers really should've given this a chance in live action because that suit is badass!

Jeanie was there reminding people of just how trippy 60's sitcoms could really be!

The Funko Booth!  For years, WonderCon has always been far more low-key than its sister show in San Diego.  That isn't to say they haven't had big booths, but they usually aren't so immersive.  The Funk Carnival from 2022 and its Tiki Bar makeover in 2023 changed all that!  They were incredible and caused a lot of mad dashes for people trying to score tickets to get in!  They were sorrily missed last year but I am happy to report that it HAS been confirmed: Funko is back in 2025!  What wonders will they work in their grand return?  We'll find out in a few days!

Sportacus is here!  I remember Lazytown being a show my younger cousins would watch while I babysat them and would just think to myself "Who was smoking what when they came up with this thing?!?"  The puppets were some of the creepiest I've ever seen.  And I grew up on Pinwheel and Today's Special!

Man, the Hulkster's shrunk a LOT in his old age!

This is a novel way for Disney to recoup their losses on The Marvels!

And lastly, we'll end things again this week with even MORE dancing from our cosplay pals, led by Ed from Good Burger!  The fact that a furry's taking part is like the icing on the cake!

And that was WonderCon 2023!  A fun show, despite going home with a sever sinus infection.  That was the first time I ever specifically concentrated on scoring classic comics at a con.  I'm not a collector snob.  I'm not looking for mint condition books to resell.  Just looking for classics and obscurities that catch my fancy.  It was also the year I found some incredible prints that I brought home to frame.  The thing I love the most about going to comic conventions is just getting the chance to find hidden gems.  And there's always more than a few to find.

And that's a wrap on the month of March, but not on the CRAZY WonderCon Countdown!  I write these posts in advance so we still get a little bit of reminiscing to do despite WonderCon ending this weekend.  If you're going this weekend, please remember to be kind and courteous to other con goers.  While WonderCon isn't anywhere near as cramped as SDCC is, the crowds are still large and it is easy for tempers to flare over minor rudenesses.  Nothing is worth losing your badge over, so please just be kind. Also, if you see me there, say 'Hi!"  I'm kinda hard to miss these days!  Until next time, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all at WonderCon!

WONDERCON IS BACK!!! NEXT WEEK!!!

 

Alright CRAZIES!!!  One week to go before WonderCon 2025!  Obviously, excitement is reaching a fever pitch here at the CRAZYVERSE, so I think it might be best to just get straight to the pics so that we can all kinda level out here.  Strap up those Rainbow Suspenders folks, because the CRAZY WonderCon Countdown is a go!  Enjoy...

The first big con post-Covid saw a lot of changes, namely masks being in play.  And you know what?  No cases appeared to be traced back to it, so I'll call that a success!  Also, LOTS of Spiderman variants that year!

Never realized Lydia Deitz had a bridesmaid and best man at her wedding!

Cannot begin to tell you how much I missed all the various cosplay mashups happening outside of the convention center.  It was a long three years between 2019 and 2022.  So thankful it's back now!

Of all the characters to do a sexy version of, Lord Farquaad certainly has to be among the most out of left field choices!

Since coming back from Covid, Bandai and their associated brands have really upped their game as far as their booths go!  Their SDCC setups in particular have been very impressive!

Startling that Disney owns BOTH of these properties now and that there is nothing legally stopping a Rocky Horror/X-Men crossover!

Belle was the Belle of the Con!

Mr. Oogie Boogie says you ain't goin' nowhere!  Until he's done with his Boogie Song!

The Penguin wants your vote!  Frankly, he's more trustworthy than some!

Always love it when families the extra mile with their cosplay!

Cool but crude!

Man, Orange County seriously needs to get their chemical dumping in check.  These grouchy, mutant, garbage monsters are becoming quite the nuisance!

Thorbowski abides!

Let's end things this week on an uplifting note with a gaggle of cosplayers dancing to Uptown Funk!

And that was WonderCon 2022!  It was a nice, if not low-key, return to normalcy.  Obviously, people were still very weary of things, and rightfully so, but overall, it was an enjoyable weekend.  In many ways, it felt like a family reunion.  As long as it had been since the last show, we all just fell back into it like no time had passed.

Alright folks, one week to go until WonderCon!  We'll be back a bit earlier than usual next week as I'll be busy getting ready and driving up to Anaheim!  So be sure to come back and check it out!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!