WONDERCON 2023... A RETURN TO FORM!!!

 

Welcome back CRAZIES!!!  WE ARE ONE WEEK AWAY FROM WONDERCON 2026!!!  Alright, alright, I gotta calm down.  There's still work to do here!  How about we just get straight to the pics, shall we?  The Wayback Machine is set to 2023 and the City of Anaheim is our destination!  Lace up those high tops, because the CRAZY WonderCon Countdown is blasting off!  Enjoy...

Not sure I trust either of them to be honest.

The Iconic Fountain in front of the Anaheim Convention Center.  A hot spot for group photos, it was out of service last year.  Hopefully it'll be up and running in time for next week's show!

So glad I got Casey Jones as my instructor for Pain 101 at the local community college!

Always important to take breaks when you can during ANY convention experience.

The Dude not only abides, he brought enough White Russians for everybody!

Never knew Foghorn Leghorn and the Roadrunner had a kid!

So long as it ain't gum, I'll try any Wonka Bar!

When you get right down to it, the Wizard Of Oz is merely the tale of a small town girl who accidentally murders an old woman and steals her shoes.

Ironically enough, this crossover legit happens in the ride every holiday season!

So glad the issues with the Quartzes were cleared up!

Not one to judge, but Tweedle Dum clearly needs more sunblock!

It's not often you see Zoolander cosplay!

Harry and Lloyd bringing some color to the Fountain!

And finally for this week, we assimilate with The Borg and admire this phenomenal costume that I can only imagine took weeks to make!  Just a jaw dropping level of awesome!

And that was WonderCon 2023!  A great year that saw things largely return to normal after the pandemic, despite a Hollywood writer's and director's strike largely looming.  Still, the weather was nice, neither too hot nor too cold, I made some great scores and had some pretty amazing meals at Downtown Disney!  All in all a memorable year!

Well, we got one more post to WonderCon 2026, which, coincidentally, also closes out the Month of March.  But never you fear dear readers!  We still got plenty of pictures to comb through, so be sure to come back and check it out!  Until next time, 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 2023... STILL RECOVERING FROM WONDERCON 2024!!!

 

Well, here we are.  Another WonderCon has passed.  And it was...  I haven't the foggiest idea.  As I've stated many times, I write these posts well in advance.  In fact, as I write this we are eight days away from the show even starting.  I haven't even packed yet!  But, it is posting today, three days after the show has already ended!  Hopefully, I'm feeling okay right now and not battling a raging sinus infection like last year.  Since I can't really predict what next week's post is gonna be like, let's just skip ahead to the pics.  The CRAZY WonderCon Countdown is still a go!  Enjoy...

Crystal Gems and Hitchhiking Ghosts...  You should be wary of both!

After February's Wonka fiasco in Scotland, I think people might have a better appreciation of the Tim Burton Wonka film now.  Having read the book, I actually understood and got what Burton and Johnny Depp were trying to do.  I'm also really hoping I'll have some Sad Oompa Loompa and Unknown cosplay pics to post next week!

They're off to see the Wizard!

Good God!  Energy Drink Monster needs to find something else to get hooked on!

There once was a time when the channel that inspired this cosplay actually meant something...

I don't think this one lives in a dream house.

Well alrighty then!

Inspector Gadget is on the case!

They were looking for a large scratching post!

PIGS...  IN...  SPAAAAAAAACE!!!

There are some who call him... Tim?

Furry dance party...  Not much else can really be said about it.

Although I'm writing this from the past, it's already been announced that Funko wouldn't be back this year.  It's a shocker for sure as they were a HUGE part of the last two WonderCons, with a fully immersive booth that took up half a hall.  It wasn't as massive as their San Diego efforts, but still very impressive that finally brought a Hollywood-style experience within the halls of WonderCon which has historically always been a more subdued show.  Last year's animated "Carnival" setup was a big step up from 2022's "Tiki' booth, which was also amazing.  Was there something equally impressive ready to take that spot this year?  Guess we'll find out soon enough...

We close things out this week with Kwanzaa Bot!  Definitely one of Futurama's more spirited characters, Kwanzaa Bot is still out there selling everybody on a wonderful holiday that helps stretch the season of giving out just a bit more.  It's a holiday that does seem to get lost in the shuffle a bit with Christmas, Hanukah and New Year's kinda swallowing everything up (Seriously, they're encroaching on Halloween now for Heaven's sake!), but it's still a meaningful time and if you've never seen what's on a Kwanzaa menu, you are seriously missing out!

And that was WonderCon 2023!  Definitely a fun time and probably the record for most money I've ever blown at a show, even SDCC!  I scored a BUNCH of vintage comics and some really cool art books and prints.  I even met the creative team behind Animaniacs!  The only downer really was that every building  I went into had the AC cranking even though it was cold outside, leading to me getting a really bad sinus infection.  I eventually got better, but it would've been nicer to not get it at all!  Still, the overwhelming majority of it was fun and the memories are fond.

And that's all she wrote for this week.  The countdown's almost done, but we're gonna go out with a bang as next week, we FINALLY get to WonderCon 2024!  So be sure to come back and see how it all ends!  Until then, take care, stay safe and I'll catch y'all later!