Photograph by Kevin Clifford
Nerd Convention
by Matt Fiske on 23 Apr 2008
PhotosJustice League
"America was founded on the notion that a person should be free to follow his or her own destiny. But we can't do that if we're living in fear of our own government. We need to reclaim this country for free men and women everywhere." - Superman in New Frontier
The main event for WonderCon 2008 was the world premiere of Justice League: The New Frontier, a re-imagining of the mainstream DC comics characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc.) during the JFK era at the height of the Cold War.
An animated feature with the backing of well known animation producer Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series), New Frontier's greatest achievement was to subtlety draw parallels between the McCarthyism of the early 60s with the post 9/11 paranoia of today.
On the whole, New Frontier would likely appeal to the hardcore comic book fan, but for the average viewer it loses its steam midway as the symbolism, effective character interactions and decent dialogue are lost to what boils down to the generic "save the world" plot.
In a related note, I happened to overhear two comic book aficionados conversing behind me, who confused JFK for Bill Clinton.
Thousands of fans of everything Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Comic Book, Anime and beyond had gathered together in one enclosed structure, the San Francisco Moscone Events Center. Many fans dressed up as their favorite fictional characters for the event known as WonderCon. It was an impressive sight, but unfortunately my eyes were not the only thing overwhelmed. The stink was awful; a scent not unlike body odor and burnt Mexican food wrapped up into one.
Despite the hordes of unwashed, made all the more prominent by the rainy San Francisco weather, the spectacle of the gathering was not lost.
WonderCon is an annual event, run by Comic-Con International, that is in essence the geek's Valhalla. Like the larger event Comic-Con in San Diego, the San Francisco event featured hundreds of vendors, celebrity panels and insider industry specials.
Among the guests were Hollywood stars such as Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway who were answering audience questions about the upcoming Get Smart remake along with David Duchovny and
Gillian Anderson who showed up to promote the new X-Files movie.
One of the highlights of the celebrity panels was when Carell humorously charged at the photographers from the stage and tried to kick them away.
When questioned about his preference on comedic roles versus serious Carell answered "As long as I get paid I am fine."
Representatives from Lucas Arts revealed the world premier of a trailer for Star Wars: Clone Wars, announcing a movie debut in theaters for summer 2008 and a half-hour television show thereafter on both TNT and Cartoon Network.
Both the movie and series will be 100% CGI, detailing the time between Episode I I and Episode III. One of the released plot details was that Anakin Skywalker is revealed to have had his own Padawan learner, an announcement that's sure to create controversy among Star Wars fans.
The highlight of the panels was easily the X-Files, as the 4,000 people who filled the room to capacity were on their feat cheering when an exclusive trailer came on the screens, followed by the entrance of Duchovny and Anderson.
"How do they know about ‘Frankie' and ‘Larry'?" said a surprised Anderson as many fans in the audience were wearing t-shirts with the secret character code names from the as of yet released X-Files movie script.
When questioned about whether or not becoming the nearly deadpan character Agent Mulder again after so many years would be difficult, Duchovny added dryly that "I just read the lines."
Receiving comparatively less acclaim were special panels for 10,000 BC and Shutter. Nevertheless, Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, Stargate), director of the upcoming 10,000 BC, upon questioning by an audience member, confirmed that he is working on a film based around the apocalyptic prophecies related to 2012.
Aside from celebrities, the Moscone Events Center also housed hundreds of vendors, selling comic books, animation cels, t-shirts, books, art, movie props and more.
Numerous workshops about building your own R2-D2 or getting your art critiqued by industry professionals were available to attendees.
One of the more popular booths was Lionsgate's, as dozens of geeks at a time gathered to photograph the provocatively dressed women who were promoting Larry the Cable Guy's Witless Protection, but it didn't seem like anyone cared what they were selling.
The popular items were the freebies, such as metal button-pins featuring the logos of Batman, Superman and the Flash. Plastic Green Lantern power rings and numerous temporary tattoos with a variety of franchise themes were also abundant.
The best freebie, however, was handed out prior to the Get Smart celebrity panel in the form of high quality lapel pins featuring the engraved seal of CONTROL, the secret government agency that protagonist Maxwell Smart works for.
The term "cosplaying" is used to describe fans who dress up as a fictional character, most notably at conventions like WonderCon. There was no shortage of cosplayers at the event, many of them with very intricate costumes.
The most popular costume was easily the Star Wars Stormtrooper. Dozens of them could be seen at any given moment, many of whom were event volunteers, entertaining fans that were waiting in lines and posing for photos.
Many other people in Star Wars themed costumes, such as Darth Maul, Boba Fett, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, could also be found on the showroom floor.
If you're a bit of a nerd like me then you already knew what WonderCon was, but for those who didn't it's definitely worth going to at least once. It's smaller than the Comic-Con convention in San Diego and a lot cheaper. Think of it as an anthropological glimpse into an international sub-culture. Who knows, you may even wind up cosplaying as a result.
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