WonderCon 2018

Thanks for visiting my blog again! WonderCon just wrapped up last weekend. It's a really big comic con with a wide variety of exhibitors. I took a lot of photos and ran into a lot of great people. The Anaheim Convention Center is huge, but I'm getting used to the layout. Scroll down to see dozens of photos, descriptions, and links. Have fun!

​First, I ran into one of my regular vendors. Shannon Hoage was at the convention with her merchandise from Gears & Roebuck. She takes various items and gives them a steampunk look. I saw some new merchandise, including an airship and a steampunk version of Captain America's mask. You can find out more about Gears & Roebuck on Facebook. 
https://www.facebook.com/GearsAndRoebuck/

This cosplayer said his character is from the Assassin's Creed game series. I assume he's one of the Knight Templars. It's a pretty nice costume in my opinion. 

Emily Felt and Laura West have a comic series called Olive and the Underworld. It's about a rebellious young lady who's struggling to find her place in the world. Along the way, Olive and her classmates are transported to the Underworld and it's a wacky adventure. They're running a Kickstarter project on October 13th for the second volume. I haven't read the first volume yet, but I'm sure it's entertaining. I spent some time talking to both creators and they were a lot of fun. Read more about their work at www.oliveandtheunderworld.com 

I found a steampunk Deadpool! This photo should make quite a few of you guys happy, considering many of my viewers love steampunk and Deadpool. Crossovers are always a joy to see. 

Samiah Fine Clothing makes coats and other costume accessories. They allowed me to try on a coat and it was really thick with good material. I would say these coats are great for Renaissance Faires and other events. They would be fine for certain types of cosplay, including Medieval, witches, and vampires. Most of their clothing is custom made. Click on the links to inquire about commissions and merchandise. 
​-www.samiah.com
​-www.etsy.com/shop/samiahfineclothing

R2-D2 was strolling around WonderCon. I assume he was from the R2-D2 Builders Club. 

I've seen this vendor before. Greg Rankin is the author of Amaranthine, a graphic novel. He also makes elaborate steampunk poker sets. Take a look at the photos to see what I'm talking about. You can check out vonrankinstein on Twitter and Instagram or SteampunkPoker on Facebook. 

Max Narciso's work seemed original and interesting enough to include in my post. He's the creator of a Canapazzi, an illustrated novel. I guess the creatures are trolls and similar beings of folklore. Reminds me of a horror film called The Hallow. Narciso is on Facebook and YouTube. His official website is www.maxnarcisoart.blogspot.com

You've probably seen my previous photos about the Gaslight Gathering. It's a big steampunk festival in San Diego. I won't have a chance to attend this year, but it's on my bucket list for 2019. This year's convention is going to have a carnival theme, which should be a lot of fun. It includes family activities during the day and much spookier things at night. If you live in the San Diego area, give it a shot! I'm sure it will be a blast. You can purchase tickets at www.gaslightgathering.org

There was a booth for Rampage, an upcoming action film. It's based on the video game of the same name. In short, Rampage is about mutated animals running amok through a major city. It's not a complex story. Let's hope the film is entertaining though. I'm actually looking forward to it. There's a new Rampage arcade game at Dave and Busters. The reps brought it to WonderCon, so everyone could try it out. 

What an adorable group of droids. The R2-D2 Builders Club, BB-8 Builders Club, and Wall-E Builders Club had several mobile robots at the convention. Their droids were legit. All of them were remote controlled and made the right noises from the movies. I'm pretty sure you can find these groups on Facebook and Instagram.
​-https://astromech.net/
​-www.bb8builders.club

So, the Mandalorians captured me. I guess there was a debt to pay. Luckily, I made a daring escape and continued with my photography. 

The Gaslight Steampunk Expo had a booth. It's another big steampunk festival in San Diego. I actually paid for memberships this year and it will be my first time attending. I'm pretty stoked. This year, the Gaslight Expo is having a Tiki theme and it sounds like fun. We're taking a ride on the Nautilus and traveling to an island for a grand party. Doesn't that sound awesome? It's happening October 5-7 of 2018. You can buy tickets at http://www.gaslightexpo.org/

I thought this guy looked super cool. It's always nice to see some original steampunk costumes. He might have some influences from BioShock's Big Daddy. The stuffed marine animals are a nice touch. I suppose we know what happened to Nemo. He's dangling on this guy's belt. Hilarious! 

Yes! A Street Fighter character! This cosplayer is M. Bison from the Street Fighter games. He's pretty much the classic version. I used to love those games.

I went down the publishing area and met several writers. Verdacomb has an interesting premise. It's a dystopian comic book that focuses on a culture who's obsessed with virtual reality and gladiatorial gaming. The characters prefer to live in in a made up virtual reality most of the time. Occasionally, they enter the real world to watch and participate in gladiatorial games with battle mechs called Orb Suits. Unfortunately, the games are rigged and a few characters want to expose the truth. It sounds like a fun read and I certainly wouldn't want to live in this universe. Dan and Melissa Berry created Verdacomb and they were very pleasant company. I enjoyed talking to them. Visit www.verdacomb.com to learn more about their comics. You can even read the first chapter online for free!

Eric Dean Seaton is the creator of a really great comic book series called Legend of the Mantamaji. I met him at last year's WonderCon and he's totally cool. His comics are about an ADA who has magical abilities. That means he can fight evil in the courthouse and on the streets. It's kind of like a cross between Marvel's Daredevil and Constantine. I bought all four books at WonderCon this year. Find out more information at https://legendofthemantamaji.com/

Fanbase Press is another exhibitor who I see regularly. They're a really dedicated organization. I see them several times a year at various events. Fanbase Press is an independent publisher of comic books. They have a decent variety ranging from fantasy, science fiction, horror, and more. A couple of their publications have more comical and whimsical themes. They offer services to indie authors, including book reviews, interviews, audio podcasts, and more. Take a look at their official website find out more about their publications and services. www.fanbasepress.com 

WonderCon had a Dumbledore and Prof. Sprout. I thought they looked pretty cool. A lot of people wanted to take pictures of them. 

Nostromo Effects makes steampunk inspired crafts, jewelry, notebooks, etc. I don't remember seeing them at previous events. They had quite a bit of merchandise and most of it was very affordable. I'm hoping to run into these guys at future conventions. Find out more about Nostromo Effects on Instagram and www.nostromoeffects.com 

Aren't crossovers great? I got a kick out of this Minion in Captain America garb. 

I've seen Madeleine Holly-Rosing a few times in the past. In fact, I think she was at the Long Beach Comic Expo in February. She's the author of a steampunk comic book series titled The Boston Metaphysical Society. It has a lot of paranormal elements. A new volume was recently released. Check out http://bostonmetaphysicalsociety.com/ to learn more. 

Finally, I had a chance to meet one of my online connections in person for the first time. Michelle Lowe is also a steampunk author and I interviewed her on my blog some time ago. You can read the full interview here. I network with several indie steampunk authors and we live all over the place. Some of my author friends live outside of the United States. Basically, we rarely get to meet in person. So, this was pretty awesome. I picked up both copies of The Legacy Chronicles. It's a steampunk series with a lot of fantasy elements. I also met one of Michelle's friends, Miss Elaneous. She makes metal jewelry and bookmarks. Both of them are delightful women and very creative. You can find out more information about Michelle Lowe on Twitter, Instagram, and her author website; www.michellelowe.net. Miss Elaneous and her products are on www.instagram.com/miss.elaneous. 

This was my last photo at WonderCon. I saw a giant banner hanging from the ceiling and I had to take a picture. It's Black Panther; Game of Thrones style. I don't even know what it's advertising. The bottom right hand corner says something like Nova Tees. Maybe they make different kinds of novelty shirts. Regardless, it's super cool! 

I didn't feel like sticking around for panels. They had some interesting topics on the schedule though. Here's a list of panels that looked interesting to me. 
​-Warner Archive's Subzero and the Evolution of Mr. Freeze
​-Life in the Weird City: Urban Fantasy
-Science of The Expanse
​-Comics 101: Making Sense of the World of Comics
-Game as a Pro
​-Entrepreneurial Women in Geek Culture
​-Writing 101: What to Think About Before You Start Writing
​-Marvel's ​Cloak & Dagger 
​-The 100​ Special Video Presentation and Q&A
​-25th Anniversary of Jurassic Park​: Life Finds a Way
​-Psychology of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts
​-How to Build a BB-8 and R2-D2
​-The Avatar's Narrative: Writing for Video Games
​-​Constantine World Premiere Screening
-World Premiere of Batman Ninja
​-Mythology in Final Fantasy
-NBC's Timeless
-Romance in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
​-A First Look at Netflix's Lost in Space
​-Publishing Your First Comic Book
-Steampunk for Beginners
​-SYFY: Krypton
-Do You Read Me? Comic Adaptations
​-How to be a Geek in the Work Force
-The Science of Pacific Rim
-Writing Great Dialogue
​-Tarzan and the Wild Adventures of Edgar Rice Burroughs
​-The All-Female Showrunners' Panel
​-Cinematic Storytelling for Comics
-The Writer's Journey: Developing Material for the New Marketplace
​-The Arkham Sessions: Psychology of Batman the Animated Series
-​The Science of Westworld
​-Beyond Goggles and Bustles: Teapot Racing and Tea Dueling are the Steampunk Interactive Events You Need to Know About
​-​X-Men: The Animated Series 25th Anniversary
​-Superheroes for Girls and Princesses for Boys? 

​I don't even think this list was half of WonderCon's panels. They had a ridiculously huge selection of panels and no one could possibly attend all of them. I really appreciate the variety.

​That's a wrap. I gave you plenty of information, links, and photos. Maybe some of you will think about attending WonderCon or similar events some day. What did you enjoy the most about this post? Tell me about it in the comment section. Stay tuned for more blog posts about steampunk, writing, gaming, cinema, etc. I'm always happy to talk about pop culture to you guys. Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it and have a good weekend.