“I am thrilled to have Los Angeles be the new home for Wonder Con and am eager to work with Comic Con International to ensure their 2016 convention is the best yet,” said Curren D. Price Jr., chair of the Economic Development Committee, and council representative for the L.A. Convention Center.
“This event, which drew more than 60,000 visitors last year, will bring a tremendous benefit to our local economy, not only in additional spending at local shops and restaurants but also with new jobs created to meet the demands of our new visitors. As we move forward with plans to upgrade and enhance our existing Convention Center, this news helps to cement our city’s role as a premier meeting and event location.”
WonderCon, which will move to Los Angeles in March 2016, was started in 1987 in Oakland as “The Wonderful World of Comics Convention.”
The show was the brainchild of Bay Area comics retailer John Barrett, who called on a number of friends and associates to help realize his vision. “WonderCon” became the official name of the convention in the third year.
The original show included all the classic comics convention features—an exhibit hall with dealers selling old and new comics and other items, programming, anime screenings, and games.
In 2001, after the 15th event, then co-owners Mike Friedrich and Joe Field (another prominent Bay Area comic retailer) decided they could no longer devote the time needed to maintain the quality of the show they helped create. They contacted Comic-Con International in hopes that the organization could fold WonderCon into the Comic-Con family of conventions.
Comic-Con International took over the show in 2002 and moved it from Oakland to downtown San Francisco in 2003. After 15 years as a Bay Area event, WonderCon was then forced to move to Anaheim in 2012, due to construction at its San Francisco home, the Moscone Center.
Since 2012, the event—now called Comic-Con International Presents WonderCon Anaheim—has been held in Southern California at the Anaheim Convention Center. While it is still the hope to one day return the show to its San Francisco and Bay Area roots; WonderCon Anaheim has continued to grow, with 60,000 attendees at the event in 2014.
WonderCon is literally the sister show to Comic-Con International, embracing all the main aspects of that show, including comics, movies, TV, animation, the Masquerade, and more. The event has grown in all aspects over the years: more attendees, more exhibitors, more programming, and more fun. In its current Anaheim-based incarnation, WonderCon continues to be a must-attend event on the comic book convention schedule.
WonderCon is interested in presenting a diversity of programming and vendors and welcomes proposals from anyone with ideas.
To submit an idea, go to http://www.comic-con.org/contact.
