Wondercon Profile - Comic Book Convention

Name

Wondercon

Website

www.comic-con.org/wc

Dates

Typically near the end of February.

Days

Wondercon goes Friday through Sunday.

Hours

Friday: 12pm-7pm
Saturday: 10am-7pm
Sunday: 11am-5pm

Cost

Advanced Prices
Three Days - $30 Adults - $15 JR/SR
One Day (Fri/Sat) - $12 Adults - $6 JR/SR
One Day (Sun) - $10 Adults - $5 JR/SR

Onsite Prices
Three Days - $40 Adults - $20 JR/SR
One Day (Fri/Sat) - $15 Adults - $8 JR/SR
One Day (Sun) - $10 Adults - $5 JR/SR

Location

Moscone Center South
747 Howard Street
San Francisco

Contact Info

Hotline - 619-491-2475
Fax - 619-414-1029
General Info – cci-info@comic-con.org

Attendance

Over 20,000 people attend the convention each year.

About This Convention

Wondercon is one of the first major conventions of the year. With over 20,000 attendees it is also becoming one of the larger ones as well. It is still very much a comic centric convention, but recent years have seen more of an influx with movie and gaming studios. Wondercon has been a convention for over twenty years, and continues to grow each and every year.

Main Attractions

Wondercon is a large convention that has plenty to offer the comic book collector. The set up is very much like the larger San Diego Comic Con International. Here are some of the attractions:

• Buying Comics
  
• Meeting Creators
  
• Comic Book Panels
  
• Children’s Film Festival
  
• Blood Drive
  
• Anime/Manga
  
• Masquerade – Costume Contest
  
• Portfolio Reviews – For Aspiring Artists
  
• Gaming
  
• Major Film Screenings
  
• Art Show
  
• Art Auctions
  
• Sketches
  
• Buying Comic Related Items

History

Wondercon was started by San Jose native John Barrett, a founder of the retail chain Comics and Comix, in 1987. The original name was the Wonderful World of Comics Convention, but was later shortened by Barrett to Wondercon. The ownership of the con eventually went to comics retailer Joe Field of Flying Colors Comics and Other Cool Stuff, with his partner Mike Friedrich.

Joe Field and Mike Friedrich owned and operated the convention for fifteen years. Owner Joe Filed stated that, "WonderCon is probably the only comics' convention that has consistently shown a profit for the last decade.” Source Link. They decided after fifteen years of success and growth, that in order to pursue other interests and to continue to grow the convention, they needed to find another group to run the convention. So in 2001, they brokered a deal with Comic Con International, the management team that runs the San Diego Comic Con International.

Since then, Wondercon has continued to grow from a mid sized convention of 7,000 to 9,000 to over 20,000. I has secured it’s place as the first major convention of the year and the convention that kicks off the convention season. Time will tell if it will continue to become more of a pop culture convention like the larger Comic Con International, or remain more comic centered.