Closing in on WonderCon 2013/15 tips for the weekend
Sorry for the short hiatus on posts for those of you following me, but I am in college and my school work comes first! Just got done with Midterms in time to prepare for WonderCon 2013!!
WonderCon 2012 was the first time I attended a WonderCon event, and I loved it!
WonderCon, held in Anaheim, CA, is a part of CCI, (Comic Con International), which also owns SDCC (San Diego Comic Con) and ApeCon in San Francisco.
[I have not been to ApeCon (yet)].
So, WonderCon is pretty much a scaled size of SDCC, and for those who have not been to SDCC, here is a comparison in number of attendees: SDCC usually hosts 120-140 thousand guests, while WonderCon has just reached about 50,000 guests last year. So it is about 1/3 the size, but still growing!
WonderCon tries to stick to the Comic Book Convention roots by focusing on comic books more than pop culture & media; but, as SDCC grew out of the Comic Book shell, so is WonderCon.
WonderCon has panels throughout the whole weekend, from opening to close. They also have a lot of similar events as SDCC, just in a smaller scale. As far as the guest list goes, we probably won’t be seeing Robert Downey Jr. in an Iron Man Suit, but notable guests like Ray Park (Darth Maul, Toad, GI Joe) Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) Jim Lee (DC Comics) Guillermo Del Torro (Pacific Rim, HellBoy, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Hobbit) Lilly Collins (The Blind Side) Lou Ferrigno (Original Hulk TV Series) Larry Thomas (The Soup Nazi in Seinfeld) and more are scheduled to appear for WonderCon 2013!
From WonderCon 2012, I had the privilege of meeting Ray Park, Peter Mayhew, Lou Ferrigno, Sara Underwood (Former Playboy model, Former co-host of G4 tv’s Attack of the Show) and The Amazing Race Contestants Kynt & Vyxin. Many, or should I say, the majority of guests charge for autographs and photos, but you have to consider they are retired and still need some sort of income!
Autographs range from $10 to as many as you want, to $20 each autographed item, even upwards of $50. Some, like when I met Sara Underwood, gave free autographs and photos becasue she was a part of the G4 booth… now that G4 canceled AOTS, who knows if we will see any of the cast members again!
The great thing about conventions, especially WonderCon, is the abundance of vendors! A good portion of the convention floor is designated to vendors, then a part for Artists (Artist Alley), an Autograph area, and various locations for people like G4 or Sony, to the 501st Legion and Trekkies, etc.
Artist’s Alley is a place for all artists, writers, and up-&-coming Comic Book Creators, selling their work to hopefully one day get fame and fortune! All kinds of artists and styles are present, it is sure you will find at least one thing you like.
The autograph or special guest area is where the guests I named above hangout at their own tables, but it’s not a surprise to see them get back with old friends and wander the floors!
And the vendors; everyone from Bongo Comics, DC Entertainment, Dark Horse, eFX, Kotobukiya, and smaller, private vendors line the exhibit halls to sell and promote their newest collectibles! Other smaller vendors may have local comic book shops, or private sellers selling you their collections or inventory of stashed geekdom!
Across the 3-day weekend, outside the convention area are also offers and events; I have not read up on many of these yet, but know that Disneyland, DownTown Disney, Movie Theatres, and a few restaurants offer discounts with your visible attendance badge.
You never know what you will find!
Here are a few tips for the Con:
1)Dress light. Even if it is cold and rainy outside, do not bundle up with layers! The show floor gets crowded and hot! One less sweaty body will be great! With that being said, wear comfortable shoes! Walking shoes would be best, as the whole day will be walking and standing! From lines, to panels, to just walking around the floor, you are always on your feet!
2) Pack water and snacks! Food in the convention is always expensive; I recommend a hearty breakfast, or something to hold you for a few hours, leave the convention for lunch at a local eatery, and the same with dinner. But with all the walking and excitement, you will get hungry or want something to munch on and a drink; pack granola bars, nuts, fruits, and plenty of water!
3) Bring a backpack! Where do you think you will be storing all your food?
What about all the comics, toys, and collectibles? Sure, some things might be too big, but ask vendors to hold items for you until the end of the day. Kotobukiya last year held items for 3 hour periods until you returned, guaranteeing you that item. But for others, it will be a pain to have a dozen small bags. You might end up with one or two extra large bags, but condense your purchases and make a stop to your hotel room to drop things off. Also consider bringing a poster tube(s) if you collect posters or artwork to safely store and carry your items.
4) Refresh yourself! Whether it be using the bathroom, returning to the hotel room, or getting a breath of fresh air, you need rest! The convention will be all day and for three days! Just make sure you don’t miss any panels!
5) I mentioned Rest in #4….so get some sleep! The night before the first day, get plenty of rest; although there might be events at night after the convention, plan accordingly to get plenty of sleep! You do not always have to rush in when the doors open for WonderCon; there are not 3 hour lines unless waiting for a panel or special guest. Plan Accordingly!
6) Bring Cash!!! (and ATM cards!!) Many vendors charge a fee for credit cards, so have plenty of cash, or plenty in your ATM account! Those fees might not seem like much at first, but they sure will add up! Cash also lets you barter more and better negotiate prices.
7) Splurge yourself! Whether you attend one Con or multiple a year, just think: There is only one (1) WonderCon per year! Live a little and think of it as Christmas in Spring!
8) Cameras! Charge and bring plenty of memory! For those of you planning on bringing cameras, charge them and recharge them! You’d be surprised how fast they die, snapping photos all day and leaving it on for hours at a time! And for those who take a thousand photos to edit later, (like myself) bring plenty of gigabytes. Even plan on bringing separate ones for videos, photos, or certain events/characters.
9) Cell Phones! Charge those as well! You will constantly be snapping photos, using the internet, texting, and using Social Media during the weekend.
10) Twitter! Facebook! For those of you on Twitter and Facebook, check in on the people, places, and events all day! Set notifications to alert you when a new post is generated, because you never know what you will find, who you will see, or what you could win! Many many vendors like to have contests during the Convention times and you have to rush before all the other Geeks and Nerds get there!
11) Set a schedule! Just as I said to plan accordingly for resting, you must plan and set your times for any panels/events you want to attend! For the panels during the convention you think will be popular, stop by a few hours early and every so often to check the line to get in; only a limited number of seats are available! And check with the special guests & autograph areas, some of the guests are only there at certain times, or could leave unexpectedly!
12) Do your research! For those of you new to collecting, or even current collectors, do research on your interests! I am a huge Star Wars FanBoy and collector; so I am always online checking prices of toys, statues, novelties, and other collectibles to know how to compare them at the Conventions. Some vendors use this as an opportunity to cheat and make a quick buck, instead of being a true provider to the Collector Community! Stock up on research to at least have an idea of how much an item should be, or even how rare/valuable an item is! Even if it is not about the money, or for resale, would you really want to be cheated?
13) Have a map. Not good at finding your way around or forgetting where a certain vendor or artist was? Print the map off of WonderCon’s website to navigate your way through the Convention Floor!
14) Explore the area! The great thing about Conventions is having the opportunity to visit and explore the surrounding city! Especially out of towner’s, this is a great chance to see the sights! Take a break and walk Down Town Disney; visit a pier, smell the ocean breeze! Visit local comic shops or shops that suit your interests! Meet new people and always ask around, you are bound to run into locals who know the area and can direct you to a hot spot.
15) Business Cards? Business Cards! I have not done this yet, but believe it is time for me to really get my word out there! Business Cards seemed like an odd tip for me when I attended SDCC2011, my very first Comic Con; but it makes sense; you will not always have time to write down or punch in phone numbers, Twitter Handles, Websites, etc. Business Cards a simple and fast way to share contact information! Pull out a card, hand it to someone, and instant possible friend!
Hope you all have enjoyed the read and find my tips useful! This is the first time I have created a tips-list for a convention, by taking into account my experiences as well as others.
If anyone has any questions, concerns, or discussions, please feel completely free to contact me over twitter @Jahilianaire or emailing me at Earth2Geek@gmail.com
Hope to see you at the convention!
Bullet to the Head – Film Review
It seems as Sylvester Stallone has been sticking to action and shoot em up flicks for the last couple of years, after Rocky Balboa came Rambo, The Expendables, The Expendables 2, coming soon The Tomb with Arnold Schwarzenegger; and now, his most recent release with Bullet to the Head.
Stallone and Schwarzenegger never cease to entertain or delight me with their films, the duo has finally been working together back-to-back from The Expendables 1 & 2 and soon The Tomb. But each has had their slumps with solo films.
Stallone’s Bullet was…Rambo+Rocky+Dredd.
An interesting and fun flick, but left many questions unanswered, many unnecessary scenes, and could have used more scenes for certain parts of the film.
Here is the plot:
Jimmy Bobo (Stallone) is a hitman working with long time friend and partner Louis Blanchard (Jon Seda). After a hit in a hotel room where Bobo leaves a hooker alive, the two go to a bar where Blanchard is stabbed in the sides by Keegan (Holt McCallany) while alone and left to die; the culprit (another hit man assigned to take these two out from the boss) goes after Bobo in the bathroom but gets away, and Bobo finds his partner dead on a bench.
A new detective arrives in New Orleans to investigate the deaths; Detective Taylor Kwon (Sung Kang) figures it to be the work of Bobo and Blanchard; He notices a panther tattoo on the back of the hooker as well. He meets with Bobo to find the creator of this mess. Bobo doesn’t agree to work with him at first, but then saves Kwon from corrupt cops onto him to kill Kwon; the corrupt cops don’t want him finding out what is going on in the city, and Bobo agrees to work with him. Bobo takes an injured Kwon to his daughter’s tattoo parlor where she would perform surgery to take out the bullet; Kwon notices the same tattoo as on the hooker on Bobo’s daughter.
They kidnap one of the kingpins working with the mobsters running the city, and kill him, only to be hunted by Keegan and other men, leading to Bobo self destructing his home after they escape.
Kwon meets with the lieutenant and discovers he is also crooked and when he tries to kill Kwon, Bobo appears to the rescue and saves him once again. Meanwhile, Bobo’s daughter is kidnapped by the kingpins and the two agree to meet in an abandoned warehouse.
Keegan confronts Bobo, where they have an axe fight. The fight ends with a knife stabbed into Keegan’s neck and Kwon shooting Keegan to death. Bobo shoots Kwon to make it seem like he escaped, and Bobo’s daughter stays with Kwon as to form a relationship;
In the near future, Kwon and Bobo meet again at a bar, where Kwon says he did not tell the police of his whereabouts, but if Bobo continues his work, Kwon will hunt him down.
Bobo welcomes him to try, and drives off in a new Ferrari.
Stallone delivers a ripped and well kept body from his Rocky and Rambo days, as well as a kick-ass hit man character, but the story lacks quite a bit.
For one, the kingpins were rarely discussed, only the head was talked about coming from Africa and building the empire, but as far as the police involvement and such, none was mentioned; the viewer just discovered which cop would show up at the meetings or try to kill Kwon.
Also, the whole concept of the black Panther tattoo on the hooker and Bobo’s daughter was interesting, because Kwon mentioned that is why he didn’t kill the hooker, because Bobo’s daughter has the same tattoo…but other than that, no explanation was given as to the meaning of the tattoo or to anyone else having that tattoo.
It’s always fun to have some backstory as to what started on the hit man journey too, but a few points just describe his past in crimes, and Lisa (Bobo’s daughter) mentions he grew up on the streets and that is all he knows.
Some of the dialogue was not flowing with the movie, so that seemed weird a few times to have certain lines said when there could have been better written scenes.
Overall, a 6.5/10, sorry to say, but, glad to say because it was Sylvester Stallone, and a big fan of him myself, that 6.5 will not affect my future Stallone viewings or continuing viewings of past films. This fill will still be gladly added to my movie list!
Gentle Giant Republic Commando w/ Light-Up Visor Mini-Bust Review
Okay so this is my first official review of a piece in my collection, and the honor of that first review goes to the Republic Commando w/ Light-Up Visor Mini Bust by Gentle Giant.
This is a 2012 Premiere Guild Membership (PGM) Piece, with an edition size of 950.
This amazing mini-bust is hand hand painted and cast in high quality poly-stone, with a new added feature to the GG line, with a light-up visor!
This mini-bust has amazing details down to the scale and arrangement of the backpack, commando armour, and battle marks around the body and gun; scuff marks, burns, or any other damage details gives great resemblance to the Republic Commando after a battle sequence. The simple white and black color scheme is given great definition from the bends and angles of the chest and arms.
The light up visor is a bright blue and can really make a difference in appearance when it is on and off.
The mini-bust comes with a set of batteries as well which goes under the bust, in the base/stand of it by opening a hatch.
And yes, of course as always, there is a certificate of authenticity with it along with a description on the back of the box.
This piece really feels like it came from the crafters of Kamino with orders from Master Syfo-Dyas and will be a great add to any Star Wars lover’s collection; The crafters at Gentle Giant, Ltd. though, continue to excel and create fantastic pieces with every turn of the day!
Here is the background info of the Republic Commandos from the Gentle Giant website:
Elite soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Clone Commandos were crafted by the Kaminoans for war. Based off of the genetic template of the infamous bounty hunter Jango Fett and indoctrinated into the Mandalorian culture, Republic Commandos worked in highly coordinated teams of four operatives, each with their own individual specialties, to complete missions with objectives too complex for the average Clone Trooper, or requiring more firepower than the average ARC Trooper can muster. When Order 66 was issued, the Republic Commandos’ objective turned from defending the Republic to hunting down and executing the Jedi, a task they completed with ruthless efficiency. Soon after the fall of the Republic, the surviving units from the Clone Wars were rechristened Imperial Commandos.
Hope you enjoy!
- Base of the mini-bust where the batteries are inserted.
The Last Stand – Film Review
Arnold is back at it for his ass kicking action films with a twist of comedy and fun times in The Last Stand. Even at 65 years old, Arnold is still running the streets of action flicks with his own personal touch, not like the usual action hero actors, but Arnold puts an Austrian-Flare to his films. Even if you are not a big Arnold fan, this film is sure to please, just don’t go into it with a Jason Statham or Matt Damon style action flick mind set; it just is not the same and it’s Arnold!!
Of course, I am a huge Arnold Schwarzenegger fan and you might think this review will be biased to give only the good points and top notches of this film; well you are wrong because for all my reviews, no matter how much I love or hate the actor, series, director or whatever else, I will give my full aspect from the worst to the best.
The film takes place in the small town of Sommerton Junction, Arizona, with Arnold as a old and worked Sheriff in charge of the town police. Everyone knows one another and welcome each other at the local diner where Ray Owens (Arnold Schwarzenegger) notices a couple of suspicious truck drivers. These take over a local farm by killing the farmer and start their work for a kingpin criminal, Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega),on the run after escaping an FBI transport. He takes a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 down the highways and canyons on the way to Sommerton planning to cross the US-MEXICO border by having his ‘henchmen’ build a bridge over the canyon.
For the rest of my version of the plot, this is how it goes: road blocks get destroyed by hidden caravans of vans and trucks of the cartel; a trip to the farm by the police find the farmer dead, which leads to a deputy being shot and killed during a fire fight, the police gain some heavy weaponry and set a plan, the gangsters run through the town trying to wipe out the police, and then Arnold steals a rich man’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to chase down the criminal.
I’ll let you watch the film to find out what happens in the end and what secret is revealed!
Arnold really packs a punch and sets a great tone as a old and easy going yet stern ‘Small Town Police Chief’ or in this case “Sheriff” (one of my favorite scenes was when he kills a criminal by shooting a bullet to the head with a magnum, and he says “I’m the Sheriff” aaah so great!)
He runs the town and runs the criminals into the ground with his high caliber guns and knockouts.
The rest of the cast is great too, Johnny Knoxville and Luis Guzman giving a great comedy appearance while still being ‘deputized’ and fight the battles. Forest Whitaker is great as an old FBI agent just wanting to get the criminal to the death penalty and having to deal with his escape. A familiar face for you Thor fans would be Jaimie Alexander, as a strong focused and well rounded deputy on Arnold’s force.
The film actually had a well written story, well enough for director Kim Ji-Woon who has not had any notable films in his past. A few points could have been improved or changed, but overall, i give it a 7.5/10.
There was more blood too than I expected, even though it is a rated R film; a few head-shots and epic fight scenes with blood squirting and pieces flying.
It is something great for Arnold to get back into films, with a slow start in The Expendables 1 and 2, now The Last Stand, and soon The Tomb with buddy Sylvester Stallone. He is even in talks for the next Terminator films and even The Legend of Conan.
I look forward to Arnold’s return for big time films and future work, and anticipate a great turnout!
Crimson Society – Issue 1 Review
So, you like the classic Vampires and Werewolves battling it out until the bloody end, with myths and legends of family wolf packs, becoming a vampire from a bite, and so on and so forth?
Well, I was recently introduced to a whole new level of the Vampire Vs. Werewolf idea.
And this idea comes into the comic called Crimson Society.
The usual stories go like this: one family of vampires fighting a family of werewolves, lone groups fighting one another, vampires being a threat to humans alone, or werewolves, and then the stories continue with one side winning the other or an expected outcome ends the story.
But here in the new Crimson Society series, the creator, Mike Hunau, takes on a story set in the year 2030, where all beings are of somewhat, ‘equals’: Zombies, Werwolves, Vampires, and Humans. The story surrounds Jack Crimson, a werewolf who is tired of being a werewolf. He is exhausted from the countless moon-lit nights of savageness among the people he loves and cares for.
He decides to make a change and find an underground doctor, (essentially a friend of a friend of a friend who knows a guy) to ‘cure’ Jack. But of course, things take a turn and this ‘doctor’ slips him a pill filled with the blood of over 30 vampires. The doc’s plan is to wipe out the vampires with this secret weapon of the pill, plus he will operate on Jack for unlimited power with new limbs.
Through the operation, some vampires find the doc and are planning on killing him, when Jack (in-between consciousness) witnesses a little bit, only to discover what as occurred when he finally awakes 24 hours after taking the pill. The vampires are all dead and the doctor is gone.
Jack has no idea what has happened and keeps hearing a voice in his head either saying ‘invalid’ ‘vitals online’ ‘radius check-clear’ and sorts.
Jack is losing his mind trying to figure out what has happened and sets out to search for the doctor and fix the newer problem on his life.
Crimson Society truly caught my eye because for one: I love vampires and werewolves, zombies, and so on (no, no, not the stupid Twilight crap with sparkling freaks and pretty faced wolves..I like the kick ass vicious blood sucking vamps and ravish, snarling and growling werewolves!)
Mike Hunau did a fantastic job creating this story, and I loved the first person point of view straight from Jack Crimson’s story. This story is not quite like any other I have read or seen…a society where these beings are accepted, yet with still “racism” towards one being to the next.
With the doctor reeling in a hopeful victim and turning him into a vampire killer, when the victim wanted to rid himself of all “problems” really sets a curiosity for what he will do.
Will Jack continue to find a cure, now cures for his issues? Will Jack live on and kill vampires as he has been changed to? Or even, will he side with the vampires to kill the doctor?
These questions and more I ask from this first issue along with: How did the different beings come accepted into the future world? Are there “gangs” of werewolves and what not? IS OUR PRESIDENT A WEREWOLF, VAMPIRE, OR ZOMBIE!?!? wait, our president is already a zombie so that is done…
I would like to also give my compliments to the artist, taking a Hellboy style comic with his own flare is great! Well, at least to me that is what the comic reminds me of. But again, all different and created with unique strokes and flicks of the wrist!
This is issue #1/4, and when I do a review about a comic and say I can’t wait for the next issue, I mean it! I don’t put it in just to say it, I really see the next issues building in intensity, curiosity, and adventure!
Good luck to Hunau and look forward to more reading!


































































