Wondercon Recap

This WonderCon was admittedly milder/smaller than many of the recent ones I've attended, but I was fortunate enough to stumble onto some amazing experiences. I met a bunch of AAU freshmen at the con and hope to see them again in the halls (a half-sane 5th year senior...best. representative. ever.) . Above are a few of the autographed thingies I picked up.

Thank you to all the industry professionals (i think the entire story teams of Pixar and Dreamworks were scattered about the exhibit floor lol) who took the time out to let me pick their brains (And thanks for the pep-talk, Mr. Balistreri). You may never remember me, but I'll never forget the gesture. It was more than worth buying the merchandise which I've yet to fully enjoy, and it was arguably worth the panic attack I suffered at the sight of my bank account. Also, a big shout-out to my myspace pal, Steph Laberis, who I ran by serendipidously.

I went to not 1 but 2 backstage signings, a first and second ever for me. One was for "Sit Down, Shut Up", where I met the likes of Kenan Thompson, Henry Winkler, and Will Arnett. The other was for "Spectactual Spider-Man". I decided to go to that instead of the "Up" panel and was rewarded handsomely for 'keepin' it real'. I had plenty of time to hang with the Spidey crew, including character designer, Cheeks Galloway! I saw the animated Wonder Woman, but had to give up my ticket to the Watchmen screening to a friend who was staying in SF (i couldn't miss the last BART train).

I also went to the panel for "League of Super Evil" which had a modest turnout. No matter, since when we ended early, the exec. producer, Asaph Fipke came down from the podium and rewarded 3 of us with an brief 3-on-1 micro-clinic on breaking into cartoon writing, making a proper pitch document and his insights regarding the animation market in Canada and the US (thanks again, man. awesome stuff.).

I also managed to bring back some manga swag for my young buddies at the TKD school, as usual ;).