Comics and Movies and Toys, oh my! Last week, we geeked out celebrated Kevin’s birthday at WonderCon in Anaheim, California. You might have always heard of these kind of events, but you really have to see it to believe it!
While most are familiar with the famous Comic Con in San Diego or New York, the third highest ranking comic convention is WonderCon in Anaheim, California. This comic/pop culture/sci-fi-loving convention invites all individuals of any age to participate in dressing up, meet special guests and enjoy fun games provided by some of the vendors.
This was Kevin’s dream birthday event.
The first thing we did when entering the convention: eat all of the food! WonderCon was set up with so many amazing food trucks from all over Orange County. From gourmet hot dogs to hipster burgers, this place was stocked with the best “fast food”.
Was it expensive? Hell yes! We shared most of our food for the day and we spent well over $50. But we just pretended that this Con-food was Kevin’s birthday cake.
There was no turning back.
But Kevin’s real treat?
Meeting this guy:
Steve Epting is a famous comic book artist and was one of the must-see artists at the convention. Along with several other notable works, Epting was the creator of comic book character (and Marvel movie), the Winter Soldier.
As a huge Captain America fan, this was Kevin’s man crush moment.
Kevin was one of five individuals to receive a commission drawing from Steve Epting and he chose, of course, a drawing of an unmasked Captain America.
This event had everything an avid fan would want (in addition to the celeb gushing). There were vintage chachkies, high grade collectables, and tons of apparel.
Since this was Kevin’s day, we spent a majority of our time raiding the convention for Golden Age Captain America treasures. I would be lying if I said I didn’t get a little tired spending 6 hours looking through comic book collections, but oh, the things I do for love.
Kevin walked away with some new favorites and overall, we didn’t splurge too much. Despite all of my secret planning and surprises and money spent on birthday’s past, this was probably his favorite birthday yet!
However, the highlight of the event (for me anyway) was taking in all of the crazy cosplay characters! From the Ghostbusters crew to Disney characters to superheroes, everyone was in attendance. I marveled at some of the amazing effort these individuals put into their costumes! You might see these types of fan-loving costumes in movies or television, but seeing it up close is another level! We saw the good, the bad, and the… revealing…
I may love my fair share of sci-fi, but seeing the dedication and love that these people share with this world was incredible! The ability to immerse one’s self in a fantasy and share that fantasy with others was like, well, going to an alien planet! I was an outsider witnessing strange outfits, customs, and languages. It was creative, exciting, and a little humbling.
But above all else, everyone was genuinely happy. Attendees were so excited to see their friends from the previous year and share the most genuine enthusiasm. This convention was connecting so many people and I was so happy to be apart of it.
Don’t be surprised if you see Kevin and I dressed up at next year’s WonderCon (as Captain America and Black Widow, of course)!
My boyfriend would love this. I’ve got him tickets to Comic Con in London for his birthday this year. It won’t be as big as this but hopefully I’ll find enough to do whilst there!
Comic Con in London sounds absolutely phenomenal! Can’t wait to hear about it 🙂