Wondercon 2024

It was eight years ago, back in 2016, before Cass was born, that I first attended Wondercon. It was also the only time. It was an adventure.

The motivating factor was the chance to see the Valiant panel, and get a Wondercon-exclusive comic. I even picked up a gold-covered edition to boot, all for free. Well, the gold-covered one was free, not sure about the other one. Anyway...

...The motivator was the same, only the company was different. The head-honcho, though, was not. And, this year, the convention was in Anaheim instead of DTLA:

The Anaheim Convention Center is a massive, world-class exhibition hall, and the home of Wondercon---except in 2016, when it was LA for some reason.

This year the panel I wanted to see was from the rebellious Bad Idea, a company I've mentioned more recently than that first link, headed by former nerd-boss Dinesh Shamdasani (that's the link of when I met Dinesh in LB in 2017). 

After he was ousted from Valiant by the new VC-bosses, he took some of his, er, bad ideas and started a company revolving around them. They produce good work, and I'm all in.

I kinda don't read many other comics anymore. But, in one of my occasional trips to Facebook, I noticed the Bad Idea chatter was asking if anyone going to Wondercon could pick them up the free book. 

That was the sound of a record scratch for me. Bad Idea is known to make convention exclusives for various cons (NYCC, ComicCon (SD), Emerald City (Seattle), et al), and I'm comfortable knowing I'll never get my hands of those books.

But the words "Wondercon" and "free exclusive" in the same sentence got my attention. After deciding to go alone, I got my ticket, saw my panel, got my (rad) free book, and headed home after walking around all weary, trying to get my money's worth.

The exclusive comic was a reprint of "The Hero Trade," and its prequel, "The Hero Trade 2." Thsi time they were both colored, and the cover was exclusive and shows many of the The Hero Trade universe characters, along with a few upcoming ones, appearing here for the first time.

Why is the prequel called The Hero Trade 2? Remember the name of the company? Anyway, the story is bonkers: in The Hero Trade (the first Bad Idea comic release, unbeknownst to fans and retailers alike, sparking a frenzy, as some stores may have just tossed them; they go for hundreds on eBay nowadays), the main character has Captain Fabulous (think Superman) in his trunk, and he's driving around, cutting pieces off of him to sell to underworld organizations. It's wild, dark, and a comment on the way the market treats intellectual property today. That's why that blue outline of a guy is in pieces on the cover above.

Anyway, Wondercon 2024 was a nice afternoon. I supported some small presses, got a low-priced trade paperback I wanted to read (then give to Cass), and got the exclusive book that motivated me to go in the first place.