Last weekend, geeks of all flavors descended upon downtown San Fransisco, as WonderCon , the smaller, less Hollywood cousin of San Diego's annual ComicCon (and the bigger, less indie rock cousin to San Francisco's Alternative Press Expo), took over the Moscone Convention Center for 3 days of costumes, intelligent discussion on comics, and unabashed displays of fandom.

WonderCon has been coming into its own lately, and this year was no exception, boasting appereances by nerdly legends Carrie Fisher, Mark Hammill (who was charging an unheard of $100 for an autograph), Felicia Day and panels including Shirley Manson, Adam West, and Michael Chabon.

The show kicked off with a panel promoting the new Mitch Hurwitz (of Arrested Development) project: Sit Down, Shut Up!, an animated series premeiring on Fox on April 19. Besides Mitch, the panel included Will Arnett, Kenan Thompson, Henry Winkler, and the voice of SpongeBob Squarepants. I had my very own fangirl moment when I waited for an autograph for an hour and a half to have the panelists sign my Sit Down Shut Up Poster. 

And this, waiting for an hour and a half to get Kenan Thompson to sign a free poster "Owee Tiara!" (after my favorite SNL sketch of his, Deep House Dish), is what Wondercon is about: it's not so much a celebration of comics or gaming, but far more a celebration of being a fan.
 
Costuming is a huge part of the "con" subculture, and while some showed up in either traditional steam punk or romantic Goth attire, the bulk wore the clothing of their favorite icon: Batmans and Jokers, an extremely impressive Planet of The Apes, many ladies dressed as Wonderwomen, a few dressed in costumes from the upcoming film adapatation of Watchmen (the film also hosted a panel and were the comic belles of the ball all weekend long), and naturally, many Star Trek & Star Wars inspired costumes. 

But why go to such great lengths to show your allegiance and loyalty? If not to meet others like you, then to get your photo taken by the dozens of amateur shutterbugs walking the show floor, snapping photos of costumes left and right and if you really want the attention, you could sign up for the "maquerade ball", which is actually a talent show. My favorite? A group of kids dressed up in Star Trek uniforms performing a NKOTB lip dub to "The Right Stuff".

The attention awarded to the fans, the little kids lining up to take their photo with "Batman" or "The Joker", is another piece of the Wondercon game: while getting to stay a fan, they get a little piece of the celebrity action.

But what of the real celebrities who attend this show to make rent off of autographs and selling movie stills?  Some celebs look annoyed the entire time they are there, while others, have full displays, banners and memoribilia from every thing they've ever been in and excitedly talk to fans (the reality stars and older actors were especially friendly). Erin Gray classily donated parts of her autograph proceeds to a battered women's shelter.

But lest you think Wondercon is all about people who just want to take and not put back in, there were several panels dedicated to nourishing your own artistic career, including writing workshops, goal setting workshops, and a trendy one about growing your "brand" (even these guys aren't immune from the Silicon Valley biz speak). And, possibly one of the more neglected but coolest aspects of Wondercon is the Artists Alley and Small Press areas, where independent local San Francisco artists such as Writers Old Fashioned,  Guilltoine Press display their stuff and sell their wares.

I know what you're going to ask, this being BitchBuzz and all: is WonderCon a girl friendly show? I would say unequivocally: yes.

Furthermore, the myth that women aren't into comic books (and in particular, super hero comic books), Anime, and gaming is just that: a myth. While the men may outnumber the women, the ladies are still there.

And you may not know from looking at them on a normal day, but underneath your co-worker's business casual slacks and button down shirt may be a fan fiction writing, cosplay playing, Livejournal user who saved up all her money to come to San Francisco for a weekend, get a room at the Marriot and blow all her money on figures.