Gotham Gal West Coast – Scenes from a Con

GGWestWonderCon 2016 (part 2)
(As transcribed from a very small notebook)

March 26, 2016
6 AM – 6 AM comes EARLY. Especially on a WonderCon day. We are going to pick up another couple at 7, so we rush to get everything and get out of the house. Long Beach is quiet.

7 AM – We pick up the couple and decide to hit up a bagel shop (with paintings of sea creatures holding bagels!!!) and then make our way up to Los Angeles. There is one person who does NOT know where we are going, so we are trying to convince them it is a dental convention. He starts talking anime to my husband, and we realize he’s going to have a great time.

8 AM – Finally finish our weird, zig-zaggy trek through downtown Los Angeles. And we go to a super secret parking spot less than 2 blocks away from the convention center. Um, we just saved $20 – yes, please! By the time we get to the building, there’s a lady with a Dragon on her shoulder, just as lost as we are, but our guest figures out the surprise and is completely happy AND excited. We get through West Hall registration, and I pick up my press sticker after getting our one-day passes. We get into the massive convention hall, see the blast doors_DSC5031 closing and wait behind a Luke Skywalker (who is experimenting with the Star Wars app – totally awesome).

9 AM – Talked to a couple of exhibitors by now. They claim to have been told the show opened at 10 AM, which explains the empty booths in artist alley. A few of the interviews I have planned are not going to pan out – oh, I guess we’ll have to shop. The group of four of us walk through, buy things and pull a ton of “we need to remember to pick that up later” for the heavier things. While I am talking to a few attendees, I lose my photographer to droids… #Notthefirsttime

10 AM – We separate. I see a huge crowd with the more-established artists. And then I see Terry Moore. Yes, IT’S TERRY MOORE. Next to a My Little Pony artist. I realize shortly as he is reorganizing his booth that there is NO LINE for Terry Moore. I talk to him about the Gender In Comics Super MOOC he was interviewed for and pick up a few copies of some of the Rachel Rising books. I run back to find my group and say something about Terry Moore and the surprised person runs back to Terry Moore with me because – IT’S TERRY MOORE! We bask in Terry Moore-ness and he starts to get a few people. We start walking through some of the commercial booths and find some amazing things.

_DSC502711 AM – The convention floor is really starting to pick up. TMNT fans are dressed up like their favorite characters for the Nickelodeon booth. There is a pretty big line that snakes around a few of the rows. And they start moving, with the requisite beginning of line and end of line signs. Someone dressed like TOS Kirk is parading around with a Kirk/Plisken 2016 sign. Yes, we’re political in California, but only geek-related.

Noon – I realize that my breakfast bagel with cream cheese and sprouts is still in the car. In the sun. That’s going to be yummy later. We pass the gaming booths, but we don’t see the table vendor, Chessix or even Habit RPG. There are some board game vendors and a few Kickstarter projects and they’re play testing the second Ghostbusters game, WHAT?!?

1 PM – We realize it is 1 o clock. And it’s been six hours since we’ve eaten, we make an executive decision. All things are going well. We run over to the foodcourt after scanning our badges out of the exhibition hall and snag a table just as the family is leaving it. I park all of our stuff on the table and assume the guard position as the other members of my group descend upon the taco stand. The tacos we’ve heard so many good things about ARE totally worth it. Plain street tacos taste better than we have ever imagined. They seem to be a popular item versus the regular fare. Another popular item is customized cotton candy, smelling so awesome I want to forget the textural problem I have with cotton candy. We sit for almost an hour, just basking in not walking and an adorable mini Captain America and a VERY close-to-film Predator no one messes with.

2 PM – Oooh, we ate too much. Three mini tacos and a bottle of water do not sit well. So while we make our way through the Disney music emporium (they had shaped, vinyl picture disc records) and also see some cool things at the Nintendo booth. There are huge lines here, and there are lines to get INTO stores like the HerUniverse and Bandai. I catch up with a really cool Lucifer Cosplayer on my way to the Image Booth and embarrass myself by calling out to her – not everyone is a Wicked and the Divine fan – but the people who know the series nod and smile.

_DSC50253 PM – We make out what around the Valve store and We Love Fine and start to work our way up around a few of the smaller sale booths. We stop at various retro toy and collectible booths, too. I decide to take a bit of a break and sit on the floor, next to the cinderblock wall. I end up seeing a few cosplayers change into their costumes and catch an interview. The group joins me and we sit for a while, people watching. This is an essential component of the comic convention. Since the hall is bigger, there is a LOT more room (and less people policing) where people sit.

4 PM – We make our way to a few smaller booths, we see some awesome larger stores. Everyone seems to be selling Pop! vinyl. While I’ve been looking for Batgirl all day, I’ve given up. She’s in the vault and I don’t want to spend $100+ for her. I also see a few Bob’s Burger cosplayers. I miss Gene, but everyone else is peppered throughout the booths.

5 PM – We see GraphicLab and I’m excited. They show us their Capitain Ribman design and we also see a few of their other t-shirts. There’s a Soylent Green shirt that calls my name, eventually. We have an amazing conversation with owner Rob, about a question we had from last year’s convention, and the future of WonderCon. I make a list of things to consider as gifts. And we see a few more clothing stores and geodes before grabbing a snack and thinking about last minute trips to various booths.

6 PM – Ran back to the front of the artist alley to catch some more interviews, and a few last minute items that I cannot live without. There were very few Zootopia-related items being sold, but we saw at least 4 Judy and Nicks (including Judy’s meter maid vehicle), so prints are a necessity. We see a lot of tables in the artist alley that have been closed for the day, possibly because of dinner, or stock levels or wanting to get ready for the Masquerade ball.

7 PM – Walked back to our amazing parking space, nearly through the big cosplay photo that is happening at the BACK of the building. I’m not asking why it is hidden back here (and not in the front of the building with the cool courtyard) but it looks like not too many people know about the photo location. There are huge cameras set up in the parking garage, taking pictures of Mad Max and Warcraft characters. And the people coming into the parking lot for the Kings game look a bit weirded out…Okay, more than a little weirded out. We walk back to the really awesome parking spot, and someone waits for us to leave (welcome to LA) patiently and then we get on the freeway to our next destination. We start driving to Oliveira Street.

8 PM – We get to Oliveira Street and pay for parking – $13. While we’re only looking around and grabbing the required margaritas and food, there is no secret parking that we know of. And none of us are ready to walk a lot again, especially in the middle of the night between Chinatown and Oliveira Street. Walking through Oliveira street at night, we see many of the carts closed, but hit up La Golondrina. Many salsas, chips, margaritas and enchiladas later, we walk back to the car, after visiting the first Adobe in California.

9 PM – We’re in traffic, but get some time to talk to Geek Watch One on the phone AND recount the amazingness of the day. We drop off our other group members and watch a 15 person extended family stop traffic on a 6 lane road as they jaywalk in the dark. We get home shortly before 10 PM and pile the spoils in our arms.

10 PM – Sleepytimes. Totally worth all of the muscle fatigue we earned. 6.75 miles walked, according to the cellphone app that tracks my weird little steps best. I don’t even want to read – my head hits the pillow and I’m asleep.

Note: I wake up at 3 AM and remember I left the bagel in the car. D’oh!
Double Note: We saw NO PROTESTORS. Los Angeles is 100% better than Anaheim or San Diego!

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