What You Can Expect From WonderCon 2016 This Weekend!

 

Today through Sunday is WonderCon 2016 in Los Angeles. The three-day show at the Los Angeles Convention Center is jam packed with things to do. Anime, autographs, a children’s film festival, games, masquerade/cosplay, comic book publishers and creators, vendors, celebs, and heck, if you’re an aspiring artist, you can have your portfolio review by a number of publishers!

PopCultHQ compiled all of the highlights of the event for your convenience. Will you be attending WonderCon 2016?

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Celebrities:

Panels:

Friday March 25, 7:30pm – 8:30pm: Meet American Gothic Press: Your Favorite New Publisher in 2016
With five acclaimed horror and sci-fi comic titles under their belt, American Gothic Press has big plans for 2016 and invites you to come along for the ride! Join Holly Interlandi (editor-in-chief), Tom Riordan (Killbox), and Nathan Gooden (Killbox) as they discuss upcoming titles such as Irwin Allen’s Lost in Space: The Lost Adventures,Killbox, Jeremy Robinson’s Island 731 adaptation, and several exciting announcements at their first ever WonderCon panel. Moderated by Cameron Hatheway (creative marketing manager).

Friday March 25, 8:00pm – 9:30pm: AMC’s Preacher Series Premiere Screening and Panel
Join cast members Dominic Cooper (Agent Carter) and Ruth Negga (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), and showrunner Sam Catlin (Breaking Bad). Based on the popular, cult comic book franchise of the same name, the highly anticipated series is a supernatural, twisted, and darkly comedic drama that follows a West Texas preacher named Jesse Custer (Cooper), who is inhabited by a mysterious entity that causes him to develop a highly unusual power. Jesse, his badass ex-girlfriend Tulip (Negga) and an Irish vagabond named Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) come together; and when they do, they are thrust into a crazy world populated by a cast of characters from Heaven, Hell, and everywhere in between.

Saturday March 26, 1:00pm – 2:00pm: Aspen Comics Portfolio Review
Vince Hernandez (VP/editor-in-chief) will critique artwork and offer advice on building a portfolio (artist samples only).

Saturday March 26, 1:15pm – 2:15pm: Alan Tudyk & Nathan Fillion’s Con Man Comics series: Spectrum!
Alan Tudyk
‘s dream show based on his global convention experiences seemed impossible with the compromises Hollywood demanded. Instead, he went directly to fans; over 46,000 responded with a record-breaking $3.2 million raised on Indiegogo; Con Man was officially born. With season 1 a smash hit on Vimeo and season 2 in the works, this panel will talk Con Man and the crazy ride that made his dream project a reality. From the series, to the video game, to the Spectrum comic released on Free Comic Book Day, this is the year of the Con Man!Join Alan Tudyk, P. J. Haarsma, and Shannon Eric Denton for a Con panel like no other!
Saturday March 26, 2:00pm – 3:30pm: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
Join executive producer and Marvel’s head of television, Jeph Loeb, as well as the cast and creators of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for their first WonderCon panel as a cast! Get a sneak peek at a new episode from season 3 and find out what’s ahead for the team this season from the cast and producers!
Saturday March 26, 2:30pm – 3:30pm: Image Comics: Where Creators Own Craft
Ed Brubaker (The Fade Out), Kurtis Wiebe (Rat Queens), Tom Neely (The Humans), Greg Hinkle (Airboy), and Malachi Ward ( Island) all bring one important thing to their work: a very, very high level of craft. Craft is what makes comics go; it makes for beautiful art, clever writing, and amazing storytelling. Craft is a product of talent, hard work, and experience. If you want to know what it takes, come listen to the best.
Saturday March 26, 4:00pm – 5:00pm: BOOM! Studios: Discover New Worlds
Love reading compelling, forward thinking comics? Interested in how multiple award-winning top 10 publisher BOOM! Studios, has spent over a decade committing to telling great stories and nurturing talent? ModeratorFilip Sablik (BOOM! Studios’ president of publishing and marketing) discusses with creators Hope Larson and Brittney Williams (Goldie Vance), Jackson Lanzing and Collin P. Kelly (Joyride), Kyle Higgins (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), and Sam Humphries (Jonesy) how they explore the ever-changing landscape as well as highlight new stories and the projects needed in the industry.
Saturday March 26, 5:30pm – 6:30pm: Action Lab Entertainment: Danger Zone vs. Kids Comics
Jessica Tseang (The Comic Book Girl, Little Geek Girls) sits down with Nick Marino (Holy F*ck), James F. Wright(Nutmeg), Ray-Anthony Height (Midnight Tiger), Dan Mendoza (Zombie Tramp), Joshua Henaman (Bigfoot: Sword of the Earthman), and DeWayne Feenstra (Aero-Girl) to find out what really drives their company. Is it their all-ages comics, or their mature reading material? What are the pros and cons of each?

Creators:

SASergio Aragonés
Cartoonist, MAD magazine, Groo

One of MAD magazine’s longest-running cartoonists (only Al Jaffee has been around longer) and the creator of dim-witted barbarian Groo the Wanderer, Sergio Aragonés is one of comics’ most popular creators. In addition to his continuing work for MAD, Sergio—the man some call the world’s fastest cartoonist—had his own comic book series at Bongo Comics, Sergio Aragonés Funnies. His most recent work includes a 12-issue maxi series from Dark Horse Comics, Groo and Friends.


BMBBrian Michael Bendis
Writer, Invincible Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Powers

Brian Michael Bendis is an award-winning comics creator, a New York Times bestseller, and one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics.

Sony’s live-action series based on Powers, the Eisner Award-winning comic series by Brian and Mike Avon Oeming on the Playstation network with Brian as executive producer and contributing writer, has been renewed for a second season.

For Marvel, Brian is currently the writer of Invincible Iron Man and Guardians of the Galaxy. He is also a member of Marvel Studios’ creative committee, which consults on their numerous ongoing film projects. He is the co-creator of the new Netflix series Jessica Jones, which debuts in November. His creator-owned projects include Scarlet (with Alex Maleev), Brilliant (with Mark Bagley), and Powers.

Brian’s book Words for Pictures is an intricate look at the creation of comic books and graphic novels based on the graphic novel class he teaches at Portland State University.


 

FFFrancesco Francavilla
Writer/artist, The Black Beetle; artist, Afterlife with Archie

Francesco Francavilla, an Eisner and Eagle Award winner and New York Times bestselling creator, is best known for bringing his signature style (Neo-Pulp) to the comics industry, from superheroes to horror and sci-fi.

Francesco has worked on such acclaimed series as Batman, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Guardians of the Galaxy. He is currently illustrating his own creator-owned The Black Beetle for Dark Horse and Afterlife with Archie for Archie. The Black Beetle vol.1 was listed in Amazon’s top ten Best Graphic Novels of 2013.

Francesco is also an acclaimed cover artist and has won several awards, including an Eisner for Best Cover Artist.


 

Jim LeeJim Lee
Co-publisher, DC Comics; artist, Batman: Hush, Justice League

Jim Lee is a renowned comic book artist and the co-publisher of DC Entertainment. In addition to his duties as co-publisher, he is the artist for many of DC Comics’ bestselling comic books and graphic novels, including Justice League: Origins, Batman: Hush, and Superman Unchained. He also served as the executive creative director for the DC Universe Online (DCUO) massively multiplayer action game from Daybreak Games, currently available free to play on PS4, PS3, and on Windows PC. For his next project, Lee is handling the art chores on the The Dark Knight III: The Master Race #4 mini-comic.


HRHumberto Ramos
Artist, Amazing Spider-Man, Extraordinary X-Men, Crimson

Humberto Ramos has been drawing comics professionally since 1993 when he began at Milestone Media, the year he also drew Impulse for DC Comics. In 1998 he co-founded the Cliffhanger imprint with Joe Madureira and J. Scott Campbell at WildStorm Productions, where he released Crimson and Out There. In 2003, Ramos worked on Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man for Marvel. In 2005, he released his creator-owned Revelations series through Dark Horse. In 2006, he worked on Wolverine, New X-Men, X-Men, and Runaways. In 2011, he released Fairy Quest Book 1, and recently drew Spider-Man in both Superior Spider-Man and the Amazing Spider-Man. His current work includes Extraordinary X-Men for Marvel with writer Jeff Lemire.


JRJJohn Romita Jr.
Artist, Superman, Dark Knight III, Amazing Spider-Man

John Romita Jr. is the son of John Romita, Sr., the co-creator of several notable Spider-Man stories in the 1960s and 1970s. JR Jr. began his career at Marvel UK, doing sketches for covers of reprints; his debut was with a six-page story in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #4. At Marvel over almost 40 years, John produced memorable runs on Iron Man (with David Micheline and Bob Layton), Amazing Spider-Man (with writers Roger Stern and J. Michael Straczynski), X-Men (with Chris Claremont), Daredevil (with Ann Nocenti and Frank Miller), and Wolverine (with Mark Millar), among many others.

In 2014, Romita moved over to DC Comics and began his first serious tenure with the publisher with a bestselling run on Superman with Geoff Johns. His latest endeavors include teaming up with Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello on the acclaimed Dark Knight III. April will unleash the “John Romita Jr. Variant Cover Month,” for which the legendary artist has contributed 26 different covers featuring all of DC’s best known characters.


 

WonderCon 2016 runs Friday, March 25th through Sunday, March 27th at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The event hours are Friday 12:00–7:00, Saturday 10:00–7:00, and Sunday 10:00–5:00.

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