WonderCon usually takes place in San Francisco, but as we previously reported, renovations on the Moscone Center have temporarily moved the comic convention to the Anaheim Convention Center.  The Hilton Anaheim will serve as the "Headquarters Hotel" for the event and they're offering pretty good rates for their rooms (it's $129 whether your have 1 person/1 bed for 4 people/2 beds).  This is in stark contrast to Comic-Con where every hotel can charge you firstborn child and you'd still pay (they won't charge you that, but they could if they wanted to).More importantly, the relocation to Anaheim opens up the possibility that more studios will be in attendance.  Hit the jump for more including a press release about geek guests in attendance.  WonderCon 2012 will run from March 16 – 18th.Last year's WonderCon had some major summer movies (Green Lantern, Cowboys & Aliens), but there could be more this year since Anaheim is much closer to Los Angeles.  It's where Disney holds their annual D23 convention (although the proximity to Downtown Disney and Disneyland is also a factor).  But what's really cool about WonderCon is how laid back it is.  You can even still buy tickets. It's like Comic-Con without the crush, and I had a great time when I attended last year.Here's a press release about geek favorite guests who will be in attendance.  Expect the announcement of bigger, more mainstream names in the not-too-distant future.

Lay, Snyder, Wheaton and Even More Guests Flock to WonderCon

WonderCon in Anaheim features increasingly stellar lineup

Anaheim, CA – WonderCon, part of Comic-Con International’s (CCI) family of nonprofit comics conventions, today announced the latest additions to a guest list that already has fans buying passes at an unprecedented pace for the three-day celebration of comics and related popular art forms. The additions include fan favorites cartoonist Carol Lay (WayLay, The Simpsons), award-winning writer Scott Snyder (Batman, American Vampire, Swamp Thing), and actor/author Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Big Bang Theory). WonderCon will be held March 16-18, 2012.

Passes and hotel accommodations for WonderCon became available on www.comic-con.org/wc/ in December. The event, traditionally held in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1987, relocated the Anaheim Convention Center for 2012 due to renovations at the usual venue. Organizers for the event are pleased to offer southern Californian fans a chance to attend WonderCon who otherwise may not have been able to make the trek to San Francisco. Fans from Orange County and the Los Angeles area have expressed delight in having an event akin to San Diego Comic-Con at their doorstep.

WonderCon’s format resembles the world-renowned Comic-Con albeit on a reduced scale. The 2011 WonderCon welcomed nearly 50,000 attendees, which is less than half of the 130,000 who attended the 2011 San Diego show.

Joining Lay, Snyder, and Wheaton among the newly announced special guests are Renae De Liz (artist/editor, Womanthology, The Last Unicorn), Rebekah Isaacs (artist, Angel & Faith, Magus), Todd Nauck (artist, Amazing Spider-Man, Young Justice), Humberto Ramos (artist, Amazing Spider-Man, Impulse, Crimson), and Ryan Sook (artist, The Spectre; cover artist, Justice League Dark, DCU Presents). For a complete list and bios of the previously announced special guests, who include award-winning comics writers and artists as well as novelists and screenwriters, visit www.comic-con.org/wc/wc_guests.php.

“The guest list just keeps getting more impressive,” said David Glanzer, director of marketing and public relations for WonderCon and parent company, Comic-Con International. “That, along with rapid badge sales, indicates WonderCon will be just as exciting, if not more so, than the 2011 blockbuster show.”

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About WonderCon:

WonderCon, one of the country’s best comics and popular arts conventions, is part of Comic-Con International (CCI), a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms. The organization achieves its mission primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture. In addition to WonderCon each spring, CCI organizes San Diego Comic-Con each summer (the world’s largest comics convention of its kind) and San Francisco’s Alternative Press Expo (APE) each fall. On the web: WonderCon.org, Facebook.com/comiccon, Twitter.com/wondercon.