I attended WonderCon 2023 in Anaheim, CA. Was on a couple of panels and saw tons of fantastic cosplay. Enjoy!
Some of the doomed Space Marines from Aliens
My Speculative Fiction in Alternate History panel. From L to R: Lissa Price, me, Stacia Deutsch, Scott Sigler
The panel audience
Scott Sigler reads a snippet from his story.
Aquaman and Wonder Woman
Ahsoka Tano and Darth Maul: Theirs was a forbidden love.
Aang, Katara, and Aapa the flying bison from Avatar: The Last Airbender. “Yip, yip!”
Avengers: Hawkeye, Iron Man, Thor
Futrama’s Bender (on a bender)
The brest, I mean best Catwoman cosplay there.
Chainsaw Man. The convention staff actually bothered to safety tag his chainsaw blades.
Chewbacca
Cinderella
A reliable and helpful cosplay repair man.
Cousin It from The Addams Family
“In his house at R’lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”
Dancing Stormtrooper with real boombox music
With David Gerrold, the man who wrote the tribbles episode of Star Trek, among many other things.
Doc Oc from Spiderman
Edna Mode from The Incredibles was VERY busy telling all the superheroes, “No capes!”
Elves from a video game.
Final Fantasy cosplay. Speak softly and carry a big sword.
A huge Master Sergeant from Halo.
Poison Ivy and four Harley Quinns.
My KidLit author panel with, L to R: Tara Gilboy, Reggie Brown, me, Dee Leone.
You might think this is just a cute kid in costume. But it is also the most horrific costume at WonderCon. Why? This junior canine astronaut’s spacesuit has red stars, making her a cosmonaut. The Soviets launched a mutt Laika on a one-way journey into space at the early stages of their space program. That’s cold.
Mandlorians
Middle grade author panel with, L to R: Greg Van Eekhout, Dan Santat, Cecil Castelucci, and Chris Baron.
Amazingly well rendered Poison Ivy from Batman.
Remote-controlled robot from WALL-E.
The villain Ronan from The Avengers
Star Wars cosplay
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Michelangelo
Tony Stark and Pepper Potts
At The Rings of Power panel, the signer for the hearing impaired wore elf ears.
Galactus
Wise Uncle Iroh from Avatar – The Last Airbender
Walter White from Breaking Bad
Wednesday from The Addams Family
A second version of Wednesday from The Addams Family
Had a great time at WonderCon 2022. I moderated a KidLit author panel and sold my books at a small press booth for the first time. Cosplayers were out in full force.
With fellow children’s authors (l to r): Tim McCanna, Ernesto Cisneros, Sam Subity, and Salina Yoon.
Stunning artwork inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender
Chainsaw Man. Note the safety tags on the chainsaws.
Not sure who this guy is, but he’s summoning a purple fireball, so…
This is Goat Vs. Fish. He literally walks around interviewing people, asking which animal they prefer. Hilarious.
Grogu from The Mandalorian
Jinx from Netflix’s amazing Arcane series
Another Jinx!
Kim Possible – an oldie but a goodie
Krampus is always a pleasant surprise
Kuiil (and Grogu!) from The Mandalorian
Lady Thor
Lara Croft from Tomb Raider
Merida from Brave
Daenerys Targaryen on a dragon from Game of Thrones
Oscar the Grouch and the Mysterious Galaxy devil puppet
Pickle Rick, my favorite character from the Rick and Morty series
Planet of the Apes ape. Get your damn, dirty hands off me.
Remote-controlled R2-D2 from Star Wars
Rick and Morty-inspired artwork
A rider of Rohan from The Lord of the Rings
Hilarious Saint X artwork
An awesome Sister of Battle from Warhammer 40K
Family of superheroes
Is this what Joe Satriani meant by “Surfing with the Alien”?
Tetris Man
Thor
Vi from Arcane
Jinx and Vi from Arcane
Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher
A bashful young Wonder Woman
Stunning Callisto and Xena from Xena: Warrior Princess
260-page 2020 Comic-Con Souvenir Book is now available as a FREE PDF. <– that’s the link
Please note:
This is a 141 MB file. The PDF is set up in 2-page spreads, to better mimic the feel of an actual book. Remember to zoom in for easier reading of the articles. The main feature is the Ray Bradbury Centennial, honoring the 100th birthday of the beloved author and favorite Comic-Con guest. In addition, the Souvenir Book also celebrates the following anniversaries:
• Ray Harryhausen Centennial—The 100th birthday of the stop-motion animation legend
• 75th Anniversary of EC Comics—They brought us Tales from the Crypt and MAD magazine
• 75th Anniversary of Moomin—The world-wide comics sensation for all ages
• 50th Anniversary of Conan in Comics—Robert E. Howard’s barbarian conquered comics starting in 1970
• 50th Anniversary of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World—The King of Comics moved to DC in 1970 and created a whole new world of characters
• 50th Anniversary of Last Gasp—The pioneer underground comix publisher and distributor
• Plus the Proverbial “Much More”—Comic-Con Museum, 2019 Award Winners, and the “In Memoriam” section
The lovely folks at the children’s bookstore, Sandcastle Tales (Del Mar, CA) put together a piratey video to promote their store and my books, especially CAP’N REX & HIS CLEVER CREW (Sterling Publishing). What a fun bunch of scalleywags they arrrrrrrgh!
Here’s the short video. Clearly, no actors’ jobs are in jeopardy from my performance.
Some cosplayers go to great lengths and expense to recreate iconic characters from movies, books, news, and comics. Not this guy… Thanks to Alexander Kravets and the mad geniuses at Bored Panda.
“Remember the Lowcostplay guy from Thailand who creates crappy cosplays using stuff he finds at home? Turns out, he has a serious competitor in Russia. Alexander Kravets from Moscow explores deeper levels of ridiculousness by recreating popular movies, TV scenes, games, or pictures of celebrities using only the things that he can find around him.
Alexander discovered his passion for cosplay in 2015 and since then he’s been brightening the days of almost 55k followers on Instagram. He calls his work zero-budget, “suitable” cosplay which he creates using stuff any person would be able to find at home: frying pans, hair dryers, various food products, towels, toys, household items or even his dog. Who says eye-catching costumes have to cost a fortune?”
Everyone loves hedgehogs. Check out this spiky dude, thanks to the mad geniuses at Bored Panda.
“We know you remember Azuki, the tiny Japanese hedgehog who goes on big adventures. His perky ears, button nose, and delightful roundness is just impossible to forget. Well, Azuki recently traded his cozy dream house in for a set of miniature Coleman camping gear and took a trip to the great outdoors. Equipped with his own tent, kayak, and barbecue, he was all set for success, and pretty much had the time of his life. Just looking at his photos makes us want to get our camp on. It also really, really makes us want a hedgehog. Like, right this second.
Take a ride on the wild side and see the best moments from Azuki’s camping days below, and don’t even try to tell us you’ve ever been as happy as this magnificent little guy.”
Had a fantastic time at San Diego Comic-Con. I participated in three panels and got to hang out with some amazing authors. Took a ton of pictures for my friends who couldn’t be there. Enjoy!
My little Predator? One of my favorite pictures from the convention.
My sons and I outside the San Diego Convention Center
In the San Diego Convention Center, no one can hear you scream!
The Dark Crystal, Planet of the Apes, and Lord of the Rings sculptures
A giant Mr. Krabs from Spongebob Squarepants!
“Not with 10,000 men could you do this.”
Ah, Dungeons & Dragons humor…
Samurai Batman!
Puppets from the upcoming TV show Crank Yankers
Tiki Yoda and Moana !?
Godzilla doesn’t like waiting in lines either.
Gundam figures
Batman: Family
A sketch of me by the creator of Mr. Toast
The importance of good dental hygiene…
I’ve got my eye on you!
He-Man!
Domino from X-Men
Stephen King’s IT
Final Fantasy characters
3A figures from Ashley Woods
Magic Wheelchairs ❤
Met the kind and talented author of THE NIGHT CIRCUS, Erin Morgenstern
The wonderful author of SHADOW AND BONE, Leigh Bardugo, wins the Inkpot award
Leigh Bardugo and Erin Morgenstern: talented and funny
Are You There, Gods? It’s Us, the Protagonists panel with authors Rebecca Roanhorse, Scott Westerfeld, Margaret Rogerson, Ann Leckie, and Joan He
Ruby Rod cosplay from The Fifth Element. Supergreen!
Joffrey cosplay from Game of Thrones
The Future as I See It panel with authors Gini Koch, Tim Zahn, Steven Sears, Jonathan Maberry, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, and Seanan McGuire
The Fantastic Flavors of Fantasy panel with authors Renee Ahdieh, Lauren Shippen, Katy Pool, Nicole Conway, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Marissa Meyer
Those Toy Story green army “men” are real people!
Jonathan Maberry gives Nancy Holder the Scribe Award
Star Wars samurai cosplay!
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild cosplay
Wherefore Dystopia and Darkness panel with bestselling authors Jess Rothenberg, Richard Kadrey, S.L. Huang, Ally Condie, Rachel Caine, and Marie Lu
Admiral Ackbar cosplay from Star Wars. “It’s a trap!”
Fembot cosplay from Austin Powers
Shego and Kim Possible cosplay
Tank Girl cosplay
The Writers Coffeehouse author panel with (l to r) me, Jonathan Maberry, Delilah Dawson, Peter Clines and Scott Sigler.
I can’t wait to see this urban fantasy series!
Carnival Row stars Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne. Is it hot in here, or is it just me?
Cara Delevingne’s fairy character takes flight off the edge of a cliff.
Six-foot tall LEGO Batman minifigure
Monty Python and the Holy Grail cosplay. “There are some who call me… Tim.”
Wakanda (Black Panther) / Spiderman basketball team cosplay. SDCC is known for such creative mashups.
Chun-Li cosplay from Street Fighter video game
Green Arrow cosplay
Peter Pan Lost Boy Rufio cosplay from the movie Hook
Beetlejuice cosplay. Don’t say his name three times
ALF cosplay
Stellar Stories and Awesome Adventures panel with authors Maura Milan, Mark Siegel, Tochi Onyebuchi, Ashley Poston, and Maryelizabeth Yturralde
Disney Hyperion Publishing panel with authors/editors Emily Meehan, Brittany Rubiana, Serena Valentino, and Jocelyn Davies
Theseus and the Minotaur cosplay
Three interpretations of Judge Dredd cosplay
Lord Voldemort: He Who Shall Not Be Named. Oops.
Skeleton warrior cosplay
Wonder Woman cosplay
Game of Thrones cosplay: Cersei, The Mountain, The Night King, Arya wondering why SHE isn’t killing the Night King
Rick and Morty cosplay
Global debut of the cover of my upcoming picture book, 2 Pirates + 1 Robot, from Kane Miller Books.
My fantasy/sci-fi author panel with (l to r) Tomi Adeyemi, Lev Grossman, A.G. Howard, Aditi Khorana, and Jonathan Maberry.
They packed the room!
Fans of The Magicians may recall Umber asking for little cakes. I brought Lev Grossman some little cakes.
After the panel, the authors signed their books. Many added graffiti to the tablecloth. Someone drew salmon. Author Chuck Wendig apparently has no respect for sustainable salmon farming. And the feeling is mutual.
Lev Grossman (The Magicians) left his own graffiti.
Mostly, we signed books. Here author Lev Grossman signs a fan’s chest.
My favorite cosplay of the convention: Warhammer 40K Sisters of Battle! Adepta Sororitas
My KidLit literary agent panel with (l to r) Hannah Mann, Thao Le, Kelly Sonnack and Stefanie Von Borstel.
Writing Craft panel with authors Sarah Gailey, Annalee Newitz, Charlie Jane Anders, Seanan McGuire, and Cory Doctorow
Godzilla, Ghidorah, and Rodan resin miniatures
Sci-fi author greats Larry Niven, Greg Bear, and David Brin
Fandom Meets YA panel with authors Livia Blackburne, Mary Pearson, Tricia Levenseller, A.G. Howard, and C.B. Lee
Lord of the Rings cosplay. A Minas Tirith dress! “For Gondor!!”
Reinventing the Modern Girl panel with authors Seanan McGuire, Danielle Paige, Sarah Kuhn, Nila Macgruder, Cecil Castellucci, and Jenn Fujikawa.
Had a great time at WonderCon, as usual. Here are some photos to prove it!
The grand entrance.
Miscellaneous superheroes, including a McDonalds Thor and a Jack in the Box Dr. Strange!
Something special for anyone who’s ever worked in an office.
The Empire captures little Spiderman and a Mario brother.
Star Wars trio.
Panel: Unicorns, Rabbits, Aliens and Other People, with (l to r) Maryelizabeth Yturalde, Dana Simpson, Leah Thomas, Jim Pascoe, Nicole Conway, and Cecil Castellucci.
Clever way to protect your vendor booth when nature calls.
Star Trek Fred Flintstone: set phasers to stone!
Is it me, or did it suddenly get very judgey in here? Personally, I prefer Karl Urban’s Judge Dredd over Sly Stallone’s.
Six foot tall LEGO minifigure cosplay. Not so mini now!
My KidLit author panel with (l to r) Lee Wardlaw, Molly Idle, Peter S. Beagle, me, Jo Whittemore, Scott Campbell, and (not shown) Barbara Bottner.
They packed the room!
Any time you’re feeling full of yourself, just do a signing next to Peter Beagle. #LineEnvy
General Grievous bids you farewell until next year!
henryherz.com 