Sense of Wonder: The Art of WonderCon Anaheim

Started in the Bay Area in 1987 by an intrepid band of comic book retailers and fans, WonderCon quickly grew to become one of the country’s best comics and pop culture events. Joining the Comic-Con family of conventions in 2002, the show moved from Oakland to San Francisco for a decade and then to Anaheim, where it’s remained since 2012, except for one year in Los Angeles in 2016.

Following the success of the Comic-Con Museum’s “Cover Story: The Art of Comic-Con 50” gallery exhibition last year, “Sense of Wonder” presents the last decade of WonderCon Program Book covers through original art—thumbnail sketches, pencils, inks, and colors—which in many instances explore the process of making a cover from initial idea to final art. Here’s your chance to see rare, behind-the-scenes, original artwork created by comics masters such as Jim Lee, Dan Jurgens, Babs Tarr, Michael Cho, Cliff Chiang, and others. Drawing from Comic-Con’s exclusive WonderCon archives, the exhibition features art as an integral tool in promoting the organization’s mission of creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular artforms.

Sense of Wonder: The Art of WonderCon Anaheim will run on select days from Wednesday, Feb. 19 through Sunday, May 31. Check the Comic-Con Museum’s Facebook page for days and times.