Crowded paths, impressive cosplays, and some really awesome food trucks are just some of the things that Alisal students encountered at WonderCon this past spring break. Wondercon is a convention where fans can catch up on current news about TV shows, movies, comic books, and have a chance to meet their favorite authors.

While WonderCon is smaller than the San Diego Comic Con, it still gets quite a lot of buzz and people, including a group of Alisal students who have been able to experience Wondercon for the past three years.This year was a struggle for the students because they lost a lot of members which caused each member to pay more than previous years. After starting off with 24 students, the group ended up with 12 participants – seniors Edgar Rubio and Kevin Valles; juniors Bryan Vargas, Jakob Lopez, Ivan Ramirez, Cesar Martin Del Campo (Berber), Daniel “D” Soto, Enrique “Kike” Zavala, Celeste Alonzo, Stefanie Ramirez, and Meli Rios; and freshman Emiliano “Emi” Del Campo. The group needed to make $3000, and they were short $1000. Luckily, they sold their Nerdy Trojan shirts, designed and made by club advisor JJ Garcia, and they hit their goal.

Leaving on Thursday morning the group was able to get to the Los Angeles convention center with enough time to get their badges and prepare for the next three days. The first day of any convention is exciting, with small booths that are packed with comics or figures to more  commercial booths where you could meet and greet some well known authors and artists. While it may be a huge place to explore, the convention floor is always packed with people shoving and bumping into each other looking for new things to buy. Emi, who had never been to a convention before, said, “I’ve never had an experience like that. I was amazed”. There were many nerdy temptations all around,  from comics to shirts to lightsabers. The students had no trouble spending money on items such as POP! Collectibles, Ocarinas from The Legend of Zelda, comics, t-shirts, and even a replica Captain America Shield. Junior Cesar “Berber” Del Campo was happy to have purchased a sketch from the creators of Cyanide & Happiness a youtube channel that pokes fun at taboo topics. “I got to see the darkest of humor being made in front of me,” he said.

As for Garcia, he said Wondercon was stressful and one could only imagine having to watch over 12 high schoolers for three days could probably drive anyone up the wall. Luckily Garcia was able to keep everything and everyone under control. “It was mutual respect and understanding,” said Garcia. “It’s a privilege, not a requirement to go.”

Booths weren’t the only attraction at Wondercon, many different panels were held to showcase new shows and current changes to comics. Those who attended panels would often get pins or sneak previews to shows or movies.Wondercon usually holds world premieres of DC animated movies such as Son of Batman and Batman vs Robin. This year a few of the students were able to be the first to watch Justice League vs Teen Titans. Senior Edgar Rubio said, “It was a great experience. It didn’t live up to the title- I expected more fighting between the Teen Titans and Justice League, but the story and plot was still great and knowing I was one of the first people to see it made me feel special.”

While there was a lot to see, one thing that the group was looking for was cosplayers (people who dress up as a character from a TV show, comic, etc), from vague to well known characters, the group was on a mission to complete a scavenger hunt made by Garcia for ultimate bragging rights. Garcia said, “It tricked them to take more pictures and have a bit more free fun and make memories.’’ Kike Zavala who had 24 out of the 25 needed pictures said, “It was fun and interesting because you had to keep your eye out for certain characters.” The students had no trouble finding the easier costumes such as The Joker and Batman  but soon gained difficulty when they had to look for harder things such as a brony (one who likes My Little Pony), a famous celebrity, and even Ms.Gonzales who went along with the group its first year, but that didn’t stop them after walking throughout the floor students ran into celebrities that many might recognize such as Jason Earl (Hannah Montana), Drake Bell (Drake and Josh), and Ryan Ochoa (iCarly and Pair of Kings).

As much as these students love comics there’s one thing that they love even more – food. With the the convention center being so busy, food trucks were all around with different fusions and exotic foods. The one that made the biggest impression on the group was Bacon Nation, a bacon themed truck with a political twist to the name of their food. Senior Kevin Valles said, “The Bernie Fries from Bacon Nation were awesome! They had chicken and bacon and at the same time I felt like I was supporting Bernie Sanders.” Although it seems like there is no connection between the food and Bernie Sanders the food truck incorporated the name of the Vermont senator into two of its dishes: The Bernie Fries and The Bernie Sandwich which were some of the group’s favorite items.

The trip also reunited current club members with former students Antonio Beas, Alexis Rosales, Kevin Bucio, Eli Gomez, Nate Delirio, and Michael Porras who went as a group to LA and will hopefully be able to make the in the years to come. While there former and current members were able to catch up, talk, and explore the convention.

As things were winding down on the last day of the convention, the group was sad to leave. Junior Meli Rios said, “I felt kinda sad because I had fun-the food trucks, the booths, the cosplayers and the panels were all amazing and it kinda sucked that we had to leave such a cool place. It’s like coming back home after sleeping over at a friends house.” As the final hours of the convention came the group did their last lap of the convention made their final purchases and said goodbye to the convention center until they return next year