Surprise! — WonderCon 2022 Badges Are Now On Sale
by Erik Amaya
With a couple of hours notice, badges for WonderCon 2022 went on sale Monday afternoon.
Although we kid about the swiftness of the announcement, a form of notice was offered last week when Comic-Con International, the non-profit organization in charge of both WonderCon and Comic-Con International: San Diego, unveiled a revamped Comic-Con ID system meant to alleviate some of the woes experienced when purchasing badges to their shows. And, indeed, some on Twitter are reporting a smooth experience with others noting strange time changes in the waiting room queue, getting bounced once within their purchasing session or troubles updating the Member ID passwords.
Other concerns include press and professionals trying to ascertain how they register for the event. Unfortunately for them, the Member ID login funnels all users to the WonderCon registration queue; offering little guidance as, it seems, the portal cannot manage accounts and a badge sale at the same time.
WonderCon 2022 will be the first show of its kind since 2019. Both the 2020 and 2021 shows were cancelled and went virtual in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, even now it seems strange to attempt the show in the ebb between waves of variants. Currently, the WonderCon COVID FAQ maintains all in attendance will be required to “wear an approved face covering regardless of vaccination status.” Additionally, all attendees, exhibitors, guests, staff, press, professionals, volunteers, and cosplayers will be required to provide “verification of full COVID-19 vaccination status or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours for a PCR test or within 24 hours for an antigen test.” The requirements are pretty standard at this point, although a little tighter than entering the Disneyland Resort across the street. The WonderCon site also notes these rules are subject to change. They could conceivably becomes more lax as the State of California continues to drop some of its pandemic policies.
Nevertheless, WonderCon will be a test case for comic conventions as the pandemic (hopefully) moves into an endemic stage and large-scale events like comic conventions get closer to routine.
