From Hall H in San Diego, California to hotel ballrooms in Addison, Texas, we have been to a lot of pop culture conventions. No matter the attendee size or the guest list or the panel schedule, one stands out as our absolute favorite: MondoCon in Austin, Texas.
Now in its fourth year, MondoCon moved locations from the historic Marchesa Theater (and less-historic Holiday Inn and Suites) to The Austin Statesman (near the iconic bat bridge) and the iconic Alamo Drafthouse. It was a nice change of pace, housing all the vendor booths, panels and artists in one (huge) building, with all the special screenings located down the road at the theatre.
On Friday afternoon, we finally arrived in Austin, greeted by a line of over 150 people who had been camping since at least the day before. It is an incredible sight, watching old friends and new acquaintances catch up outside of Facebook groups and online communities. Talking to people who love the same movies, music and artists as you is a true breath of fresh air and one of the major highlights of the convention. Before the doors to the Statesman even opened, we had a whole night as a community: trading posters in person, passing around a bottle of Johnnie Walker (Blade Runner edition) and playing the new Mondo board game based on The Thing.
As an added treat, the Mondo staff surprised the line with a well-organized, relaxing screening of Batman Returns. The sun set in Austin and new friends gathered under the Texas stars to watch one of the best, classic superhero movies (and get primed to buy the exclusive edition of the Danny Elfman soundtrack the next morning).
The credits rolled and the movie ended, the long line now splitting in two: one for the main hall (people who were angling for a limited exclusive or original from one of their favorite artists) and one for the Mondo Store (fans who were hoping to get their hands on any number of prints, records and surprises directly from Mondo).
With Saturday morning came tangible excitement from the people in line: murmurs about unannounced surprises in the Mondo Store, excited listings of planned purchases. After doors opened at 10, there was still a wait, news slowly trickling out of the line onto Facebook and forums showing off the new prints up close, with whispers of quick sell-outs and disappointment by some fans.
Mathew Woodson’s 2001: A Space Odyssey was the first sell-out of the con. Dubbed the “print of the convention”, Woodson’s incredible layout (and monolith spot varnish) was incredible to see up close. Martin Ansin surprised everyone with an incredible rendition of Star Wars: Rogue One, lending his classic style (previously seen on his Wonder Woman and Man of Steel posters) to the latest installment of the saga.
From Disney (Tom Whalen’s long-awaited and instantly-classic take on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves) to Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers, a wide range of artists and properties were on display, each an example of masters in the craft doing their best work of the year. And that was only at the Mondo Store!
The Main Hall of the convention was another story. The definition of controlled madness: different renowned artists had set up their booths, showcasing Artist Proof copies of their best art of the year and debuting some convention exclusives. Crowd favorite Daniel Danger even made an exclusive print for the convention, with plenty of open space. One of the first pick-ups at the show, it was carried around throughout the entire show, providing a beautiful “excuse” to talk to all of the artists. By the end of the show, it was filled with doodles and signatures and is now at the front of the “instant frame-up” queue as one of the best souvenirs from any convention ever.
During a conversation with artist Jason Edmiston near the end of the convention hours, we discussed his SDCC variant set for The Walking Dead’s All Out War storyline (which was brought for him to autograph) and he casually mentioned that he is working on another variant set (mirroring this set’s Negan cover). Our eyes are peeled.
And, of course, there are the often famous (and sometimes infamous) MondoCon movie screenings. This year’s schedule was filled to the brim with some classics (Labyrinth, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Ratatouille), as well as new fan favorites like Alex Garland’s Ex Machina. And, just like past MondoCons, all screening tickets sold out near-instantly online.
And for good reason: all screenings included a new poster revealed when credits roll. It’s a unique movie-watching experience: your perception of the movie altered by identifying imagery and scenes throughout the film that you think will work well as a poster, capped by the final reveal. It is definitely one of the most electric moments at the convention, with everyone excitedly hollering and taking pictures of the poster to show off to their friends. All of the exclusive posters ended up as incredible snapshots of their respective films, almost guaranteeing that every screening attendee walked away happy.
Ex Machina – Rory Kurtz
Labyrinth – Ise Ananphada
Batman Mask of the Phantasm – Justin Ericsson of Phantom City Creative
The top highlight of the convention, as always, is the people. Mondo fans are a special breed of people, combining their love of pop culture with their desire to tangibly showcase it in their homes and in their lives. Everyone in line is united by that love.
We bought a lot of great art and good but, at the end of the day when I packed my car and got ready to drive back to Dallas, it was the people I had met and the stories I had shared that made it such a joyful convention. The artists, the fans and the staff are all united in their love for art and culture, and the Mondo team just keeps knocking this convention out of the park. (We also want to give an extra big shout-out to the volunteers that worked at the convention, as well as the Fons PR team, for making our experience at the convention so clean and stress-free. They deserve as many “thank you’s” as fans can give.)
And thanks to everyone who saw our Super Kaiju shirt, said “hi” and grabbed a free print. We will see all of you next year!
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