As Rafael Palacios and Vinny Vigil checked out the cosplayers at WonderCon last year, the two buddies from Orange County decided they should dress up for WonderCon 2026, which takes over the Anaheim Convention Center this weekend.
What about Cheech and Chong, Palacios offered.
“And Vinny’s like, ‘I don’t know, man, nobody’s going to get it,’” he said, standing next to Vigil outside the convention center on Friday.
Vinny Vigil, left, and Rafael Palacios, dressed as Cheech and Chong from Up in Smoke, during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Rachael Taylor, dressed as Xal’atath from World of Warcraft, during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Visitors to WonderCon check out comic books at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Spider-Men hang out as they wait for a photo meetup during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Eric Matos, dressed as Dordwyn from World of Warcraft, during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Ivan Ziral, dressed as A.W.E.S.O.M.E-O from Fortnite, during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bill Burns, dressed as Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson at a Spider-Man meetup during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Daniel Nguyen raffles off products at his booth, Saturday Morning Cards, during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Owen Nease, 3, dressed as Spider-Man, jumps from a photo shoot during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A visitor at WonderCon checks out pins at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Sam Jordan, dressed as Princess Petra, during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Derek Shackleton, dressed as Weapon X from Age of Apocalypse, during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Brandon Schoolhouse, known as Han Cholo, shows off some of the jewlery he designed, during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Eric Matos, dressed as Dordwyn from World of Warcraft, during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Fantasy author S.G. Blaise during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
J Schremp helps mend Superman’s cape during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. Schremp volunteered to fix fellow cosplayer’s costumes on Friday. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jenna Fogle reacts as she fails to get a prize at the claw machine at the Aphmau’s Mini-Mart booth during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Joseph Vallejo, dresses as Raiden from Mortal Combat 2, atop a photo shoot during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Xale Sanchez dressed as a cat during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Spaceballs action figures during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Mindy Lee helps her son, Andrew Tse, with his Spider-Man costume during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Alex Tafoya, dressed as Ghost Rider, during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Visitors to WonderCon check out comic books at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Faeren Adams, dressed as her own character, Mary Ann the Spider Fan, takes a selfie during a meetup during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Carlie Belmodis sits among her husband’s artmwork and the Lenzations booth during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Voltron rings designed by Brandon Schoolhouse, known as Han Cholo, on display during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Valorie Denton, dressed as Jeannie with her husband, James Denton, dressed and Major Nelson, from I Dream of Jeannie during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jayden Mayes, dressed as Mr. Antenna from Deltarune Chapter 3: Late Night, during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dial from Dandy’s World during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Vinny Vigil, left, and Rafael Palacios, dressed as Cheech and Chong from Up in Smoke, during WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
With Palacios in a red beanie, yellow tank top and huarache sandals and Vigil in a denim shirt, wire-framed glasses and a red bandana tied around his hair, the two men were dead ringers for the stoner comedy duo in the 1978 movie “Up in Smoke.”
“We’ve been getting a lot of good comments,” said Palacios, who shaved his long, bushy beard, leaving only a mustache, for his transformation into Cheech.
“As soon as we walked in,” added Vigil, who, as Chong, got to leave his own bushy beard alone. “Lots of comments.”
“‘Can I get a picture?’” Palacios added, describing the ultimate high of cosplay appreciation.
What else? Throughout the day, we wandered the exhibition halls and the convention center plaza, talking with fans, artists, designers and vendors of pop culture obsessions of every kind.
This is what we found.
Smuggling ‘Star Wars’
S.G. Blaise immigrated from Hungary in 2001, unable to speak or write a word of English. A dozen years later, she decided to write a book. In English.
Twelve years after that, the sci-fi fantasy universe she created — the Seven Galaxies Chronicles — includes “The Last Lumenian” book series, “Mythical Hunters,” a new comic book series, and “Hollow Hunters,” an animation short coming in April.
“The Last Lumenian” is the story of a 19-year-old rebel princess in disguise “who must defeat the Dark Lord before he discovers she is the powerful figure that gives the series its title.” Blaise said her inspirations included “Star Wars,” “Lord of the Rings” and “The Princess Bride.”
“You get the quirky characters, the humor, space travel, gods, everything,” she said.
While a young girl in Hungary, Blaise, who lives in San Diego, was exposed to such stories by her father; while that country was still under a repressive regime, he smuggled videocassettes of Hollywood movies such as “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “Rocky.”
After dubbing all the voices into Hungarian himself, he hosted private screenings for trusted family and friends, and forever imbued his daughter with a sense of wonder found in galaxies from our own to those far, far away.
Her dad died when she was 13, Blaise said. “Every time I watch them, I feel connected with him,” she added.
Lord of these Rings
Brandon Schoolhouse sat at the Han Cholo booth at WonderCon with rings on nearly all of his fingers, and dozens more he’d designed in display cases on either side of him.
Han Cholo, he explains, was his DJ name in clubs around Los Angeles back in the day. And when he started designing pop culture and rock ‘n’ roll-inspired jewelry 25 years ago, it became the name of his company, too.
For much of the ’90s, he’d worked with the Beastie Boys at their Grand Royal record label. Then he moved into wardrobe styling for rock stars and other celebrities.
“People would ask me, ‘What’s this jewelry line?’” he said of the pieces he’d often bring for use on photo shoots. “I’d say I made it.”
Eventually, he figured his personal jewelry designs should be available to everyone, and Han Cholo, the jewelry line, was born.
Now Schoolhouse licenses franchises to create rings, necklaces, patches, and other accessories. At WonderCon, Han Cholo was selling out the last of lines inspired by “Voltron,” “Jurassic Park,” “Masters of the Universe,” and more. By the time he gets to San Diego Comic-Con this summer, he’ll have new licensees such as “Thundercats,” DC Comics, and Looney Tunes on display.
And he still does custom work for celebrities, such as Thundercat, Billie Eilish and the late Ozzy Osbourne, who wore a Han Cholo cross during a London tribute concert shortly before his death.
Cosplaying Cartman and scary cyclists
Cosplayers can spend hundreds, even thousands, of dollars to create their fanciful costumes. Or they can make them mostly out of the recycling bin.
Ivan Ziral had done the latter on Friday as he walked around WonderCon in a costume made primarily of cardboard boxes and a handful of circuit boards to make the bleeps and bloops of his AWESOM-O costume audible.
If that robotic superhero doesn’t ring a bell, then surely “South Park” does. In its eighth season, Cartman decided to disguise himself as a robot named A.W.E.S.O.M.-O 4000 to trick Butters into sharing secrets that Cartman could then use to embarrass Butters.
Did we say AWESOM-O was a superhero? Make that a supervillain.
We’d like to tell you more about Ziral and his motivation to create this cardboard character, but he refused to break character, speaking only through a voice device that transformed his vocal tone into a squeaky approximation of Cartman, and saying only that he lived in Colorado, where the fictional South Park is located, when asked where he resides.
Alex Tafoya was a much easier interview, even taking off his Ghost Rider flaming skull headpiece to talk. A recent cosplay convert, the Brawley resident said his friends inspired him to get into cosplay with them in 2024 when he came to his first WonderCon as Deadpool.
[He doesn’t count an initial, earlier attempt with a Spider-verse costume because, well, he had a bit of a beer belly in that form-fitting suit, and so it is excluded from his cosplay canon.]
“What I enjoy about it is basically your favorite superheroes, you get to be them in real life,” Tafoya said. “It’s like living in a world of ‘Incredibles,’ most everyone is a superhero.
“It’s about getting to live in a fantasy. Your five minutes of fame.”
Getting carded
The Saturday Morning Cards booth spilled out into the aisles as cofounder Daniel Nguyen stood on a chair to conduct a raffle for limited-edition pop culture trading cards.
For Nguyen and his business partner Mahan Riahi, when the pandemic seemed to spark a surge in the economy around limited-edition collectible trading cards, a business opportunity appeared.
Where the big trading card companies such as Topps and Upper Deck focused primarily on sports, Saturday Morning Cards could do the same with pop culture, combining collectible cards with blind-box packaging and card art designed specifically for the company’s own offerings.
In 2024, they put out a set of Steamboat Willie cards, picking that property because that early forerunner of Mickey Mouse had just fallen out of copyright. It sold out in a flash, Nguyen said. “People were like, ‘What’s next?’ We were like, ‘What do you mean, what’s next?’
“We thought it was a side thing for us,” said Nguyen, a family law attorney from Santa Ana. A second line based on the classic Winnie the Pooh designs, also freshly out of copyright, followed.
As Saturday Morning Cards took off, the Stanton-based business picked “The Rocketeer” as its first licensed card, and since then as added such licensed properties as “Dick Tracy,” the Kool-Aid Man, “Goosebumps,” “Street Fighter,” and more.
Now he’s not spending as much time on his day job as an attorney as he thought he would continue to do, Nguyen said.
“We sold instantly,” he said of the initial offering, “And we thought, ‘We might have something more here.’”