Fans show off their best costumes at Wondercon (PHOTOS)

Eric Pfeiffer
·Reporter

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The last weekend in March marked the 28th annual Wondercon. The convention is best known as Comic-Con's smaller sibling. And while Wondercon doesn't bring out the same barrage of Hollywood stars or the ensuing tidal wave of attendees, it has become a large and important setting for diehard fans of fantasy and science fiction across a number of platforms, including comics, games, TV and film.

Part of Wondercon's charm in being the slightly smaller version of Comic Con is that grassroots fans have a greater opportunity to stretch their legs and show off their costume work. In advance of the annual Masquerade Ball, hundreds of attendees wandered around the Anaheim Convention Center to show off their best outfits. Here is a sampling of some of our favorite sights from the weekend.

These two guys dressed as X-Men rivals Deadpool and Wolverine. didn't come to Wondercon together. But when they crossed paths outside the convention center, attendees begged insisted that the two stage a fake fight for their viewing pleasure.

"She loves is!" Insisted the owner of this little dog, whose fur was dyed a combination of blue, purple, orange and yellow. She also had tiny fairy wings strapped to her back. And from all appearances, the tiny pup was in fact enjoying all of the attention, posting diligently for photos before her Mom picked her up and carried her away to the next stop.

This casually dressed fan found herself surrounded by a team of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers inside the convention main hall.

There were a number of families showing in costume at this year's Wondercon, including this family, who made the rounds dressed as characters from the "Street Fighter" video game series.

While another G.I. Joe film opened in movie theaters, two attendees marked the event by showing up in their best Cobra gear. Can you remember the name of the obscure, cyborg Cobra character on the left?

A pair of R2D2 units were also on the scene, showing a capacity crowd how to build their R2D2 units. We checked, but Kenny Baker was nowhere to be found.

Another Wondercon family. This one dressed as characters from a Batman spinoff series.

And what convention is complete without Dippin' Dots? After all, it is, "The ice cream of the future."