By Ryan Downs
Staff Writer
Summer has always had special meaning to citizens of San Diego, especially those of us with geekier prejudice than most people.
It’s almost that time of year when people from all over the country flock to the annual San Diego Comic-Con International convention. San Diego Comic-Con is not the only convention celebrating comics, films and geek culture in the country, but it is the largest of its kind in the world.
As always it will be held at the San Diego Convention Center, on July 18-21. While tickets sold out in minutes months ago, there are ways to at least enjoy the free festivities and receive promotional items in the surrounding streets of the Gaslamp District, near the convention center.
Comic-Con started in 1970, with less than 200 attendees, as a one-day convention for comic books and those who read them, but since then it has grown considerably in the forty-odd years as a result of the rise of “geek” culture. It is now an enormous event, with over 130,000 attendees.
The focus has also shifted away from comic books and to other categories, such as panels for television and film, which have stolen the show year after year. It’s fair to say that the event has become one of the biggest commercial publicity events in the world, but the fans don’t seem to mind. They still come out in thousands, with lines of characters and costumes, usually stretching around the block.
Given that the advertised special guests are generally industry professionals such as Rob Liefeld and Michael Uslan, the convention is tight-lipped on what films and celebrities will appear at panels until a few weeks before the event. However in
years past, the casts of “Twilight,” “The Avengers,” “Lost,” and many more have all arrived to speak to fans.
Showtime and HBO have expressed interest in holding panels for popular shows such as Dexter and Game of Thrones. It has been hinted that bestselling fantasy author Neil Gaiman will make an appearance as part of his final book tour in America. Everything else remains to be revealed.