Events
Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, there are previews of upcoming feature films, portfolio review sessions with top comic book and video game companies, and such evening events as awards ceremonies and the Masquerade, a costume contest, as well as the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival, which showcases shorts and feature length movies that do not have distribution or distribution deals.
Traditional events include an eclectic film program, screening rooms devoted to Japanese animation, gaming, programs such as cartoonist Scott Shaw!'s "Oddball Comics" slide show and animation expert Jerry Beck's program featuring TV's "worst cartoons ever", as well as over 350 hours of other programming on all aspects of comic books and pop culture.
Like most comic-book conventions, Comic-Con features a large floorspace for exhibitors. These include media companies such as movie studios and TV networks, as well as comic-book dealers and collectibles merchants. And like most comics conventions, Comic-Con includes an autograph area, as well as the Artists' Alley where comics artists can sign autographs and sell or do free sketches. Despite the name, artists' alleys can include writers and even models.
Academics and comic industry professionals annually hold the Comics Arts Conference at Comic-Con, presenting scholarly studies on comics as a medium.
In recent years, the number of television shows that are promoted far outnumber films. During the 2011 convention, at least 80 TV shows were represented, compared to about 35 films. The shows not only promote in the exhibit halls, but also use screenings and panels of various actors, writers, producers, and others from their shows.
While many animated shows are represented, a high number of non-animated shows are also promoted by studios and the networks. Examples of the wide variety of TV shows recently promoted include Bones, Burn Notice, Castle, Chuck, Grimm, Mythbusters, Nikita, Once Upon a Time, Psych, Supernatural, The Big Bang Theory, and The Vampire Diaries. Of course sci-fi TV shows are there, such as Being Human, Eureka, Fringe, Lost Girl, Sanctuary, Torchwood, Doctor Who and Warehouse 13, but HBO and Showtime are also big attractions with shows like Dexter, Shameless and True Blood.
There are at least 17 separate rooms in the Convention Center used for panels and screenings, ranging in size from 280 seats to 6,500 seats. The neighboring Hilton Bayfront is also used, with their main ballroom (Indigo) seating up to 2,600. The other neighboring hotel, the Marriott Marquis & Marina, also hosts a lot of Comic-Con activity. Among other things, the hotel serves as the anime headquarters and is where the nighttime films are shown.
Read more about this topic: San Diego Comic-Con International
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