Comic-Con is back for another round

It’s that time of year again as people in superhero costumes and stormtrooper suits invade San Diego.

Yep, I’m talking about Comic-Con.

For the 44th consecutive year, fanboys and fangirls descend on the home of the Padres, Chargers, and Aztecs to see their favorite comic book artists, video game developers, and TV stars – especially TV.

As you should know by now, Comic-Con isn’t just about comics – its about celebrate the world of pop culture – and marketing. And if you are a TV producer, this is your playground – for 45 minutes, at least. There are over 100 shows who will hold panels here, providing fans who stand in line for days to interact with those who make the sausage, take questions, and see upcoming previews of their favorite shows.

Almost every animated series currently on the air is ar Comic-Con, from traditional kids fare like Adventure Time and Regular Show to programming for more mature audiences, such as Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, and Adult Swim’s shows.

Then there are loads of genre shows here, from Grimm to The Walking Dead, from Once Upon A Time to Game Of Thrones, from Arrow to Doctor Who (still!)

And you have those old standbys like Star Trek and Star Wars: no Comic-Con is complete without them.

Then there are shows who have nothing to do with sci-fi, fantasy, comics, or animation: didn’t stop Community or Person Of Interest from making the trip to Comic-Con anyway. Be careful… with the door being open to more non-traditional fare at Comic-Con, yours truly’s fears that one day, Bethenny Frankel and her show would become an attraction.

Taking a page from what happened a few years ago at NATPE, the cost-consensus major Hollywood studios have scaled back their presence. Disney only brought the Marvel brand to Comic-Con, while Paramount has decided the gathering all together. Many in Hollywood’s film community have also begun griping about the geekfest.

And beware: the tabloid Hollywood press is also at Comic-Con, but their coverage has improved over the years, worth Entertainment Weekly making the smart move to hire former L.A. Times columnist and Hero Complex creator Geoff Boucher to run Cape Town (Boucher also was a music critic for the LAT – among the columns he wrote was a piece on radio in the consolidation era in 2003.)

T Dog Media has Comic-Con covered, complete with the world-class snark yours truly is known for. And don’t forget to follow T Dog Media for the latest retweeted news from the geek gathering and T Dog Media’s Facebook and Google + pages for exclusive content you won’t find on this site.

Happy geeking!