Geeking out at Comic-Con 2011

An enormous hanging screenprint of Batman from the upcoming Arkham City game hangs above the DC Comics booth.

Yes, you can draw on the rabbit

One booth let visitors express themselves with chalk on a slate bunny.

Own a piece of Star Wars

Although expensive, Sideshow Collectibles Star Wars replicas are always a big hit with attendees. Shown is the life size version. The 25.5" high model, which weighs 12 lbs., costs $299.99.

Spider-Parker

One of several exclusive San Diego Comic-Con toys is Dark Horse's model that's half Spider-Man and half his alter ego, Peter Parker.

Leggo my Lego

Lego provided an broad pile of yellow bricks for kids to play with at their booth.

Iron Man and Thor

Nine-year-old Mason Scott dePedro, costumed as Thor, stands in awe front of the Marvel Comics booth, which has been designed to resemble SHIELD. His brother, six-year-old Lucas Walker dePedro, is dressed as Iron Man carrying Captain America's shield.

Marvel's movies

The organization SHIELD plays a pivotal role in next year's Avengers movie, and the set has been turned into the focal point of Marvel Comics' Comic-Con booth this year.

Mad, mad figures

The goofy mascot of Mad Magazine, Alfred E. Neuman, comes dressed as several DC Comics superheroes in these limited edition toys.

Dark Horse designs its own

Mark Bernardi, Director of Special Programs at Dark Horse Comics, shows off their iOS app for buying and reading comics.

Munky King or demon controller?

The Munky King toys booth features a demonic character controlling a robotic bear with big claws, because the world lacks demons with robotic bears.

From curtains to clothes

Diana Rennie of Anaheim, Ca, spent about 10 hours making these 1980s Empire Strikes Back curtains into a dress.

PC Cast goes to Dark Horse

Author PC Cast, known for her vampire novels House of Night, announced at Preview Night that she would collaborating with Dark Horse to adapt them into comics.

ABC revives Pan Am

A new ABC series in the vein of Mad Men features the stewardesses of Pan Am Airlines, and they were in full costume at Comic-Con.

Prime in the Matrix

A limited edition Optimus Prime toy from Hasbro features the Transformer in wearable packaging designed to look like the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.

Five for five bucks, even on Preview Night

Hannli Young shows off Radical Studios special Comic-Con book, a paperback that collects five of its titles' first issues. The collection retails for $5.

Spartacus!

Pop culture that's not comics has been a growing part of Comic-Con, and Spartacus is just another example of Hollywood studios attempting to capture some of the comics geek's passion. Along with Hollywood studios comes Hollywood money, and elaborate booth sets like this one to prove it.

Star Wars graffmobile

Popular comics artist Ken Lashley has been hired by Lucasfilm and BMW to illustrate key Star Wars scenes and characters on one of their cars. Although there was no official confirmation, it's likely that the car will be given away during the convention.

Graffmobile up close

Here's another look at Lashley's Star Wars art.

Digital drawing with Sketchbook

A charity promotion with Viz Media and Autodesk has them recruiting artists with a digital hook to raise money for Japanese tsunami relief. Here, Kyle Runciman of Autodesk shows how the desktop version of the program works with a Wacom Cintiq.

Walking Dead re-enactment set

Fans of the Walking Dead show and comic can recreate the gory scene where one character has to cut off his own hand to escape the zombies. In this photo, brothers Brandon (14) and Michael (13) Munoz pretend to struggle with the handcuffs and hacksaw. While Brandon is a comics fan into manga, Michael told me that he doesn't read comics, showing that there's a lot to be said for well-made adaptations from any medium.

Watch us, we're nearly naked

One industry media outlet that had a booth at Comic-Con had a barker-style promoter wearing a Speedo. It got attention, that's for sure.