When the San Diego Comic-Con was founded in 1970, it provided an exclusive space where fans, dealers, collectors, and industry professionals could come together to celebrate their love of comics and popular culture. In the decades since, Comic-Con has grown in size and scope, attracting hundreds of thousands of fans each summer and increased attention from the media industries, especially Hollywood, which uses the convention’s exclusivity to spread promotional hype far and wide. What made the San Diego Comic-Con a Hollywood destination? How does the industry’s presence at Comic-Con shape our ideas about what it means to be a fan? And what can this single event tell us about the relationship between media industries and their fans, past and present? Only at Comic-Con answers these questions and more as it examines the connection between exclusivity and the proliferation of media industry promotion at the longest-running comic convention in North America.

Only at Comic-Con examines the relationship between exclusivity and the proliferation of media industry promotion at the San Diego Comic-Con, from the convention's founding in 1970 to its current status as a destination for hundreds of thousands of pop culture fans and a hub of Hollywood hype and buzz.

Since 1970, when a small group of comic book lovers organized the first show, Comic-Con International has been the place to check out the latest comics creations and connect with legions of fans. Comic-Con documents this cultural phenomenon. Lavishly illustrated pages feature rarely seen photos and images from the Comic-Con archives. Quotes, anecdotes, and profiles of luminaries make for a veritable who's who of the entertainment world.

Archie in “Welcome to Mirrordale”—A date night with Betty turns into an inter-universe collision when the Madhouse Carnival comes to Riverdale! Archie has a lot to reflect on when he takes a trip to the House of Mirrors, but little does he know those mirrors are more than they appear! He’s catapulted into a world where everything seems familiar to home—just a bit different! Can Archie make it back to his date in Riverdale, or is he doomed to switch places with his mirror-world counterpart forever? There’s only one way to find out!

Until now, her past has stayed buried. But when Rapture bearer Tom Judge and Darkness bearer Jackie Estacado come a knocking, Sara risks the discovery that her new life in Chi-town may not have been a decision that she made for herself.

The Comic-Con phenomenon—and what it means for your business The annual trade show Comic-Con International isn’t just fun and games. According to award-winning business author and futurist Rob Salkowitz it’s a “massive focus group and marketing megaphone” for Hollywood—and in Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture, he examines the business of popular culture through the lens of Comic-Con. Salkowitz offers an entertaining and substantive look at the show, providing a close look at the comic-book and videogame industries’ expanding influence on marketing, merchandising, and the entertainment industry. Rob Salkowitz is founder and Principle Consultant for the communications firm MediaPlant, LLC.

From the multi-Eisner award-winning creator of Milk and Cheese and Beasts of Burden comes this collection of his cult, humor comic anthology. Comprising years of black humor stories about a living voodoo doll, a serial killer sitcom, truly real live sex, a disco skinhead, an urbane devil puppet, classic works of literature acted out by Fisher-Price toys, and more absurdity--this is a must have for Dorkin fans! Featuring most of the Dork comic run as well as the 2012 full-color House of Fun special, along with rarities, extras, a cover gallery, and a newly drawn introduction.