For football fans there is no bigger ticket than the Super Bowl, and for baseball fans the biggest annual attraction is the World Series. But for pop-culture enthusiasts the holiest of holy events is the San Diego Comic-Con.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Comic-Con International, the four-day pop-culture celebration that takes over the San Diego Convention Center each summer, runs Thursday to Sunday. Here's a look at some of the hottest films, TV shows and video games expected at the sold-out 43rd annual convention:

A little curiosity went a long way to Gina Carano's transformation from mixed-martial-arts fighter and "American Gladiator" competitor to action-film star in "Haywire."

SAN DIEGO - There's a Web community of horror fans who are dedicated to the proposition that real vampires don't sparkle. Even at Comic-Con International, where "Twilight" films are bathed in the glow of adoration, you could witness the occasional pushback from fans and Hollywood players.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - "Tron," ''Harry Potter," ''The Green Hornet," and Brangelina?

SAN DIEGO -- Sheldon Dorf, who founded the world famous Comic-Con International comic book convention, has died. He was 76.

Briton Karen Traviss, author of such Star Wars tie-ins as the Republic Commando series and the Legacy of the Force series, will come to Tempe’s Changing Hands Bookstore Monday evening, July 28 — fresh from Comic-Con International in San Diego that weekend.

A number of excellent questions were asked at the recent “Lost” panel at the annual San Diego Comic-Con International, the yearly gathering for lovers of all things geeky.

SAN DIEGO - Thousands of people hoping to be the next Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson or even Sanjaya lined up outside Qualcomm Stadium on Monday as auditions for the seventh season of "American Idol" began.

LOS ANGELES - Comic-book fans already know Stan Lee is a Marvel legend. Now Hasbro is making it official. The company will pay plastic tribute to the 84-year-old creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk, X-Men, Fantastic Four and other comic-book heroes by interpreting him as a 6-inch tall Marvel Legends action figure.

Plenty of smaller cities than Phoenix — San Diego, Dallas, Baltimore, Columbus, Ohio — have giant comic book conventions that draw thousands each year. So why doesn’t the Valley?

Plenty of smaller cities than Phoenix — San Diego, Dallas, Baltimore, Columbus, Ohio — have giant comic book conventions that draw thousands each year. So why doesn’t the Valley?

July 25, 2004