Comic-Con International, commonly known as the San Diego Comic Con, is an annual comic book convention founded by Shel Dorf in 1969. It is traditionally a 4 day event (Thursday thru Sunday) held during during July or August in San Diego, California at the San Diego Convention Center . Besides comic books, the convention also has exhibits on other popular arts including science fiction, animation, collectible card games and video games. The convention currently is the largest of its kind in the United States with an estimated 104,000 attendees in 2005.

Having originated in the basement of the U.S. Grand Hotel with an estimated crowd of 300 people, according to the 2005 Souvenir book, Comic-Con has grown to a massive annual event featuring panels with comic book professionals, previews of upcoming feature films, portfolio review sessions from top comic book and video game companies, and such evening events as the Eisner Awards and the Masquerade (a costume contest as opposed to a costume party, as the name might imply).

Traditional events include an eclectic film program, three screening rooms devoted to Japanese animation, cartoonist Scott Shaw's Oddball Cartoon slideshow and animation expert Jerry Beck's Friday night program featuring the Worst Cartoons ever shown on TV.

Like most comic book conventions, Comic-Con features a large floorspace for exhibitors. These include comic book stores (both local and otherwise), media companies (the largest of which were, in 2005, DC Comics and Lucasfilm) and other merchants.

Comic-Con features an "autograph area," which is a section devoted to media stars, giving them an opportunity to sign autographs for fans. Also, Comic-Con (like most major conventions) features an "Artists' Alley," which is a section availed to individuals. As the name implies, it is mainly for artists in the comicbook field to sign autographs and do sketches for fans, but it also features writers, and even models.

Comic-Con International is also the name of the non-profit organization that organizes and puts on the convention. Comic-Con International also puts on two other conventions, WonderCon and the Alternative Press Expo (APE), both held in San Francisco, California.

"Comic-Con International." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 20 Jan 2006, 04:23 UTC. 22 Jan 2006, 21:14 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Comic-Con_International&oldid=35910860>.