comic-con

Comic-Con is just a month away and Mel Hoppe definitely plans to be there. In fact, July is a busy month for the self-described cosplayer, gamer, and geek. Almost immediately after the big show in San Diego, she'll be heading up to Kintoki-Con, the Asian media and culture convention in Sacramento, Calif., where she'll be hanging out in the "Artist's Alley" under her alias, WindoftheStars.

That's because Hoppe isn't just a dedicated cosplayer, she also makes and sells her own costumes from her home base in northern Nevada. I came across the work of WindoftheStars on Google+ a few months ago and was blown away by the beauty, realism, and range of her creations (fortunately, she doesn't go as far as this real-life anime girl).

I reached out to Hoppe to learn a little more about how she got into her craft. She told me a story I'm sure many readers of Crave can relate to. It all started with a Commodore 128 and a joystick at a young age.… Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Katie interviews DC Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee at New York Comic Con.

- Check out Katie's new app Splatrpult, available today for a free download.

- The New Yorker traces emojis back to the beginning.

- Real apples branded with Apple's logo.… Read more

The Batmobile (in all of its various incarnations) is probably as famous as the Batman who pilots it. However, if you should happen to find yourself in New York this week (perhaps for some sort of comic book convention), you'll be able to get a peek at the car that Kia Motors would like to see as the Caped Crusader's next set of wheels: a top-of-the-line Kia Optima SX Limited. Well, they at least got the color right.

Personally, I'd like to think that if Batman were to drive a front-wheel-drive, Korean sports car, he'd be … Read more

Congrats to Junryo W. of Clarement, Calif., for winning last week's giveaway, a bag of Comic-Con swag straight from the show floor.

For the second and final part of our Comic-Con giveaway, we have a legendary prize. No, literally. We're giving away an AT&T LG Nitro HD smartphone signed by Bob Schreck, editor in chief of Legendary Comics, the book-publishing arm of Legendary Entertainment (Christopher Nolan's "Batman" movies, "Wrath of the Titans," "Sucker Punch," "The Town"). Please note that you'll be responsible for securing your own voice and data plan. … Read more

First off, congrats to last week's giveaway winner, Kristen M. of Atlanta, for winning an Age of Empires helmet signed by the Age of Empires Online development team.

Now, didn't make it to Comic-Con this year? Comic-Con's coming to you -- in a big way. Seth Rosenblatt, one of our CNETers reporting from the show floor, scoured the place for stuff he thought Crave readers would like. And holy swag, Batman, did he hit a geek gold mine! … Read more

Among all the sights to see at Comic-Con in San Diego this year (David Hasselhoff, "Iron Man 3," Lucy Liu), the best attraction is always the creative cosplay.

Each year, hundreds of geeks spend months preparing for the show, showing off their DIY ethic using everything from electronics to cardboard to Mom's own ironing board.

Click through the slideshow below for The 404's favorite costumes from Comic-Con 2012, and check out our wrap-up episode for more coverage.

We're back from San Diego Comic-Con 2012 with a wrap-up show of everything we saw at the show. This being our first year, it quickly became obvious that we missed the first rule of Comic-Con: leave your civilian clothes at home!… Read more

The hoverboard floated onto the big screen in "Back to the Future II" and broke the hearts of geeks worldwide when director Robert Zemeckis announced that the technology would not be available until the year 2015. Decades later, we're all still waiting for power laces, hydrator machines, power laces, and a real hoverboard, but Mattel was on-hand at Comic-Con 2012 to show off the next best thing: a 1:1 scale replica of the original hover board ridden by Marty McFly.

While it's still unacceptable that the thing doesn't actually glide through the air (don't even think about water), the prop retains the exact look and feel of the real thing, replete with a scooter handle hole, Velcro ankle strap, motion sensors, and "whooshing" sound effects pulled directly from the movies.… Read more

Without a doubt the highlight of our trip to Comic-Con was The Walking Dead Escape takeover of Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres.

Spanning across multiple levels of the stadium, the 45-minute obstacle course led us through a zombie-filled apocalyptic simulation where "survivors" must outrun the living dead or become infected themselves.

This event was no joke. We were told to stretch out before, wear gym clothes, and be sure to not leave anyone behind. Armed with our head- and chest-mounted GoPros, we documented the entire experience. Of course, not everyone could survive. So who made … Read more