sdcc

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.

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

SAN DIEGO -- After several years of percolating, digital comics are about to go ka-boom with marketplace and reader app Comixology at the center of the explosion.

If you wanted to be glib about it, you could describe Comixology's strategy as "divide and conquer." The company has made a series of digital comics "gets" by creating book-specific apps to accompany a number of exclusive agreements to add books to its regular, unbranded Comixology app, that further cement it as the largest digital comics marketplace around.

"Comics stores are like vinyl [record] stores. It's … Read more

SAN DIEGO -- To paraphrase Jack Nicholson's jealous Joker in the Tim Burton 1989 Batman flick, "Where does he get those wonderful cars?"

The answer, apparently, is: on the Warner Brothers studio lot.

To celebrate next week's release of the final Chris Nolan-helmed Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," Warner put on display the six Batmobiles built for TV and film at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con. From the iconic 1966 Batmobile used in the Adam West TV show to Christian Bale's tanklike Lambo-Humvee mashup "the Tumbler," fans could get up … Read more

SAN DIEGO -- The bad news about Comic-Con Day 2 was that there wasn't the usual, noticeable uptick in energy and chaos from Day 1. The good news is that it gave us a chance to check out some of the cooler homemade costumes from around the show floor.

From a professional seamstress sporting Victorian Wonder Woman threads, to the original suit that Marlon Brando wore as Jor-El in "Superman: The Movie," to the saddest Darth Vader you've ever seen, there was plenty to look at and admire.

SAN DIEGO -- Digital comics went boom last year, driven by as many reasons as there are varieties of Kryptonite. But defying the trend set by movies, music, and TV when they went digital, print comics sales in North America recently have been estimated at jumping nearly 18 percent since last year. How the heck did that happen?

Driven by a saturation of iPads and other tablets among people with disposable income, a massive line-wide reboot by DC Comics that encouraged other publishers to fully "go digital," and the obvious sales benefits of being able to buy a … Read more

SAN DIEGO--In some ways, the first full day of Comic-Con can feel slower than the Preview Night. While a frenetic vibe feeds the panicked shopping of Preview Night, Day One has too many people for much sprinting.

But that doesn't mean that it's dead. Fan-favorite creator of Robert Kirkman was on the floor signing Walking Dead comics, there was a wide variety of cosplayers, discussion panels revealed the latest twists and turns for comics, movies and TV, and a woman outside the Con was vigorously rubbing her costume with a metal grinder to promote a VH1 event. In … Read more

SAN DIEGO--The first night of the 42nd annual Comic-Con brought in the hordes, giving attendees far more than a mere preview last night.

Originally a chance for exhibitors and professionals to enjoy the Con, fans who buy four-day passes can opt to get a Preview Night ticket, too. In turn, this gives vendors a chance to sell convention exclusives to an even wider audience, but it does cut down on the opportunities for those working the show to enjoy what's on display. Preview Night passes sold out within 90 minutes of going on sale earlier this year.

So what … Read more