If there was a theme to this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego it would be zombies.  Like no year before you could not turn left or right without someone dragging one of their feet with a dazed look.  The San Diego Padres Petco Stadium was blocked off and turned into a gauntlet/run/haunted house where fans of The Walking Dead could either be made up to look like zombies or be a survivor and attempt to run through 40 minutes of obstacles, and hiding zombies, to get out the exit gate without being “infected”.

As for costumes, it was cartoons and anime that seemed to monopolize cosplayers over superheroes and sci-fi.  You name the series, someone was wearing their gear.  But the best costumes overall remain the diehard Star Wars fans, whose Boba Fetts and Imperial armor could hardly be distinguished from the real thing.

As for panels, all the advance buzz and most talked about panel was the panel for Firefly, but The Hobbit, Game of Thrones, and Expendables 2 were not far behind–Arnold Schwartzenegger drew a huge mob of fans as he entered the convention hall.

As for marketing, Quentin Tarentino’s new movie Django was in well represented, along with the NBC TV series Grimm, and the remake of Total Recall.

If you’re a fan, like I am, of Green Arrow, come back this week for a review of the pilot for the new CW Network series Arrow, as well as a look at the Green Arrow suit from the series.  Creator of the Silver Age look for Green Arrow, Neal Adams, was talking with convention guests and sketching Batman and other characters for fans.

Star Trek fans had a lot to see as well, with attendance at the con by Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner and Levar Burton, and Wil Wheaton could be found circulating the halls.

Fans of series like Grimm and Haven could see the series stars on panels and then meet the actors afterward for signings.

More to come…