San Diego Comic-Con 2016: Where worlds of comics, film, TV and fans collide
4-day event is expected to draw more than 160,000 attendees
Comic-Con takes off
The hordes of zombies, legions of stormtroopers, leagues of superheroes and crews of Starfleet officers have already begun crawling, marching, flying and beaming into San Diego for that other big convention this week: Comic-Con International.
While Alice Through the Looking Glass disappointed at the box office, fans of the film and its predecessor, Alice in Wonderland, made it to the event.
Early fans get the swag
The pop-culture celebration kicked off Wednesday evening with the festival's preview night, where con-goers with four-day passes have first crack at the collectibles, free swag and photo opportunities on the San Diego Convention Center floor.
Star Wars: The Phantom Presence
While there won't be any major Star Wars panels this year, the brand took up a huge amount of space on the floor, with a Jedi Temple containing looks at costumes from the upcoming anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Fans could also purchase merchandise such as Princess Leia socks, BB-8 lamps and Captain Phasma leggings.
In the photo below, Inger Utke, left, takes a selfie with Edwin Galarza, dressed as a Star Wars themed dinosaur.
Set phasers to premiere
Actors Chris Pine, left, John Cho and Karl Urban were among the cast and crew on hand for the Star Trek Beyond U.S. debut on Wednesday night in San Diego.
Located outside the sprawling bayside venue, the premiere of the sci-fi sequel marked the first-ever outdoor Imax screening.
Conventional zombies
While some came for the collectibles, others packed the convention floor to gaze at the impressive installations. Fans lined up to interact and pose with Walking Dead zombies in gorgeously constructed sets, such as a broken fuselage.
Thousands expected to attend
Comic-Con is expected to draw more than 160,000 fans for high-energy sessions featuring casts and crews from such films and TV shows as Game of Thrones, Suicide Squad, South Park, Teen Wolf, Aliens and The Walking Dead.
In the photo above, Jessica Chancellor is dressed as Batgirl, while in the photo below, Denise Zesati is dressed as the popular Pokemon Pikachu.
Popular children's shows Adventure Time and SpongeBob SquarePants were also well represented at Comic-Con.
In the photo above, an attendee is dressed as BMO from the popular Cartoon Network series Adventure Time, and in the photo below, two Con-goers are dressed as Primitive Sponge and Primitive Star from Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants.
