At its current rate of growth Comic-Con International could actually outgrow San Diego's gargantuan Convention Center in a few years. Wednesday's Preview Night revealed a much-enlarged show, which has expanded to include two more exhibit halls this year than last. Comic-Con International now utilizes seven of the eight exhibit halls for a total exhibition floor space of some 450,000 square feet. The aisles appeared to be unusually crowded for a Wednesday night preview session, indicating that attendance this year could break last year's record-setting 63,000. San Diego may not be the most important venue for retailers, but it is the nation's largest consumer show and it functions as a fairly reliable barometer of interest in comic books and related popular arts.
Despite its name, Comic-Con is now much more than just a comic book show, thanks to large exhibits for a broad spectrum of 'youth entertainment' purveyors including videogame companies, toy manufacturers, collectible card game and minatures game providers and comic-based films. Anime and manga are continuing to grow in popularity, and the evidence of this growth is everywhere. The manga publishers and the anime packagers have impressive stands, but anime and manga-based merchandise pervades each of the seven huge exhibition halls. The growing influence of Japanese popular culture is apparent in the elaborate model kit exhibition based on the Five Star Stories, in the anime-inspired creations at the Japanese toy company Kotobukiya's two booths, and in dozens of other stands for both toy producers and dealers scattered throughout the various halls.
Hollywood's presence at Comic-Con International also continues to grow reflecting the increasing importance and clout of comic-based films. Stars attending the show include Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Kevin Smith, and Edward James Olmos. Studios like Dreamworks (Shrek II, Sharkslayer) and Artisan (The Punisher) are even renting prime real estate on the convention floor. Ironically Marvel, today's dominant American comic book publisher both in the comic shops and on the silver screen (and source of the Punisher property), does not have a booth. Evidently sometimes 'size' chooses not to matter. 
