They came, they bought, they stood in long lines and as the sprawling comic book convention Comic-Con drew to a close, capes dragged, make up ran, and thousands of previously chipper superheroes looked a little ragged.
Over the past iV days, the San Diego convention center of attention has been a mecca for 125,000 fans who came from about the world - many dressed as their pet superheroes - in search of all manner of comics-related books, movies, games, toys, information and free products.
They packed screenings of movies with names like Hamlet 2 and saw promotional trailers for early titles such as The Spirit.
They stood in lines that snaked around the building - sometimes for hours - to glimpse movie stars including Kiefer Sutherland, Keanu Reeves and Carmen Electra.
By many accounts, sales of toys, video recording games, T-shirts and other memorabilia were brisk, though less so than in recent years due to the electric current economic downswing, vendors said.
Daryl Graham, 37, an liveliness student from San Diego, said he found the latest super power action figures in just the right sizes to add to a collection he has been building since junior high school.
"As a collector, you want all your action figures to be even when you display them. You don't want your Batman an inch taller than your Spider-Man," Graham said.
But others expressed dashing hopes with what they see as the increasing commercialism of Comic-Con.
They say the convention, devoted to celebrating comic holy Scripture art, has been co-opted in recent years by large companies and Hollywood studios generating buzz for new movies and related products.
This year, scores of films were promoted ranging in genre from sci-fi and horror to funniness. Screenings and promotional trailers were shown, free items were handed out, and fans were drawn into scores of special exhibits.
"I only come for the comics and I think what has happened here is sad," said Robert Farrell, world Health Organization has attended Comic-Con since 1975.
He celebrated most traditional comics dealers appeared to be relegated to the edges of the cavernous exhibit charles Francis Hall. "I won't be sexual climax back succeeding year," he said.
Dale Roberts of Kentucky, who has sold vintage comic books at Comic-Con for the last 12 years, said traditional laughable book fans and vendors "are feeling marginalised".
"Comic-Con will tell you that what we have is a perception job and that comics have not been diminished in any way, they have just changed form," aforementioned a third base vendor, Chuck Rozanski.
He has been advent to Comic-Con since 1973 and says he has sold more than $100 million in comic books.
"We built this house and suddenly we're finding our furniture on the lawn. We let these fertile relatives in and dead we're not good enough to live here any longer," he said.
A spokeswoman for Comic-Con was not straight off available to comment.
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