Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture: What the World's Wildest Trade Show Can Tell Us About the Future of Entertain

Action! Excitement! Transmedia! Step inside Comic-Con to discover the cultural trends that will shape our world

"I've been in comics so long I sometimes think I invented 'em! But I just read Rob Salkowitz's terrific new book and, y'know what? Even I learned new stuff! If you're a comic book nut like me, miss it at your own risk!"
-Stan Lee, Legendary Comic Creator and Publisher

"Salkowitz tells it pretty much like it is: the good, the bad, and the ugly of the commercialization of one of America's greatest art forms, as well as the indefatigable artistry of its creators. He is at once informative, insightful, sobering, and inspiring."
-Douglas Rushkoff, pop culture analyst and author of Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age

"If you care at all about comics, this is an essential read (and if you don't, Salkowitz just might win you over). But it's also grab-worthy for anyone interested in the fascinating, conflicted, unfolding future of digital publishing and transmedia entertainment."
- Booklist (Starred Review)

"What began more than four decades ago as an intimate gathering of comic book creators, fans and legends has become a packed entertainment event. Although it doesn't have the same ring to it, Comic-Con could more appropriately be called the Transmedia Pop Culture Con where buzz for a year's worth of projects is created, prolonged or squelched. Yet, despite the awareness that the con is a giant marketplace where producers sell directly to customers, there has been shockingly little analysis of the business of the event before Rob Salkowitz's new book, "Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture."
-CNN Geekout
"The true gift in Rob's book is how very hard it becomes for you to decide, whether you're a business reader reading a pop culture book, or a comics fan reading a business book."
-PopMatters

"The book explores the business aspects of the show and how it is a microcosm of the growing transmedia aspects of both comic