Annalee Newitz, editor-in-chief at science-fiction focused website io9.com, has a solid lead-in to this week’s massive Comic-Con affair in San Diego.

Although the cynical view is that the event has been fully co-opted by Hollywood, Newitz begs to differ. She writes that the press are lumped in, as they should be, with the event’s more important core constituency of the fans:

This is one of the only cons I know of where having a press pass means almost nothing. As a member of the media, I still have to wait in those giant lines along with the fans to see the actors from Game of Thrones or catch some Spider-Man footage…

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What to make of the upcoming absence from Comic-Con 2011 in San Diego of Warner Bros., Disney, Dreamworks, The Weinstein Co., and possibly even Marvel Entertainment? That’s the question New York Times reporters Brooks Barnes and Michael Cieply tackled in a Sunday piece bound to be chewed over today by a thousand and one movie blogs.

Thanks to the ridiculously high expectations of attendees and this group’s ability to go ape on social media about any disappointment with previewed blockbuster and comic book movie elements, Comic-Con has become an extremely tricky PR proposition. The reporters wonder whether the absence of some of the big studios has anything to do with last year’s push-and-pull, which overwhelmed Sucker Punch, TRON: Legacy, Buried, and a certain Michael Cera flick:

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was the big alarm. That Universal movie was the belle of last year’s convention, and the studio spent heavily to make it so, draping the entire side of a skyscraper with an ad, for instance. Released just three weeks after the convention, Scott Pilgrim fizzled and the $60 million movie sold just $32 million in tickets.

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As of yesterday, the LA version of GeekChicDaily.com’s daily email newsletter is up and blasting. The company — backed by such heavyweights as Peter Guber, Bob Pittman, and Joe Roth — also threw itself a little shindig Thursday night at Meltdown Comics on Sunset Boulevard.

In today’s mirrored website posting, the LA folks ponder potential Fantastic Four kill-off scenarios. For Jessica Alba‘s character, they suggest “forcing Sue Storm’s alter-ego to sit through a screening of The Love Guru. Death by embarrassment.”

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LA freelance journalist George Roush, a.k.a. “El Guapo” (pictured), has a funny slide show piece today over at Comcast’s Movies.com. The title says it all: “10 Things Movie Journalists Should Never Do.”

Having once been regulars on the Hollywod press junket circuit, we’re amazed Roush was able to whittle it down to just ten. Although it’s about as winning a proposition as trying to get celebs to make interesting acceptance speeches, we applaud such Roush sentiments as his #8 no-no, “Ask celebs about their love life”:

This one is really annoying. I understand inquiries like this from international journalists because they don’t know any better and their readership likes that sort of thing, but it’s just stupid to ask… I doubt if dating advice from Topher Grace is going to get you laid, so just stick to the topic at hand, which is the movie.

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As part of its ongoing and very subversive marketing campaign for the upcoming shooter videogame Homefront – the same campaign responsible for faux North Korean-themed LA food truck Pyongyang Express – THQ organized a noontime rally today at San Francisco’s Game Developers Conference.

Along with an ex-CIA officer and expert on electromagnetic pulse, the phony human rights rally featured a live performance by The Dillinger Escape Plan. But people by the Bay were soon griping on social media about something else entirely – the release of 10,000 red balloons into the San Francisco environment.

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The Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie Simpsons spoof McBain is actually a mini-movie told over several episodes of the series.

Hat tip Reddit

During his recent appearance on Piers Morgan Tonight, Howard Stern revisited the origins of the ubiquitous tagline “The King of All Media.” It was all part of a joke made with Jackie Martling, an attempt by Stern to prove that if he referred to himself often enough by a certain sobriquet, that sobriquet would stick.

With this week’s announcement of a new $3.99 Howard Stern comic book to be put out in April by Vancouver, Washington based Bluewater Productions, the radio host is that much closer to living out the Martling joke. Per the press release:

Acording to Bluewater president Darren Davis, “Orbit” is a natural extension of the biography comic division established by Bluewater’s “Female Force,” “Fame,” and “Political Power.”

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Since opening its doors in October 2009, LA-based GeekChicDaily.com has quickly harnessed the powerful combo of niche marketing and opt-in e-mail subscribers. In this case, the focus is on geeky pop culture movies, games, toys and more.

Today, the official press release went out confirming a new infusion of $1.5 million in cash, led by former Revolution Studios head honcho Joe Roth and Seattle venture capitalist Mike Slade. The money, it is said, will go towards infrastructure, marketing and “brand extension.”

Presumably, the money will also help solidify the tonge-in-cheek GeekChic M.O. Today’s highlighted item, under the category of “Toys,” links to a ThinkGeek.com collectible based on the movie 2001 A Space Odyssey.

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Yes, we’ve seen the signs and they’re wrong. If there’s ever been a media frenzy over astronomy – it’s this week. Minneapolis Community and Technical College instructor Parke Kunkle is being credited with starting a widespread panic about the most mocked pickup line in the history of mankind. He says there are 13 zodiac signs not 12. And the sign the newspaper has been telling you you are – could not be your sign after all.

To that we say – meh. Bill Nye was all over this story four years ago.

The following freelance contributor bio, shared today at SPACE.com as part of a blog post announcing a website overhaul, is a perfect example of how the Internet media age is empowering ridiculously qualified subject matter experts:

Michael Wall, senior writer, joined us last year and works out of San Francisco. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona. He was a writer at the Idaho National Laboratory, and he’s worked as a herpetologist and a wildlife biologist. Mike is in Seattle this week covering the 217th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

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