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As the temperature outside hits 312 degrees Kelvin, I sit here in the cool subterranean basements deep in Stately Beat Manor, keeping watch over the reportage coming east from San Diego.  While scanning the umpteenth cosplay photo, I got to thinking… perhaps our readers would care to look behind the curtain and see how we actually conglomerate the myriad data feeds which stream into our data center.

Due to trade secrets, I can’t disclose how our systems work, because, frankly, we don’t really know ourselves.  It was created back in the 1980s, and we discovered various quirks which keep it running (red siamese fighting fish deliver better results than moon jellyfish, although the jellyfish look spectacular with the recessed lighthing).    There’s no manual, no serviceable parts, and it runs better than our Apple laptop.  (That said, if anyone has a spare fulchau, it would be greatly appreciated.  Our Japanese coverage has been hampered since ours went missing.)

What we can do is share our sources.  There’s a never-ending avalanche of information being flushed through the Intertubes, and we can only report on a small portion of all the cool stuff we see each day.  So, to help those interested in Comic-Con and all the feeds, here is a sampling of sources I rely upon:

Getty Images

Click on “editorial”, set the date for either “last 7 days” or a specific range, and do a keyword search for “comic-con”.  You’ll get mostly celebrity photos, although the occasional “general atmosphere” photo will appear, usually of cosplayers.  Since much of the coverage is at parties, you’ll also see the stuff you weren’t invited to. 

Getty also has video footage, such as the Saban Power Rangers.  It’s not high grade, but it does give you a “you are there” vibe.

What’s the oldest Getty photo from Comic-Con?  The Shat, from 15 August 1992, as he promotes his “Tek World” comic from Marvel.

Associated Press

World famous, just like Getty, with a similar search menu.  It seems they have a larger network of photographers.  Good for general photos.

Reuters is another source, more international.

Wired Magazine

Wired Magazine’s Underwire blog covers most of the coverage, although Geek Dad is there as well.

CNN

Yes… CNN.  They just premiered a special section, titled “Geek Out”.  Apparently, there’s enough news content on CNN to allow for a dedicated site.  It just started in time for Comic-Con, and a blog will debut in September.

Google News

Set the phrases as “San Diego” and “Comic-Con”.  Sort by date.  Refresh the browser every five minutes.  Open links in new windows.  Most of the links will be Hollywood-related.  One can always add other keywords to narrow searching, or to ignore certain topics.  Of course, various websites will run the same story, so you will get a sense of Déjà vu.

And of course… the usual suspects…

Bleeding Cool, Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, IGN Comics, MTV Geek, ComicsAlliance…