Lines formed early for a chance to score access to the giant Comic Con convention that has kicked off in San Diego.

The one-time fledgling event has grown robust in recent years, thanks to Hollywood's love affair with action heroes who have successfully made the jump from comic book pages to box office darlings.

It means major studios now regularly preview their tent-pole productions. In recent years, Comic Con has helped launched films such as "Iron Man," "Twilight" and "Avatar" to tremendous box office success.

The number of movies and TV shows being promoted in 2010 seems larger than ever for what, once upon a time, was merely a gathering of comic book fans.

Certainly, among the crowd at the convention will include Hollywood stars like TIna Fey and Will Ferrell, who arrived early at the show for the premiere of their new animated film, "Megamind."

Fey told Reuters that while there is some adjustment time, doing an animated film was a lot of fun.

She said: "It is easier because you can goof around more without feeling that the crew is getting annoyed. When you are film and improvising you feel like you want to have fun but you don't want to waste anyone's time."