Con Job

Over at the LA Times, Calendar Section columnist Patrick Goldstein has discovered a new adjective: "Comic-Con." So capitalized. And like a kid with a new Transformer, he can't resist playing with it. In his column in today's paper, which discusses horror goremeister Eli Roth, Mr. Goldstein writes about "Comic-Con fan boys"; "Comic-Con festivals"; and -- rather redundantly -- "Comic-Con conventions."

Given that "Comic-Con," as capitalized, generally refers to Comic-Con International: San Diego, and there is just one of those a year, one is left to wonder what Goldstein means by "Comic-Con festivals" and "Comic-Con conventions." Has he decided that Comic-Con is so publicized -- particularly in Hollywood, which has increasingly turned to the convention as a way to start viral campaigns for movies via Web-augmented word of mouth -- that he thinks that there are several a year? Is he referring to all comic book conventions with the label "Comic-Con" because it's the one he thinks his readers will recognize?

Or perhaps he just needs a thesaurus.