It’s not often that Doctor Who and Captain America cross paths with the likes of a Transformer and a bunch of quidditch players pulled straight out of the Harry Potter universe, but that’s exactly what happened during the inaugural Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest event, hosted out of University of Phoenix Stadium Dec. 12-14.

Take a look on the television, at movie theaters or on store shelves and you’re likely to notice one massive shift over the past decade: Nerd culture has become mainstream.

From number one shows like The Big Bang Theory to Marvel’s hugely successful comic book movie franchises, things that used to be dubbed “geeky” are now simply part of the norm.

Comicon, as you might have guessed, is a celebration of all of those things rolled into one, where fans can meet their favorite actors and artists, “cosplayers” can dress up in their favorite costumes without getting weird looks from passersby, and everyone can basically let their nerd flag fly.

Here in Phoenix, the comicon craze finally took hold at the turn of the century, with a single-day event taking place on a comparatively tiny scale taking place back in 2002.

Over the years, the Phoenix Comicon has continued to grow, with the main event now taking place at the start of each summer, hosted out of the Phoenix Convention Center and even spilling over into surrounding establishments.

What used to fill a couple of rooms and a single day’s worth of activities is now a four-day romp that brings in some of the biggest names in movies, television, literature, comics and more, as well as thousands upon thousands of visitors eager to meet up with like-minded friends, get an autograph or buy some sweet swag.

But, as is typically the case with successful events, that means it was time for the local show to grow yet again.

Not only is the 2015 Phoenix Comicon weekend planned to be the biggest yet but, to celebrate its continued success, a Comicon “Fan Fest” was hosted in early December to keep the spirit alive and give visitors yet another reason to get out and have some fun.

Taking place at University of Phoenix Stadium, Fan Fest gave Spock, Superman, the Avengers and plenty of people not wearing costumes a chance to peruse more than 400 vendors, as well as attend panels starring various celebrities from all walks of nerd-dom.

For those who want to get in on all the excitement next year, tickets for the 2015 Comicon have already gone on sale. The event is scheduled for May 28-31 and the sooner you buy your passes, the cheaper they’ll be.

For more details on the summer show and to buy tickets or make hotel reservations, visit phoenixcomicon.com.