"For our convention, we try to keep it to literature or nerdy related."

Here's the cold hard truth about nerddom: Sooner or later, the cool kids always show up to raise a ruckus and kick sand.

In 2010, only 550 enthusiasts of Spidey, Superman and dice-rolling Dungeons & Dragons showed up to Tampa Bay Comic Con, which was held at humble Minnreg Hall in Largo.

It was the kind of low-key hang where comic book artists were king, where a guy could wear his homemade Hulk getup — cosplay before it was a hip hobby — and not have to worry about the fashion awkwardness of 30 other dudes also strutting around as the Jade Giant.

This year, based on advance ticket sales, more than 20,000 people — and a whole lot of Hulks — are expected to smash into Comic Con when it runs at the far more spacious Tampa Convention Center from Friday through Sunday.

Read more at the Tampa Bay Times.