Fans hop aboard Comic-Con train

Nick Friedland of San Francisco waits for the departure of the Wikia Fan Express train to Comic-Con (AP)

For a lucky fellowship of fans, Comic-Con began early on a private train carriage trekking to the US pop-culture convention.

The fan-centric social networking site Wikia picked 30 users to board a private vintage carriage transformed into the Wikia Fan Express.