If you wanted to spend a Saturday "geeking out," the fourth annual South Jersey Geek Fest in Woodbury was a hot spot for all things science-fiction, classic video games and old-school comic books alike.

It might not be as big as the mother of all conventions, Comic-Con, but it attracted plenty of people to the Woodbury Community Center.

"It's not just comic books, there's something here for every geek," said Richard Masso, owner of Welcome Back Comics.

With thousands turning out to the annual event by day's end, hundreds managed to cram themselves into the Woodbury Community Center on Saturday afternoon to sort through fan art, stacks of strategic board games, rows of collectible comics and "antique" video games.

Storm Troopers from 501st Legion: Vader's First, a costume enthusiast group aimed at promoting interest in the Star Wars franchise, was there taking pictures with admirers of the Galactic Empire.

You name it, it was there: wall-to-wall vendors, entertainment, and fun.

As soon as you set foot in the building, it was another world. And all judgement was off the table.

Dozens of attendees were dressed as comic book heroes, or villains, and characters from movies and TV shows. Zombies were shuffling around the building searching for merchandise instead of brains, while groups of friends were battling it out in a game of trivia.

"You can let your geekdom go without being judged," said John Butterworth, Gloucester City resident dressed as Dr. Who for the event.

Anthony Parisi, illustrator and owner of Parisi Studios in Woodbury, said the one-day local event is "not only a tribute to everything geeky" but also a tight knit comic-booking loving, card-collecting, video game-playing community that's showing support for area "brick and mortar" businesses.

"They take pride in their nerdy-ness, geek-dom, and they are taking pride in the community," Parisi said as he stood behind a table filled with his creations.

As an artist, both illustrator and musician, Parisi embraced his inner "geek" through his zombie-inspired sketches, classic rock tarot cards, colorful original prints of famous classic rock groups like The Beatles, and characters from the AMC television show The Walking Dead.

All of his work was spread out neatly across the table as his fellow nerds gawked at some of his work.

Paris said the scene is just as nerdy as Comic-Cons and the attendance has grown since the first event.

This year's event was likely to be as big as last year, according to Ryan Morrison, event co-founder and CEO of Island Officials.

Morrison said he brainstormed with his business partners to come up with the idea to host the geek-inspired event locally. He said it was time something like this came to the community rather than waiting for the next Comic-Con to make a pit stop in a nearby city.

"It's inspiring," he said about the turnout. "We get shocked by it every year."

For more information about the event and updates on next year's geeky extravaganza, visit sjgeekfest.com.