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Pop culture is finally catching up with Gareb Shamus.

Shamus, 40, grew up around his parents’ Nanuet, NY, comic book store and loved the fantasy genre so much that as soon as he graduated college he started Wizard magazine — a monthly dedicated to comic-book characters and the world they live in.

Shamus was animated about comic books before comic books were cool — and tremendously profitable.

Today, Shamus’ Wizard Entertainment still publishes the thriving 19-year-old title, along with ToyFare, a 12-year-old monthly spin-off that focuses on action figures, and 11-year-old FunFare magazine, a twice-yearly magazine that covers the toy industry.

Take a look around, though. As comic book and other fantasy character content has exploded into the center of pop culture over the last decade — some of Hollywood’s recent highest grossing films, Transformers, Dark Knight, Iron-Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Superman, Star Wars — Shamus is branching out.

After dipping his toe into the comic book convention, or Comic-Con, business when he bought the sleepy and financially struggling Chicago Comic-Con in 1994, Shamus has been on a buying spree.

He started a Philadelphia show 12 years ago, bought existing Comic-Cons in Toronto and New York this year and will start a fifth show, in Anaheim, Calif., in March.

His timing couldn’t be better. While the economy is taking its toll on many forms of entertainment — from professional sports, to television to Hollywood — Comic-Cons across the country are ringing up sales gains of 15 percent, and more.

These aren’t your older brother’s Comic-Cons — those sleepy, hotel-based two-day affairs that draw 3,000 hard-core comic book geeks who drool over top comic book illustrators and swap insider hero tales.

Today, Hollywood has taken over these Comic-Cons and, along with a new generation of promoters, like Shamus, are turning them into festival-like affairs complete with mega-watt celebrity appearances, sneak previews of upcoming films, videogames, TV shows and toys.

You might have to look hard to even find a comic book.

The renamed Big Apple Comic-Con, which starts Friday, is expecting 20,000 to 30,000 people, according to Shamus, with about 700 companies from film, TV, videogames, toys and comics strutting their stuff. William Shatner, Adam West and dozens of other celebrities will attend. Shamus’ five Comic-Con could draw a total of 200,000 fans annually — and he is looking to buy or start more.

“There is an incredible thirst for an appealing product,” Shamus said.

Sitting in his Midtown office last week, the kid-like Shamus was also putting the finishing touches on his latest venture — GeekChicDaily.com — an online site he founded along with longtime friend and Hollywood legend Peter Guber.

The site, which will provide news and service to fantasy-loving geeks much like DailyCandy does for fashion-loving women, is expected to go live this week.