Comic Con International

The entertainment industry’s hugely popular media extravaganza, Comic-Con International , has added cast members from TV hits such as "Glee" and "Bones" to the July 21-24 lineup at the San Diego Convention Center.  Attracting more than 100,000 fans annually, Comic-Con was launched as a comic book convention but has grown into an international happening that features all facets of Hollywood entertainment. And it may not be too late to snag tickets, if you're persistent.

Comic-Con International Where: San Diego Convention Center, 111 W. Harbor Drive, San Diego When: Wednesday (preview night) 6-9 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Price: Sold out Information: http://www.comic-con.org

If you look closely at some of the most popular comic book and collectible characters featured at Comic-Con International in San Diego, you notice some unexpected similarities. "X-Men's" Professor Charles Xavier uses a wheelchair. "Daredevil's" Matt Murdock is blind. "Iron Man's" Tony Stark doesn't have a healthy heart. But it's not just the superheroes who are living with disabilities.

For self-proclaimed geeks, superfans and buffs of the popcorn film, San Diego's Comic-Con International is an annual pilgrimage. The convention center's 6,500-seat Hall H is the hallowed ground where Jon Favreau first introduced Robert Downey Jr. as "Iron Man" and where James Cameron's "Avatar" began to generate the kind of deafening buzz that indicated it would be much more than an expensive 3-D movie about blue people from another planet. At this year's sold-out confab, which starts Thursday and runs through Sunday, Steven Spielberg will make his first appearance to discuss his motion-capture movie "The Adventures of Tintin" and Sony Pictures will introduce Andrew Garfield as the new Spider-Man.

Shannon Page, 18, an aspiring actress and self-proclaimed "nerd" from Carlsbad, took a step toward breaking into the movies this weekend. She joined would-be record producer Stephen Matteson, 20, of Chula Vista and scores of others performing in "video auditions" at Comic-Con International, the annual gathering of youth-entertainment purveyors and customers.

Robert Zemeckis has never been to Comic-Con International in San Diego, and the director's "Disney's A Christmas Carol" seems like an unusual choice for a first appearance. But like several filmmakers heading to this week's colossal fanboy convention, Comic-Con -- with its new 3-D projection system -- offers an exceptional occasion to position upcoming releases. Snippets of film shown at earlier Comic-Cons have helped launch several blockbusters, including "300," "Iron Man" and "Twilight."

Comic-Con International Where: San Diego Convention Center, 111 W. Harbor Drive, San Diego When: Wednesday (preview night) 6-9 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Price: Sold out Information: http://www.comic-con.org

If a geek-chic lifestyle came with a primer, it might read something like Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim" graphic novels. A six-part series influenced equally by rock 'n' roll and old Nintendo games, O'Malley's tale of one hopeless romantic's quest to win the girl of his dreams is filled with relationship-challenged characters who come of age the same way Mario and Luigi battle pixilated turtles — with a kick, a jump and a prayer for a...

IT'S THE Cannes of Capes, the World's Fair for Fanboys, the ultimate Bazaar of the Bizarre. Comic-Con International gets underway today at the San Diego Convention Center and 125,000 fans will attend this frothy celebration -- and hard sell -- of pop culture. Like at a rock festival with multiple stages, you can go to Comic-Con and have an experience completely different from the next fan.

The Green Lantern corps has a new member. By the time you read this, a lucky fan already may have won an exact replica of the power ring worn by Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) in the Warner Bros. film due next year. I've seen the ring, and it's a fascinating artifact -- very different from the traditional clean, monochromatic ring of the comics. Check back here at Hero Complex for an exclusive interview with the winner. The ring was set as the big give-away surprise during the opening panel in Hall H on Saturday at Comic-Con International.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Wednesday. Superfans, geeks and pop culture collide, as Comic-Con International will kick off in San Diego with a preview night Wednesday. Steven Spielberg, Andrew Garfield, Guillermo Del Toro and Jon Favreau are expected to attend the event, which runs through Sunday. ( Los Angeles Times ) "Captain America" director Joe Johnston weighs in on his superhero flick, its star Chris Evans and killing Nazis. ( Hero Complex ) "The Darkness" may be coming to a theater near you. Talks have started to take the graphic novel about a mobster to the big screen.

"Finding Neverland," a planned stage musical based on the popular 2004 movie, has been grounded. The La Jolla Playhouse said it was removing the musical from its 2011-12 schedule and replacing it with a revival of "Jesus Christ Superstar" imported from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada. The La Jolla Playhouse said "Finding Neverland" was canceled because the Weinstein Co. withdrew from the project. Harvey and Bob Weinstein served as executive producers on the 2004 movie, which was produced by Miramax.

The entertainment industry’s hugely popular media extravaganza, Comic-Con International , has added cast members from TV hits such as "Glee" and "Bones" to the July 21-24 lineup at the San Diego Convention Center.  Attracting more than 100,000 fans annually, Comic-Con was launched as a comic book convention but has grown into an international happening that features all facets of Hollywood entertainment. And it may not be too late to snag tickets, if you're persistent.

When the big studios commit big bucks on their big franchises, the list of directors deemed equal to the task suddenly can grow very small. Just as different baseball teams consistently hire the same managers again and again, studio executives fall prey to familiar-is-good thinking, repeatedly shortlisting identical names for their high-profile movies, be it Stephen Sommers (" G.I. Joe," "Van Helsing," "The Mummy"), Martin Campbell ("The Legend of Zorro," "Casino Royale," "Edge of Darkness")

Given that his "Family Guy" has made zillions of dollars by gleefully ignoring decorum, Seth MacFarlane shouldn't be expected to behave like a choir boy in public appearances. So during a packed session at Comic-Con International in San Diego on Saturday morning, the TV writer-producer impishly noted placards warning panelists to watch their language because minors were in the audience. "Kids," he intoned, leaning into the microphone, "let me tell you what sodomy means." Laughter erupted throughout the crowd.

The Green Lantern corps has a new member. By the time you read this, a lucky fan already may have won an exact replica of the power ring worn by Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) in the Warner Bros. film due next year. I've seen the ring, and it's a fascinating artifact -- very different from the traditional clean, monochromatic ring of the comics. Check back here at Hero Complex for an exclusive interview with the winner. The ring was set as the big give-away surprise during the opening panel in Hall H on Saturday at Comic-Con International.

Jenna Jameson's next new lover may be a demon. The porn icon, entrepreneur and bestselling author will be the star of her own comic book, "Shadow Hunter," which she will promote this weekend at Comic-Con International in San Diego. Jameson said Tuesday that she will have "a hands-on role" with the stories in the comic book, which will be published, beginning in December, by Virgin Comics, a company that also has creator deals with Nicolas Cage, John Woo and Guy Ritchie.

You can thank "Zathura" for Harrison Ford's first visit to Comic-Con International. The man who gave the world Han Solo, Indiana Jones and Jack Ryan had never made the trek to San Diego, but he stepped on stage Saturday to promote "Cowboys & Aliens" because director Jon Favreau impressed upon him the need to win over the room. "Jon asked me to do it and it's hard to say no," Ford said as he waited in the green room before entering Hall H. "I've never been here before, so we'll see how it goes."

Hollywood's biggest studios come to Comic-Con International in San Diego with their wallets wide open. They charter private jets, hire fleets of limousines, book blocks of high-end hotel rooms and ensure with countless assistants and publicists that their stars, directors and producers never have to lift a finger. The makers of "Super" came to the fan boy gathering in very different circumstances: trying to make ends meet. Most Hall H panels focus on big-budget studio spectacles with million-dollar stars, but Friday's presentation for "Super" was a study in the opposite extreme.