My first post was about my passion for Jodorowsky. So how cool was it that when I met up with horror filmmakers Jacob Gentry (The Signal) and Adam Wingard (Pop Skull) we talked about the genius of Jodorowsky. These are the types of encounters that make for great Comic-Con moments.

There are a lot more people at Comic-Con than the program schedule may lead you to believe. I caught up with two young horror filmmakers at this year's Con: Jacob Gentry, one of the directors on The Signal, and Adam Wingard who made Pop Skull. We started talking about filmmakers that had impressed or influenced us. Two names that came up: Takashi Miike and Kiyoshi Kurosawa. In fact Asian Extreme Cinema in general was something we all had in common and felt the need to discuss.

Pineapple Express opens today so I thought it would be appropriate to run a highlight from the panel at this year's Comic-Con. Producer Judd Apatow moderated and actror-writer Seth Rogen, actor James Franco, and indie director David Gordon Green were on hand to answer questions about their "weed action comedy." They sneaked about ten minutes of the film at the panel. You can also check out the official trailer from Sony below.

Meet Blair Heald. By day, human services specialist for the County of San Diego. By night, an award-winning cosplayer. Blair has participated in amateur costuming competitions since the late '90s. At his first Comic-Con appearance, he won Best in Show for a massive Giant Robo costume. He's become well known for specializing in robot costumes.

But this year, Blair decided to do something different. He created an original 7-foot rock monster as an homage to the popular Masquerade "rock" chant. This year, he took home three awards including Best Original Design. Here is his routine, posted to YouTube by a member of the audience. You can see many of his other costumes in fan videos posted online.

Congratulations to Blair and all the other creative cosplayers who make the Comic-Con Masquerade a must-see event every year.

For me, the San Diego Comic-Con is all about the contribution of artists to the realm of the Fantastic. While most of the ateendees battle lines at Hall H for the Hollywood studio panels (that hardly ever hit the right note for the genre), I look forward to meeting the real artists in the industry. This year my focus is on the hard working woman of horror cinema. My interviews at this year's Comic-Con range from horror icons such as Elvira, to great solid actress like the amazing Ashley Laurence (Hellraiser), to well know horror expert Jovanka Vuckovic editor-in-chief of Rue Morgue magazine and many more! Let's celebrate the Girl Power of horror cinema!

Every year Comic-Con invites special guests and puts a spotlight on them in solo panels. This year one of the special guests was cartoonist Mike Peters, creator of Mother Goose and Grimm and award-winning editorial cartoonist. In his solo panel, Peters delighted the audience with the most roundabout, rambling yet hilarious tales about his life. Panel moderator Mark Evanier only got to ask about three questions in the hour-long panel, and I'm not even sure any of them got answered. But it didn't matter because Peters was such an energetic and entertaining speaker. He talked about his mom and her TV show, about having a severe stuttering problem and being cross-eyed, and about returning to his school twenty years after graduating to be inducted into their hall of fame. The way Peters' mind hopscotches around and the details that he focuses in on provide a small clue to the way his creative process must function as he comes up with editorial cartoons and ideas for Mother Goose and Grimm. Click on the video above for his answer to Evanier's question about where he was from. The look on Evanier's face reflects the fact that Peters would just go off on a tear and only occasionally return to the question at hand. But then sometimes it's not the destination that's important but rather the journey and how much fun you had getting there. Peters provides a great trip.

Thanks to Comic-Con for clips from their spotlight panel for our news coverage.

I like the way Rick Baker -- make up artist extraordinaire -- keeps it real. Sure he uses computer effects to make his make up work even better, but  he doesn't rely solely on CGI. Baker was at Comic-Con to discuss his work on the new Wolf Man starring Benicio Del Toro movie for Universal. I caught up with to talk about Guillermo Del Toro and CGI.

Samuel L. Jackson was a major presence at two panels this year at Comic-Con. He appeared on the Afro Samurai: Resurrection panel and on the panel for Frank Miller's adaptation of Will Eisner's The Spirit. If you haven't checked out Afro Samurai --the American made, anime style SPIKE TV series -- make an effort. It is awesome. Jackson is a popular celebrity at the Con because he seems to enjoy the fan interaction, and the characters he's played have become such iconic figures in pop culture. Someone at The Spirit panel asked him about all the action figures that have been made of his characters -- Shaft, Mace Windu, Afro Samurai and maybe upcoming ones for Nick Fury and the Octopus (the villain he plays in The Spirit). Jackson voiced preference for Mace as an action figure (because of all the various figures available) but says he has all his figures displayed. Jackson went on to discuss the comic book characters he has played, even though some of them began as white characters in the original comics.

Thanks to Comic-Con for video clips of the panel for our news coverage.

We posted a video of Neil Gaiman recounting his first introduction to Tori Amos' music more than a decade ago at Comic-Con. Now check out the panel Tori Amos was on at this year's Comic-Con where she discussed the gorgeous Image Comics book Comic Book Tattoo, inspired by her songs. Rantz Hoseley joins her on the panel. Amos explains how she got to play "S&M artist with corporate." She also describes the special, limited edition version of the book. Sounds decadent.

Thanks to Comic-Con for clips of the panel for our news coverage.

I have had a few discussions over Comic-Con weekend about which upcoming movie best embodies what comic books and Comic-Con have to offer the big screen. Almost everyone narrows the field down to two: The Spirit and The Watchmen. The Spirit is an old comic book series created by the grandfather of comics, Will Eisner, about a detective turned masked vigilante. It is directed by Frank Miller (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, 300) who is more well known for his comic book writing than his movie making. He was recently very involved in Robert Rodriguez’s adaptation of Sin City. And so far, The Spirit looks a whole lot like Sin City. The movie stars Gabriel Macht (Because I Said So), Samuel Jackson (Snakes on a Plane, Pulp Fiction) and Scarlett Johansson (The Island, The Prestige). I plan to see the movie, it looks like it could be good. But ultimately it’s a comic book for which I have only a passing knowledge. A good friend attended the panel and was underwhelmed by both the 2007 and 2008 Comic-Con panel. I see most big budget sci-fi, fantasy, secret agent, and comic book hero movies. I usually find something to really like about them, so I am cautiously optimistic.

Moving on to The Watchmen...

Universal's The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor opens today. Universal presented a panel on the film at Comic-Con but was tight-lipped about who would attend. It turned out that just about everyone from the film was there, most notably making their first Comic-Con appearances were Asian superstars Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li. When asked why he took the role of the evil emperor, Li candidly confessed it was for the money. I'm not sure Universal wanted such honesty. KPBS didn't have any cameras at the panel (because we didn't know who was going to be there and if it would be worth it) but Universal provided backstage footage. And backstage can be quite a scene as a press line -- that's elbow to elbow camera crews waiting as celebs are ushered through spending some 3.5 minutes with each journalist, and practically stepping on each other as they pass through. It's a media circus and the noise level can get quite high as a dozen journalists all ask the same questions, and actors and directors try to keep their energy levels up for good 30 second bites. I pulled a sound bite from the ever elegant Michelle Yeoh, who has the poise and grace to look and sound good even in these crazy circumstances, and from the manic Brendan Fraser who seems downright giddy as he bounces down the press reception line. I would have pulled something from Jet Li but he still doesn't seem comfortable with his English and he seemed unwilling to give the Universal person the answers she was seeking. When she asked if the Comic-Con crowd impressed him, he said no; when she asked if he was excited about the film and the fans, he said he just wanted to get done with his job. The requisite enthusiasm was missing from his comments and after seeing the film I can fully understand why. Anyway, I wanted to share this backstage view provided by Universal so you can get a feel for what it's like. Next year I think I'll film the media circus rather than try and get a three and a half minute interview. I also threw in a clip of the Jet Li - Michelle Yeoh fight.

I made it into the Friday afternoon panel for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, the new Joss Whedon project, available exclusively on the Internet.  The stars of the project, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day were all in attendance, as well as the creative team, led by Whedon himself.

Eisner judges must read hundreds of books before voting for nominees in April (Beth Accomando)

The San Diego Comic-Con played host to the 20th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards on Friday July 25. The Awards are named in honor of pioneering comic book artist and writer Will Eisner. The Eisner Awards are often referred to as the "Oscars" of the comic industry. You can check out this year's winners or go behind the scenes to find out how the noiminations are determined.

Harold and Kumar had a presence at this year's Comic-Con. You could get your photo taken with a unicorn at their booth; buy the DVD or Blu Ray release of Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo before it came out in stores; snap a pic in a GB style prison cell complete with dirty toilet; get an orange jumpsuit; or ask questions of stars Kal Penn and John Cho at their panel. The suprise success of the first indie film, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, has paved the way for an unlikely pot comedy franchise. At the Comic-Con panel, director Jon Hurwitz talked about how the film's success allowed them to pack this new DVD/Blu Ray release with extras to please the loyal fan base. Here are a few highlights, plus you can find out if Penn and Cho are anything like their on-screen characters.

Thanks to Comic-Con for access to panel footage for our news coverage.

At Comic-con, I saw the pilot episode of Fringe, J.J. Abrams’ new television show. This was the first time that Comic-Con scheduled programming for the relatively new Wednesday preview night at the Con. They had 2 showings, but could have condensed it to one since neither screening was very full. I think everyone was a little exhausted from waiting in line for hours to get their badges and a quick burst of maniacal exploration of the exhibit hall. There were also three screenings of Fringe on Thursday night at a downtown movie theatre. After the Q&A panel there was a scavenger hunt that culminated in an outdoor screening of the pilot.

The show was good. My snap summation: The X-Files meets Numb3rs. I don’t want to give away too much. If you are one of those people (like me) who doesn’t want to read any spoilers… maybe you should'nt read on.