If you enjoy any of those people, shows, books, characters, etc., click here to view my photos from Comic-Con 2008.

I may be exhausted, overwhelmed, exhilarated and overstimulated, but the experience far exceeded my expectations. I would like to truly thank those of you who read along or sent encouraging emails and Tweets; they really made me feel like I wasn’t attending alone.  And a huge note of appreciation to my brother-in-law John, who not only drove several hours to join me on Friday, but promoted the hell out of my Lost blog while collecting swag for my nephews all day. I had as much fun watching him in action as I did attending most panels.

Phew. Bring on SDCC 2009.

The entire cast was on hand, and we were treated to the debut of the first episode of Season 3. In a word? Stellar. A vast improvement from last season, and quite possibly the best episode of Heroes since the pilot. There were essential ‘wow’ moments, as well as some comic relief.  They have really kicked it up a notch with regard to advancing the story and growth of certain characters. 

It was obvious that Zachary Quinto (Sylar) and Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli) were fan favorites, as well as James Kyson Lee (Ando).

I’m not comfortable posting spoilers, but I definitely encourage all new and current Heroes fans to have faith and tune in when it comes back in September. It looks like the journey and ride will be more than worth your time and TiVO.

For those of you who are interested, here is my report about today’s official Lost panel, featuring photos and a link to the brand new Dharma video.

I am now officially done with Comic-Con 2008. In a few hours I will be attending the Pop Candy party, and then it’s time to sleep for two days.

Thanks for following along!

- Jo

I am running on fumes and will be getting up at 5am to return to the convention center to get in line for tomorrow’s Lost panel. HOWEVER, this was an unbelievedable day, and I will attempt to summarize while it’s still fresh.

If I counted the two hours I spent during Preview Night last night, technically this report would be from Day 2.  Either way, I will attempt to summarize my Comic-Con experience thus far.  And please excuse the lack of close-up photos, as well as those with less than stellar quality; even after waiting in lines for each panel, I was not able to secure great seats all day and some pictures are of the screen.

By the way, I am not using the word ‘dork’ in a disparaging way in the title of this post. I feel quite conservative among the very devoted and disguised; it is intended as a complement.

In three words: overwhelmed, ill-prepared and crowded.

This has been everything I expected (the costumes and long lines) and more (casually meeting very cool people I admire).

In addition to the panels, here were some highlights from the day:

a) The  surprise guest appearance by Stan Lee at the’ LGBT in Comics’ panel [see yellow sweater below]! When a legend enters the room and speaks, it is electric. I had goosebumps. It sounds like he will be adapting a version of Perry Moore’s acclaimed young adult novel Hero [the lead character is a gay superhero, so I applaud Stan Lee for taking that risk with this genre].

b) Randomly running into and meeting one of my favorite TV reporters,  Kristin Dos Santos from E! online. She had just arrived, and even though she was about to moderate the Dexter panel, she took a moment to say hello to a dorky fan [hi, that would be me]. 

c) Meeting Lori Petty and getting an autographed Tank Girl photo for my best friend Jo [that's right, there are two of us; it's scary].

So, I attended 3 television panels today. This is exactly why I’m here; I get to sit down in an air conditioned room, watch exclusive clips and interact with the cast & crew of some of my favorite shows.

THE MIDDLE MAN
If you’re not already watching this, set your TiVO. It might be the only series I watch that deserves to be described as ‘fun” (imagine Alias if Sydney Bristow were younger…and had a sense of humor). At the panel, they showed a few scenes from upcoming episodes, followed by a Q&A with creator/exec producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach and lead actor Matt Keeslar. Although I wasn’t able to properly form my question due to nerves, I had the opportunity to ask Javi if he was enjoying the lighter tone of The Middle Man compared to his previous stints working on Lost and Medium. The answer was yes, even if I didn’t phrase the question correctly. Overall, it was a a very entertaining hour.

TRUE BLOOD
You may not have heard of this one yet, because it premieres this fall on HBO. From Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball, it is a new series based on the graphic novels of Charlaine Harris. In addition to Ball and Harris, the new cast was on hand to field questions from fans who are obviously emotionally invested in the books. They premiered the trailer, which looks damn good (and frankly, HBO is in dire need of a new high quality series and hit).  Anna Paquin plays the lead, and not only is she blond (see photo below), she appears to have lost her New Zealand accent completely. Whatever, she was born in Canada anyway. Regardless…I will be on board for a Season Pass when this debuts. Oh, and here’s a new catchphrase that made me laugh: fangbanging. That’s right, this one involves vampires, but not in a traditional way…

DEXTER
First of all, I love the new slogan for Season 3:

Now I will state the obvious. Michael C. Hall is amazing (as well as quite fit and charming in person), and Julie Benz is beautiful. I look forward to further development of her character on the show, and to watching Dexter unravel in the aftermath of Doakes and Lila.

We got to see a preview of the upcoming season, and it looks just as fantastic as the first two. Bonus: Jimmy Smits has joined the cast!

I’m sure I’m forgetting details, but I’m adjusting and adapting as I go, and must get some sleep before another big day. Tomorrow I am thrilled to be joined by my brother-in-law, who speaks the same pop culture language and is a huge sci-fi geek. Team JOpinionated will be in the house!

In addition to the ‘EW Visionaries: Showrunners’ panel featuring the Lost exec producers, I will be attending a panel featuring author Max Brooks, author of The Zombie Survival Guide and a college friend whom I haven’t seen in 14  years. I’m sure he’ll be quite surprised to see me, especially in this capacity.  The Bones panel will be the last of the day for me.

Phew. The lines and crowds only increase from here.  Bring it on. I’m having a hell of a good time.

AND, believe it or not I plan to attend panels relating to shows other than Lost. So there.

Bye bye, San Diego.

I haven’t quite figured out how I am going to endure the sheer physical nature of this 4-day endeavor among 125,000 other pop culture freaks, but I know it will involve plenty of time sitting down in long lines, tons of water, Luna bars, my iPod & laptop, a rolling backpack and stacks of freshly printed professional postcards marketing yours truly.

I’m tired just typing that out. Imagine how I am going to feel when I’m there…