What do a mother of three, a single mom of two, and a Junior High librarian have in common? All three traveled to San Diego, California, spent the night outdoors in line, and left significant others behind to see the cast of Twilight at Comic-Con 2009. They consider themselves 'Twi-hards', and were among the estimated 1,000 people who exchanged a warm comfy mattress for the cold hard ground outside the San Diego Convention Center to secure a good seat for the much anticipated Summit panel and preview presentation of The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

A diehard Twilight fan sleeping outside Comic Con 2009

Jenni Rathsman traveled from Phoenix, Arizona with her father as her companion to her first Twilight event. She left her husband on daddy-duty with their 5, 3 and 1 year old children. "My son totally supports my obsession. He'll tell me when "Eggward" is on TV!", she told me when I asked what her family thought about her trip to see the protagonists of her favorite movie.

Single mother of three Denise Parone-Brookes from Arlington, VA, brought her 18 year-old daughter as a graduation present. Her daughter wanted to come to her first Comic-Con, and the Twilight affair is "something for mom". Prone-Brooke's daughter did not spend the night in line for the vampire panel, but mom did!

Erika Gangnath ventured from our not-so-distant neighbor to the north, Anaheim, CA. She's a librarian at Brookhurst Junior High School, where she leads a book club she started with the Twilight book series. She currently has ten members, but the keeper of the school's books has been to thirty movie-related events like author signings, movies, DVD release parities, and Jason Rathbone's (Jasper) 100 Monkeys band concerts.

Jenni Rathsman (far right) with Twilight fans playing cards in the dead of night at Comic Con 2009

The Twilight Saga: New Moon panel discussion was scheduled to take place at 1:45pm the following day, but the line started forming around 8am the day before. Three other panel discussions were on the program before the long-awaited vampire reunion at the Convention Center, but since Hall H holds about 6,000 people and the hall is not emptied between presentations, these dedicated Twilighters were not about to leave things to fate to get a good view of their favorite cast members. The only way to secure a seat in the section closest to the stage, was to join the crowd who brought food, sleeping bags, a Twilight board game, (of course!) and stake their claim outside the glass doors.

Fans determined to get a good seat for the Twilight panel at Comic Con '09 brave the night outdoors 

When the cast was finally brought on stage after a 22 hour wait, fans got what they wanted: close to 45 minutes of Q&A with the cast --who were pretty candid with their responses-- plus never-before-seen footage of the upcoming movie to be released November 20th, 2009. One of the scenes in the movie features Taylor Lautner taking his shirt off, which elicited wild screams from the audience.

The cast of The Twilight Saga: New Moon at Comic Con 2009

When I asked Jenni what her husband thought about her fixation with this movie she said: "It's my husband's fault I'm here. He loves vampire movies and brought Twilight home for us to watch together one night. I thought I was going to fall asleep watching it, but instead, I fell in love".

Original Props, Costumes And Set Pieces From The Hit ABC Television Series "LOST" To Be On Display July 23-26, 2009...   more »

Comic-Con 2009 is poised to be bigger and better than ever, and this year some of the activities normally confined to the San Diego Convention Center's cavernous halls will be spilling out to other venues offering everyone a chance to be part of this exciting five-day pop-culture extravaganza. Forty years ago, what started as a small comic book convention has joined forces with the mighty LA studios to become a nation-wide hub for everything related to entertainment, a kind of college fair, but in a grand scale: movies, TV and cable channel shows, video games, comic book artists and creators of all skills and genres will converge in our fine city next week. 

Hollywood will be descending on our sleepy beach town in full force for four days, July 23 - 26, and has lined-up a host of exciting panels, previews, giveaways, and promotional celebrity appearances to try to get your attention for upcoming productions. Among the heavy weights returning to "The Con" this year are: Paramount's' Iron Man II, Summit's The Twilight Saga: New Moon, ABC's Lost, The Big Bang Theory, Nickelodeon and Disney.

Downtown clubs, hotel rooftops, movie screens, and bars will be hosting events for a variety of age ranges and interests; some gatherings are invitation only while others are open to the public. The complete events program has been published on-line at Comic-Con.org, and it's the best way to learn about all the happenings taking place in and around our bustling business district.

To help families with kids from elementary through high school ages, I've narrowed down some of the most popular activities at this year's Comic-Con for you to enjoy with your brood. This is not a comprehensive list by any means, only suggested activities to get you started once you've crossed into the Grand Hall and are greeted by the costumed humanity estimated to be in the 125,000 range this year.

Here's my suggested game plan:

Wednesday, July 22nd

Preview Night 6 - 9pm. This evening is only open to 4-day badge holders and press. Attendees will watch full pilot previews of "Human Target", "V" and "Vampire Diaries". A special  Madam Tussuad's "Wolverine" wax figure, as portrayed by Hugh Jackman, will be unveiled at this event. Fans will have a chance to see the wax statue during the regular convention.

Thursday, July 23rd

11am - Disney will be breaking ground with a first-ever 3D panel and 3D footage, including directors Robert Zemeckis and Tim Burton, showcasing upcoming 3D movies: Alice in Wonderland, Disney's A Christmas Carol, The Princess and the Frog, Ponyo and Toy Story. Hall H.

1:45pm - The return of Summit and the Twilight Saga: New Moon has created the most buzz around town. The loyal teen following the cast has garnered promises to make this a well attended panel. ("I want to start lining-up today", said my 14 year-old) If standing in line is not your thing, then you can attend the non-badge event that evening, The Twilight Experience, held at the Pacific Gaslamp Theater where for $10 you can purchase a ticket for an encore one-time simultaneous 15-screen showing of Twilight, with surprise cast members visiting each theater!

4:30pm - For the gamer in the family head on over to the Halo Franchise booth where Frank O'Connor will be discussing the future of this very successful video game and related merchandise.

Friday, July, 24th Star Wars Day

10am - Warner Brothers will present several upcoming movies: "Sherlock Holmes", "Where The Wild Things Are" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street".  Hall H.

1pm - With Jim Parsons's recent Emmy nomination for The Big Bang Theory, this cast will be a popular panel. Ballroom 20.

1:15pm - Warner Brothers and Entertainment Weekly (EW) "will invade Comic-Con" with the first of three celebrity-packed panels and a photo and digital studio. "Wonder Women: Female Power Icons in Pop Culture" include Sigourney Weaver (Avatar), Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost, V) and Zoe Zaldana (Avatar, Star Trek) discussing how women and their film characters have changed the rules and opened the path for all women.

3pm - 20th Century Fox and James Cameron present Avatar footage in 3D. Hall H

3:45pm - Sony Studios will present Legion and District 9 in Hall H.

6:15pm - Panelist will take part in a round-up of TV Guide Magazine's selection of TV shows. Ballroom 20.

Saturday, July 25th

10:30am - Are you ready kids? Nickelodeon will have their signature bright orange booth and panel discussions featuring voice talent, like Bill Fagerbakke the voice of Patrick, and show-writer Steven Banks, for the kid-favorite cartoon SpongeBob Squarepants. Room 6DE

11:15am - For the older teen set, swing by Cartoon Network's Family Guy area where Seth McFarlane and the crew will be doing live readings.

3:30pm - EW will host "The Lost" panel, consisting of senior Entertainment Weekly writers and  "Lost" experts, Jefferey "Doc" Jensen and Dan Snierson, who will provide fans with insight and theories about the ABC show's final season.

4pm - Head back to Hall H for Paramount's Iron Man II panel discussion. The sequel to the highly-successful Iron Man, which re-launched Robert Downey Jr. to fame, has Scarlett Johansen joining the cast.

6:30pm - EW presents James Cameron (Avatar) and Peter Jackson (producer of District 9) heading a panel discussion on the film industry's future, and the influence technology might have on how stories are told on-screen.

Sunday, July 26 Kids Day

Many kid-friendly activities will be held throughout the day; from learning to draw Star Wars characters and spaceships, making computer-based comic books, to watching an exclusive, never-before-seen SpongeBob episode, there's sure to be something for the little ones in your family.

10am - Disney's Phineas and Ferb creators' panel will offer behind the scenes information. 6DE

10am-5pm Children's Film Festival will feature over 60 films from all over the world. Room 10

11:15am  - Nickelodeon presents The Penguins of Madagascar screening. 6DE

12:30pm  - Scooby-Doo returns to television in Cartoon Network's Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins. Voice-cast, including the original voice of Scooby-Doo, will be part of the panel. 6DE

1pm - The Ghost Whisperer's Jeniffer Love Hewitt, and members of the show's cast will conduct a panel about this popular TV show. 6BCF

2pm - Twin, 14-year-old award-winning writers Brittany and Brianna Winner will discuss their successful "The Strand Prophecy" books, and talk with fans about making their dreams come true. Room 4

Again, this is a paired down sample of the mammoth pop art convention's schedule of events about to overtake downtown San Diego this week.

Hope to see you there!

This summer, one of the most entertaining activities families with teenagers can enjoy together is Comic-Con in San Diego, Ca., which is also celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year.  The yearly comic book convention had its humble beginnings with the comic book industry, but in recent years, this aspect of the convention has taken a back seat to the Hollywood movie industry’s take over of the exhibition halls at the San Diego Convention Center. Last year’s convention was completely sold out before the doors to the giant venue opened. This year, if you haven’t purchased your badges by now, I guess you’ll be joining the party outside of the modern building-- the event is already completely sold out! This annual convention has been called "Geekfest USA", and has a loyal throng of attendees who will sleep outside if they have to, in order to get a seat in a hall hosting one of the many movie discussion panels staffed by the film's celebs themselves.

To help celebrate Comic Con's 40th anniversary, many of the original members of Comic-Con will be on hand: Richard Alf, Bill Lund, Barry Alfonso, and George Clayton-Johnson who wrote a number of the classic Twilight Zone episodes, co-authored the novels Ocean's 11 and Logan's Run, and wrote the premiere episode of Star Trek. Bill Mummy is also scheduled to appear. Remember him? You would if you’re a forty or fifty-something. Mummy played Will Robinson in the television show Lost in Space!

In the last few years, Comic Con has become a prefered family attraction in Southern California. Families flock to this event partly due to the huge popularity of the exhibits mounted by Hollywood studios like Lionsgate, Disney, Sony, Nickelodeon, Summit, Universal and MGM, which were among last year’s movie companies. And it looks like they’ll be back in town again promoting their biggest upcoming films. Last year, San Diego’s Comic Con was the springboard for movie trailer premiers like Watchmen, UP, Bolt, and Terminator Salvation to name a few.

In 2008, Comic Con visitors also had the first look at Twilight’s cast and director, Catherine Hardwick. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were present at the panel discussions as hoards of teens jammed the hall to catch a glimpse of  author Stephanie Meyer's main characters come to life before them.  Summit's recent announcement that the cast from the Twilight saga's sequel, New Moon, will be showing up at the convention center this year already has teens salivating for the second movie, scheduled to be released in November.

Living in San Diego during the month of July is one of those rare times it has its perks (besides the year-round great weather!). July 23^rd through the 26^th, I’ll be ensconced in downtown San Diego, press badge securely clipped to my lanyard, where our fine city will be teaming with an ever growing assortment of Storm Troopers, Trekies, Captain Jacks, gooks, geeks, and a variety of video game costume characters only diehard gamers know and love.

I’ll be posting helpful information through out the next few weeks to try to help you, and your family, plan for this year’s Comic Con. Make sure to check back often. If you’ve already started to map out your strategy for this year's 'Con', share your tips! And, “may the force be with you” (and me!).