So you can't be at Comic-Con this year. So what? INFUZE is here to bring Comic-Con to you.

This is INFUZE creator and EIC Robin Parrish coming to you live from gorgeous San Diego, California. I am here until Sunday with my pal Doug Kline, reporting on the one and only, the biggest pop culture event in the world... Comic-Con International!

I won't bore you with details of my travels; unlike the nightmare I had a few weeks ago trying to get to E3 in Los Angeles thanks to the uber-evil American Airlines (yes, I'm still bitter), all of today's travels went down smoother than Lindsay Lohan at an open bar. I will, however, share with you a few nifty photos I took from the air as we were making our descent into San Diego, which afforded me a great first look at the S.D. Convention Center, where Comic-Con takes place, along with some amazing clouds that we flew through.

Instead, I'm going to regale you a quick primer on what to expect from this year's Comic-Con. The festivities begin tonight with "Preview Night," when the exhibit hall floor is opened for a few hours so week-long attendees can get in before the mad crowds get in on things starting Thursday morning.

So what's the what with this year's Comic-Con?

For starters, as always, the next set of big blockbuster films and this fall's hottest TV shows will be previewed with exclusive news and information, and if we're very lucky, actual footage that's only available to everyone here (you won't see it on YouTube, unless some naughty person manages to stealthily shaky-cam record it from their seat in the audience -- a major no-no that magically summons the Comic-Con Photography Nazis, yet nonetheless happens pretty much every year). Among the sessions I'm most looking forward to, include those devoted to: Indiana Jones IV, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Iron Man, Pixar's Wall-E, J.J. Abrams' new Star Trek movie, the TV new seasons of Lost, Heroes, and Galactica, and the buzz-heavy new ABC fantasy/comedy Pushing Daisies.

Then there's the comic book industry itself, which is enjoying quite the renaissance these days. Not since the "golden age" of comics has the art form been so popular. From major titles from other mediums crossing over into the comic book world (such as Halo, Dark Tower, and Season 8 of Buffy), to big events like the death of Captain America drawing major media publicity to comic books on the whole, things are looking up -- way up -- for comic book publishers these days.

But wait, there's more. Video Game publishers are here too. Not all of them, but quite a lot of the majors are putting in appearances. And in our new, post-MinE3 video gaming climate, this kind of gigantic expo had to seem like the best alternative to game publishers itching to get their games in front of tons of new eyeballs all at one time. How will the game publishers step up their presence at Comic-Con this year? Based on the number of invitations I've received to private cocktail receptions and the like, I'd say we're going to see some of those gigantic booths that used to be at E3 turning up at Comic-Con instead. (Just so long as they leave the booth babes at home. Please? Pretty please? It reflects so poorly on the whole industry. And don't you hate it when one moron makes everybody look bad?)

In addition to all that, INFUZErs Leo Partible and myself are both serving on panels at Comic-Con this year! Sadly, our respective panels are both scheduled to take place at the same time, so I won't be able to attend Leo's and vice versa. But we'll be out there, spreading the word about what we do, and that's exciting in and of itself.

Speaking of INFUZE, Doug and I will be bringing you hundreds upon hundreds of photos (including all those wonderful in-costume attendees), full reports on all the big announcements and news from the show, and yes even some video footage from the show floor and the sessions (but don't worry, CCI, we don't record footage from the big screens!).

So sit back and relax, dear reader.

The fun starts now.

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