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NEW YORK (July 19, 2010) – Entertainment Weekly is preparing to invade Comic-Con for the fourth consecutive year with a fully loaded arsenal: two highly anticipated panels, a photo and digital studio, a special Comic-Con edition Must List App, a street team offering access to exclusive content, an event sponsored by CBS celebrating the fans, as well as our fourth annual exclusive soirée co-hosted with Syfy.

In addition, Entertainment Weekly is publishing its third annual Comic-Con preview package jam-packed with sneak peeks at some of the most highly anticipated TV shows and movies including Sucker Punch, Thor, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 Motion Comic, Tron: Legacy, Paul, The Walking Dead, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and cover star Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern.  In this exclusive first look at next summer’s Green Lantern, the newest superhero opens up about the perils of performing flying stunts at 60 feet per second. “The first time you do it, you’re deeply considering an adult diaper,” he says.” With his wife Scarlett Johansson playing Black Widow in the Iron Man franchise, he says, “We have a lot of comic books lying around the house – more than the average young married couple.”   He also muses about the merchandising blitz that this summer tentpole movie will eventually unleash: “There’ll be Green Lantern hubcaps,” he says drily. “The Green Lantern terry-cloth onesie. The Green Lantern prostate check.” Ten thousand copies of the fan favorite issue will be distributed at the Warner Bros. booth in the Convention Center.

EW is also publishing a special Comic-Con iPad/iPhone edition of our popular Must List app, our weekly guide to the 10 movies, TV shows, books, hit singles, web videos and more that every pop culture junkie needs to know about. This bonus Must List will feature the hottest projects heading to San Diego, including Tron: Legacy, True Blood, Halo: Reach, and Hawaii Five-0.  Download it for free on iTunes (iPad or iPhone/iPod touch) starting Tuesday, July 20.

Building on our extensive presence at Comic-Con, for the first time this year, Entertainment Weekly will unleash a street team outside the convention center. The squad will distribute thousands of cards with an address to a URL featuring an exclusive sit down interview with geek gods J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon.  This will allow all of the fans that are not able to attend the festivals most talked about panel to experience what’s sure to be a fun conversation with these two visionaries.  The cards will also feature a Microsoft 2D Tag, allowing people to simply snap a picture with their phone and go directly to this special URL.  The tags will enhance the fan’s experience and bring EW’s content to life with this interactive element.   The web page will also offer users a special subscription offer.

“We’re beyond excited to be back at Comic-Con in a big way this year” said Jess Cagle, Entertainment Weekly Managing Editor.  “Comic-Con focuses on all genres of entertainment – and so do we.  And it’s a celebration for the fans which makes it incredibly special.”

Entertainment Weekly’s Comic-Con panels will surely be the talk of the convention as they bring together some of the best and brightest creators in television and movies to discuss the work that’s being done in their respective fields.  Video highlights—as well as the entire panels—will be available on EW.com.  The first of these panels will be Entertainment Weekly Presents … The Visionaries: A discussion with geek gods J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) and Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) on the Future of Pop Culture which the LA Times just recently referred to as “Nerdvana.”  EW’s Jeff “Doc” Jensen will moderate an in-depth conversation with these two creative geniuses about how technology, gaming, and global culture are reshaping how we tell and consume stories on television, film and the web. Plus: Is the superhero movie waning or is it on the cusp of reinvention? And what do they think the pop culture universe will look like a decade from now? This panel will take place at 3:30pm on Thursday, July 22.

Next up, Entertainment Weekly senior writer Nicole Sperling will moderate Entertainment Weekly presents … Women Who Kick Ass: A New Generation Of Heroines. EW moderates this discussion with Jena Malone (Sucker Punch), Anna Torv (Fringe), Elizabeth Mitchell (V), and Ellen Wong and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) about the next generation of female action heroes and the power and privilege of playing young women who are nobody’s arm candy. This panel will be at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, July 23.

EW.com continues to be THE online destination for Comic-Con coverage in 2010 with breaking news and regular updates from the convention floor via our award-winning PopWatch blog (EW.com/PopWatch) and Twitter stream (@EW). Plus, we’ve got exclusive video interviews, first looks, and image galleries from the EW Photo Studio at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego. This year, the site will take viewers inside Entertainment Weekly’s own video conversations with the casts of “Dexter,” “True Blood,” “Green Lantern,” “Glee,” “Captain America,” “The Expendables,” and much more.

For the first time, Entertainment Weekly and CBSwill join forces to celebrate the fans.  The “fandemonium” event will bring together EW.com bloggers Michael Ausiello and Jeff “Doc” Jensen as well as fans attending the convention for an evening of fun, food, drinks and a live Q & A with stars from CBS’s prime-time line-up.  The panel will be moderated by Entertainment Weekly Managing Editor, Jess Cagle.    EW readers have been given a first-come first-served opportunity to win tickets to this event via Twitter in response to Tweets from Michael Ausiello and Jeff “Doc” Jensen.

For the fourth year in a row, Entertainment Weekly and Syfy will partner to celebrate all things pop culture at Comic-Con 2010 with our exclusive event, which Variety has referred to as Comic-Con’s “hottest ticket.”  Hollywood luminaries and the genre’s most elite will enjoy music, food, cocktails and views of downtown San Diego.  This event is invitation-only.

Media Contact:                              

Suzy Berkowitz Weksel
212-522-2752
Suzy_berkowitz-weksel@ew.com