Female superheroes invaded Comic-Con Thursday morning, as ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY hosted a panel “Wonder Women: Female Power Icons in Pop Culture”, with ZOE SALDANA, ELIZABETH MITCHELL, ELIZA DUSHKU and SIGOURNEY WEAVER in Ballroom 20, a 4,000 seat venue at the mega-convention.

WEAVER took time to greet her boisterous fans, saying it was her pleasure to finally get to the show.  It was the first appearance for WEAVER, whose portrayal of RILEY was hailed as the signature role for women superheroes by the moderator.  RIPLEY has been voted by a number of magazines as the best female super hero in movies or television, second only to CLINT EASTWOOD, though WEAVER said she thought RIPLEY ‘could kick CLINT’S ass.”  And we believe her.

SALDANA played UHURA in the fantastic, 2009 JJ ABRAM’S resurrection of the STAR TREK franchise, and will appear in JAME’S CAMERON’S AVATAR, also featured at this convention.  ELIZA stars in DOLLHOUSE, and was featured in an autograph session and panel with creator JOSS WHEDON where an unaired episode was screened.  ELIZABETH MITCHELL is the star of LOST, and the upcoming sci-fi television series, V.

But that was just a tiny fraction of the star power at this once comic book show, now turned entertainment super carnival.

Superman BRANDON ROUTH was there to preview DEAD OF NIGHT; ROBERT DOWNEY Jr. was there in dual capacities, talking about SHERLOCK HOLMES with RACHEL McADAMS, and sneaking IRONMAN 2 with SCARLETT JOHANSSON; JOHNNY DEPP made a surprise appearance to help promote ALICE IN WONDERLAND; hottie MEGAN FOX was there in support of JENNIFER’S BODY, a Fox horror release set for September;

the TWILIGHT trio, ROBERT PATTINSON, TAYLOR LAUTNER and KRISTEN STEWART were there hawking NEW MOON; some famous directors made their way to San Diego, including JAMES CAMERON with clips from AVATAR, PETER JACKSON with clips from DISTRICT 9, TIM BURTON with scenes from ALICE IN WONDERLAND, and anime legend HAYAO MIYAZAKI, with snippets from PONYO; CAMERON DIAZ was there in her first con to talk about THE BOX; DENZEL WASHINGTON and GARY OLDMAN appeared for THE BOOK OF ELI,; JIM CAVIEZEL was pumped up THE PRISONER;  as were a host of other prominent, and not so prominent celebrities-like ADAM WEST from the original TV series, BATMAN, or BILL MUMY of LOST IN SPACE television fame.

We relished the chance to speak with the creative team from DRAWN TOGETHER, a now cancelled, wacky Comedy Central animated spoof on reality shows like THE SURREAL LIFE.  Creators DAVE JESSER and MATTHEW SILVERSTEIN, who were also the creative team behind CRANK YANKERS, were at Comic-Con to launch a DRAWN TOGETHER DVD coming in March 2010.  THE DRAWN TOGETHER MOVE: THE MOVIE picks up where the series left off, with the characters, which were on hand for a panel, learning of the series cancellation, and fighting to get DRAWN TOGETHER back on the air. 

JESS HARNELL (CAPTAIN HERO), TARA STRONG (TOOT), JAMES ARNOLF TAYLOR (numerous voices) and CREE SUMMER (FOXXY LOVE) performed a table read of a proposed 3-D sex scene from the upcoming film, with Comedy Central executives in the audience gauging the crowd’s reaction.

On Friday, the cast of THE BIG BANG THEORY got the rock star treatment, as 4,000 screaming fans, and several hundred others who didn’t get into the ballroom, rejoiced in a big BANG love fest.

Each of the cast, including recent Emmy nominee JIM PARSONS, was on hand to talk about the show, upcoming story lines, and the wave of success for BIG BANG.  In addition to the Emmy nod, CBS recently announced it had renewed the comedy for not 1, but 2 additional seasons, filling out the eye networks comedy juggernaut on Monday nights.

Kathy Najimy, voice of Peggy Hill from King of the Hill and Mary from WALL-E, among other animated rolls, was on hand to sign autographs and pose for pictures with her fans.

There were plenty of stars, and lots of entertainment news at Comic-Con 2009, but the real attraction of the convention is the fans, and their astounding commitment to their favorite shows and characters.  Costumes of all kinds filled the halls, and spilled over into the Gaslamp District.  Friday was STAR WARS day at the show, and there were dozens of storm troopers and Darth Vaders roaming the galaxy, ur, the convention floor. 

Even superwomen need to recharge in between panels at COMIC CON.

On Thursday, in conjunction with WOODY HARRELSON’S upcoming ZOMBIELAND, hundreds of convention-goers, made up like Zombies courtesy of SONY Pictures, marched down Broadway in downtown San Diego, in a poignant if not terrifying tribute to horror films, sci-fi, Halloween make-up, Hollywood and Comic-Con itself.  Restaurant patrons gawked, commuters screeched to a halt in rush hour traffic, media crews scrambled for the perfect shot, and studio execs were slapping each other on the back.

That’s entertainment, Comic-Con style, 2009.