Comic-Con Is Back!

CBS heroes and the anti-heroes of Showtime will make their mark at Comic-Con 2010 in San Diego.

It runs from July 21-25.

The CBS presence, through panels, a booth, autograph signings and a joint "Fandemonium" party with Entertainment Weekly, will provide Comic-Con fans with multiple opportunities to engage with CBS and Showtime Networks' popular stars and creative teams.

"The Early Show" will be there. S[ecial correspondent and "Superfan" Tyler McGill will mix with the ultimate fans of pop culture and report live from the convention on Friday, July 23. It will be his fourth special assignment for the show since his on-air debut last month, when he discussed his 218-mile walk from Boston to New York to win Celtics playoff tickets.

The Showtime and CBS panels will include a session on the three-time Emmy Award-nominated and Peabody Award-winning series "Dexter"; a special Showtime anti-hero panel featuring the stars and creative talent behind some of television's most subversive characters, including "Weeds," "Nurse Jackie" and "Californication"; a session on the highly-anticipated return of the iconic series "Hawaii Five-0"; and CBS's "Teching Out on TV" panel comprised of stars who play the beloved tech-geek characters on "NCIS," "NCIS: LA" and "Criminal Minds," to be joined by both the creator and technical expert behind "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Entertainment Weekly and CBS will jointly celebrate all things pop culture -- including the fans -- at their "Fandemonium" event on Thursday, July 22. The party will bring together stars from CBS's primetime line-up, EW.com bloggers Michael Ausiello and Jeff "Doc" Jensen, and fans attending the convention for an evening of fun, food, drinks and a live Q&A moderated by Entertainment Weekly Managing Editor, Jess Cagle.

At the CBS booth, a fun mix of CBS and Showtime talent and producers will sign autographs. Among many giveaways and contests will be the chance to win a vacation getaway to the filming location of "Hawaii Five-0," on the island of Oahu. The cast will be on-hand exclusively to sign free, specially-produced Comic-Con-"Hawaii Five-0" collectors' posters.

Since no one would savor Comic-Con more than the brilliant and quirky characters on the phenomenally popular CBS comedy series "The Big Bang Theory," it's more than fitting that, in conjunction with Warner Bros. Television, the celebrated series' cast will interact with fans at the CBS booth, the Warner Bros. booth and the CBS/Entertainment Weekly "Fandemonium" party. On Friday, July 23, the cast will participate in Warner Bros. Television's "The Big Bang Theory" panel.

Those who can't attend Comic-Con can follow the extensive on-site video and text coverage on CBS Interactive's TV.com and Gamespot.com. TV.com's editorial team will provide round-the-clock coverage of the biggest news on the hottest television shows at the convention, including interviews and coverage broadcast from the CBS booth on the exhibit floor. GameSpot.com, covering Comic-Con from a video game perspective, will feature stage demonstrations as well as interviews with the biggest movers and shakers in the gaming industry.

Additionally, Showtime Networks' SHO.com is launching a dedicated Comic-Con micro site that will host the season five "Dexter" trailer and content from the anti-hero panel, both to be showcased after their respective panels.

Showtime's anti-hero messaging will be prominently featured throughout Comic-Con with high-impact advertising both inside and outside of the convention center. The official lanyards for the over 130,000 Comic-Con attendees will be branded by Showtime's anti-hero creative, and in a media company first, so will every shuttle bus at Comic-Con.

Showtime will also launch "Dexter Game On" DexterGameOn.com, an interactive game exclusively for Comic-Con where players will step into Dexter's mind and unlock content from season five.
As devoted "Dexter" fans know, all of Dexter's victims are marked with a small incision on their right cheek, and fans at Comic-Con can show their love for the series by sporting a "Dexter" cheek slash tattoo. SHOWTIME will distribute over 100,000 lick-'n-stick tattoos throughout all four days of Comic-Con.

Fans are encouraged to take pictures of themselves at various locations around the convention and upload them to the "Dexter Game On" site. As they play throughout the weekend, gamers have the chance to unlock exclusive content and pick up "Dexter"-themed merchandise including season four DVDs.