Our "A to Z" Guide to Comic Con International 2011: "Being Human," "Fright Night," "Spartacus" and More

Since its humble beginnings in the early 1970s, San Diego's Comic-Con International has risen to become a powerhouse pop-culture event, unrivaled in its capacity to generate buzz for both upcoming Hollywood films and new and returning TV series going into the fall season.

Beginning Wednesday evening, San Diego will become a hub of frenzied activity as fans, press, studio executives and celebrities descend to survey, cover and promote a slew of high-profile Tinseltown projects for four wild days of geek-centric excitement.

So pray for me, friends, as I'll be just a speck among the maddened throngs ducking and shoving and clawing my way into every event that I can, all with the noble end goal of dislodging whatever valuable nuggets of information I can manage in order to sate the curiosity of AE readers.

In the meantime, feel free to peruse our "A-Z" guide to the convention, where I've highlighted 26 panel discussions at this year's Comic Con that focus on some of the most buzz-worthy films and TV series the pop-cultural landscape currently has on offer. Also, make sure to check back throughout the week (both here and on our Facebook page) for Comic Con news as it comes in.

Andrew Garfield as Spiderman

Andrew Garfield

Like fellow cutie Tobey Maguire before him, Garfied will be showing off every angle of his sexy bod when he suits up in those iconic red-and-blue tights for the upcoming 2012 reboot of Spider-Man, being helmed by 500 Days of Summer director Marc Webb. Garfield will be appearing in person for a panel discussion along with Webb and co-star Emma Stone for what's sure to be one of the hottest tickets at the convention.

Being Human

on the BBC really caught on with AE readers, mostly thinks to the ass-baring escapades of series regular Russell Tovey, and while I can't imagine the North American version will ever manage to live up to the original, it nevertheless boasts the not-inconsiderable sex appeal of lead actor Sam Witwer as vampire Aidan McCollin and the goofy charms of Sam Huntington (aka Not Russell Tovey) as werewolf Josh Radcliff. The two actors will be joining in a panel discussion with co-star Meaghan Rath and exec-producers Jeremy Carver and Anna Fricke to dish on the series' upcoming second season on Syfy.

Charlie's Angels

is yet another reboot of the iconic 1970s TV series, following the successful Drew Barrymore-led film franchise that had its last hurrah back in 2003. This time it's back to the small screen, with trio Minka Kelly, Annie Ngasi Ilonzeh and Rachael Taylor attempting to recreate the jiggly magic of the original show. The network is no doubt working these girls hard (it's a cornerstone of ABC's fall schedule), and they'll be taking questions along with new "Bosley" Ramon Rodriguez, who's sort of a younger, hotter version of predecessor David Doyle.

Dylan O'Brien

is one of those actors who could only pass for a "nerd" in the bizarro world of Hollywood, which is undoubtedly annoying for actual nerds but nevertheless perfect for his character on the new hit MTV series Teen Wolf, in which O'Brien co-stars as the awkward best friend of lead heartthrob Tyler Posey. O'Brien and Posey join the rest of the main cast, including Crystal Reed, Tyler Hoechlin, Holland Roden, and Colton Haynes, for a Q&A session with fans and a sneak peek at the remaining four episodes of Season One.

Dylan O'Brien

Elijah Wood

anchors his first-ever TV series with the new FX comedy/drama Wilfred, which for whatever reason is scheduled to have a presence at Con even though it has nothing to do with comic books, superheroes, sci-fi, or horror (although I guess you could make a case for "fantasy," what with the whole "talking dog" thing). Anyway, the eternally-youthful Wood will be engaging in a Q&A session following a screening of one of the show's upcoming episodes along with co-stars Fiona Gubelmann, Dorian Brown, and two of the show's producers, though I imagine he'll probably spend most of the time fending off annoying Hobbit questions.

Fright Night

is an inexplicably 3D remake of the "classic" 1985 horror-comedy, which is being released by Dreamworks on August 19th after an aggressive marketing push by the studio. In this version the yummy Colin Farrell stars as seductive vampire neighbor Jerry Dandridge, who succeeds in making life a living hell for co-stars Anton Yelchin, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and David Tennant (as a leather-clad Vegas magician). Though Tennant and Collette won't be attending the scheduled Q&A, James Franco's adorable younger bro Dave (co-starring as a high school bully) will no doubt fill the void quite nicely.

Dave Franco in Fright Night

Glee

is another title that has absolutely no business being at Comic Con (unless they're planning on having the kids do battle with dragons next season), and yet here it is, with fans of the smash hit Fox series being treated to a Q&A session with several stars from the show (no word yet on who, exactly) and creator/exec-producer Ryan Murphy, all following a sneak peek at footage from Glee: The 3D Concert Movie. Attendees can likely expect to be greeted with a wall of desperate, libidinous screams from an army of sweat-drenched 'tween girls on arrival.

Haywire

follows in the footsteps of director Steven Soderbergh's 2009 indie feature The Girlfriend Experience (which starred well-known porn actress Sasha Grey) in that it features another odd bit of casting – this time mixed-martial-artist Gina Carano, who enjoys her first leading role as a covert operative who's forced to protect her family and exact revenge after she's betrayed on a secret mission. Soderbergh and Carano will be at Con to chat about the film, which also stars heavyweights Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender and stripper-turned-actor Channing Tatum.

 Immortals

bills itself as "from the producers of 300", which about sums up the film's entire trailer as well, which is uncannily similar to that of the ab-ilicious 2007 Gerard Butler blockbuster. Nevertheless, it may be worth checking out for fans of homo-erotic swordplay and displays of chest-baring masculine bravado, and there to discuss the film will be several of the film's hot young stars, including Henry Cavill, Luke Evans, Stephen Dorff, and Twilight thesp Kellan Lutz (who's never met a staged-for-the-tabloids "beach day" he didn't like). Extra points if they all show up in togas.

Henry Cavill in The Immortals