It's that time of year again. Comic-Con International, formerly and more lovingly known as San Diego Comic Con (SDCC), kicks off Wednesday, July 20th with a special preview night followed by the official opening on Thursday, July 21st and three more jam-packed days of previews, panels, exclusives and excitement. The largest comic book and popular arts convention in the world, this event brings in fans and creators from all over the world, as well as all major publishers, movie studios, and video game companies.

ComicMonsters.com reporters Stephanie Shamblin Gray (that's me) and Brian Gray will be in attendance and reporting breaking horror news as it happens. There will also be posted a daily report with additional pictures and information from San Diego. While we will still be bringing you updates and the latest information from the panels, we are expanding our coverage this year to include horror cos-players and more general images from the event. Readers always ask us about all the costumes, so we will photograph those who will let us and show you our favorites.

Anyone looking for additional information on the event should visit the Comic-Con International main page at http://www.comic-con.org/cci/ . Readers who have passes should make sure to check the programming schedule at  http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_prog.php to ensure they don’t miss their favorite panel. There are so many panels of interest for horror fans that many will take place at the same time.  In a cruel programming decision, SDCC scheduled both "The Walking Dead" panel and the "Locke & Key" screening and panel at the same time! Luckily, there will be an encore screening of "Locke & Key" later that day.

For those of you considering attending next year, start planning early and be diligent!The 4-day passes for 2011 sold out as soon as they were available for purchase, so be sure to follow Comic-Con International on Twitter @Comic_con (notice the underscore) and on Facebook as Comic-Con International for instant notifications. In the meantime, keep checking back here and the rest of the Horror News Network sites starting on Thursday, July 21st for horror news, updates, and stories from San Diego Comic Con 2011!

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