"Eclectic" San Diego preview: Writing for Publishers Weekly (subscription required), Heidi MacDonald previews the July 22-25 Comic-Con International, which she says, "promises to be the biggest, most eclectic show ever":

"As always, San Diego's guest list is wide-ranging; this year it includes everyone from Hellboy creator Mike Mignola to veteran classic comics master Will Eisner (whose next book will published by W.W. Norton) to Jean Schulz, widow of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. Special tributes and spotlights for 2004 include the 90th birthday of legendary animator Bob Clampett; the 75th anniversaries of both Popeye and Tintin; and the 20th anniversary of comics creator Stan Sakai's acclaimed funny animal samurai tale, Usagi Yojimbo.

"While guests from the world of literary science fiction and fantasy have always attended, this year's line-up is, yet again, bigger than ever. Whiz kid Christopher Paolini (Eragon) will be appearing, and Del Rey Books is sponsoring a sizable contingent that includes authors Stephen Barnes, China Mieville, Terry Brooks and Timothy Zahn. Bestselling book author Brad Meltzer will be appearing at the DC booth to tout his new comics miniseries, Identity Crisis, a tense superhero murder mystery."

PW also notes the increased manga presence at this year's convention, including rare appearances by creators Santa Inoue, Monkeypunch and Park Sang Sun.