SAN DIEGO -- An invasion is coming, and it’s of epic proportions.

Hundreds of thousands of “visitors” from across the galaxy will descend on downtown San Diego taking over the entire convention center while filling up hotels, restaurants and bars. Don’t be shocked if you see a Jedi dining out with a Storm Trooper or Captain America and Superman grabbing a beer together.

It’s just Comic-Con International, the biggest comic book and pop culture phenomenon in the world.

If you think that Comic-Con is just a bunch of comic book dealers and guys in costumes running around; think again. Every major studio has a presence at this year’s event and A List talent (like Angelina Jolie) will be in attendance showing off upcoming movies and previews of this fall’s hottest new television shows.

It’s not all science fiction and fantasy either. TV comedies like “The Big Bang Theory” and “Glee” have been a huge hit at the event and dramas like “Bones,” “Burn Notice” and the upcoming remake of “Hawaii Five-0” are also on this year’s schedule of events.

Then there are the parties. Entertainment Weekly and Syfy are the highlight parties that everyone wants to be on the guest list for. However, if you don’t have tickets for the sell-out event, you can always get a taste of the fun in Hillcrest by going to Rich’s annual Heroes vs. Villains Comic-Con Party.

If you were lucky enough to get tickets before they sold out earlier this year, gay and lesbian fans can take part in the Gay in Comics panel on Saturday. That is followed by a mixer where fans from all across the country and from around the world can hang out and meet one another.

When it all comes down to it though, Comic-Con is really all about the fans. Every year the event sells out and to increase capacity, the convention has begun leasing ballroom space at hotels and other venues in downtown. In fact, the San Diego Convention Center is banking on keeping Comic-Con and the fans happy in America’s Finest City with a proposed $753 million expansion.

Comic-Con 2010 opens with a preview night on Wednesday, July 19, and runs though Sunday, July 23. For more information, visit www.comic-con.org.

The gay list for Comic-Con

Looking for hunky heroes? The cavernous Hall H will be your destination for choice on Saturday if you want to find The Green Lantern, Thor, Captain American and more.

Saturday, 11:45 a.m. - Hall H: Warner Brothers and DC Comics will showcase the upcoming “Green Lantern” movie (along with Harry Potter and Sucker Punch). Hollywood hunk Ryan Reynolds will be playing Hal Jordan aka the Green Lantern in the film and “Gossip Girl” Blake Lively stars as his love interest Carol Ferris. No official guests for the panel have been announced, but this is the kind of panel where the stars of the film are expected to make surprise appearances to hype the film.

Saturday, 6 p.m. - Hall H: Marvel will take over with one of the most buzzed about panels of the weekend. With the success of “Iron Man” and the relaunching of “The Hulk” franchise, Marvel has two more heroes on their way to theaters next year. Chris Hemsworth (“Star Trek”) will play Thor, the Norse God of Thunder and Chris Evans (“Fantastic Four”) is Captain America. Adding to the excitement of the panel is the expected official announcement from the director about the 2012 “Avengers” film, that will bring all four of the comic book heroes together in what could be the biggest superhero movie ever.

A taste for television talents? Ballroom 20 is home to the biggest TV panels of the weekend, but if we are playing favorites here, Entertainment Weekly’s Girls Who Kick Ass, “True Blood” and “Glee” are on the must see list.

Friday, 4 p.m. – Ballroom 20: EW moderates the Girls Who Kick Ass panel with Jena Malone (“Sucker Punch”), Anna Torv (“Fringe”), Elizabeth Mitchell (“V”), and Ellen Wong and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”) - about the next generation of female action heroes and the power and privilege of playing young women who are nobody's arm candy.

Friday, 5:15 p.m. – Ballroom 20: “True Blood” is one of the hottest shows on TV packed with gay characters, gay themes and one of the hottest casts on television. This year’s panel features cast members Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Nelsan Ellis, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Deborah Ann Woll, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Denis O'Hare, Joe Manganiello and Tim Stack along with the show’s executive producer Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris, the novelist that wrote the books the series is based on.

Sunday, 1:30 p.m. – Ballroom 20: “Glee” might be the greatest thing that ever happened to show choir and is definitely the most gay-friendly show on television. The panel will feature the show’s creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, along with cast members Chris Colfer, Amber Riley, Jenna Ushkowitz, Kevin McHale, Mark Salling, Heather Morris and Naya Rivera.

Going gay? Whether you’re looking to talk about gay and lesbian diversity in comics or just network with other fans, this panel and mixer has been going strong for 23 years now.

Saturday, 5:45 p.m. – Room 6A: The Gays in Comics panel and mixer is where you can find other gay geeks who share a passion for pop culture. This all-star panel examines the rising diversity in the comics world as mainstream companies DC and Marvel continue to frontline gay characters such as Batwoman and Northstar and hire top-level gay or gay-friendly creators. Independent publishers and creators are also publishing unequivocal content spotlighting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered characters, to the cheers of the thousands of fans who are out of the comic book closet.

Immediately following the panel PRISM Comics will host a mixer that includes a "Comics Gift Basket" and a silent auction of hot comics items.