When asked what they could possibly be waiting for outside the entrance to the convention center’s massive Hall H entrance, the reply was unanimous.

“Twilight.”

They would wait 16 more hours.

“Twilight” was released in 2005, and has spawned two sequels: “New Moon” and “Eclipse.” Collectively, the series has sold more than 5.5 million copies worldwide.

Taylor Lautner, who plays the character Jacob Black in the upcoming movie adaptation of the books said, “The fans are the driving force behind this thing.”

The series tells the story of 17-year-old Bella Swan, who meets the intriguing yet elusive Edward Cullen upon her arrival at Forks, Wash. Edward, as well as the rest of his family, turn out to be a secret coven of vegetarian vampires; they don’t kill humans. Bella and Edward’s inevitable love is doomed from the beginning as her being a human draws various “bad” vampires to come and kill her. In “New Moon”, a second love interest is introduced in the form of Jacob, Bella’s best friend who just happens to be a werewolf.

For the August 2 release of  “Breaking Dawn,” Meyer’s fourth and final book in the series, distributors have printed more than 3.2 million copies; more than half the copies of the rest of the series now in print, and a record first-printing for “Twilight” publishing company Little, Brown and Company.

“Breaking Dawn” will answer the big Twilight questions: Who will Bella choose, and will she become a vampire?

Meyer’s saga has become a cultural phenomenon, though this year is by far its biggest yet. In addition to the release of “Breaking Dawn”, a movie adaptation of the novel will be released December 12 starring Kristen Stewart as Bella and Robert Pattinson as Edward.

This year’s San Diego Comic-con hosted a special event Thursday to promote the upcoming film. Meyer, director Catherine Hardwicke, and some of the movie’s cast attended the panel. Waiting anxiously for them were thousands of screaming fans, though only about 6,500 were admitted to the hall.

“I saw the book as a film before I saw it as a book,” said Meyer of her excitement for the “Twilight” movie.

The Comic-con event was the first experience the cast had of the true intensity behind the “Twilight” fan base, and it was clear from their faces and the nervous hitch in their responses that none of them were prepared for the thousands of girls, women and even men who were screaming their hearts out for the characters that had captured their hearts.

“I fell in love with ["Twilight"] just like you guys did,” said Hardwicke to the audience. “I wanted to see Bella and Edward living, breathing. You know we tried to do the best we could [for the movie].”

Stewart said that, as a “sappy, sensitive girl”, she took the role of Bella to try to depict the “perfect-but-not-perfect-but-perfect-in-its-ideologicalness love” felt between Bella and Edward.

“Bella and I are really different if you get inside my head,” said Meyer, who said she gets just as frustrated with Bella’s decisions as the rest of her fans. “I’m actually a lot more like Edward.”

Meyer was able to confirm that a song by Muse; her favorite band and some of the inspiration behind the series, had been signed for the movie soundtrack, while Hardwicke confirmed that two songs written by Robert Pattinson will be included in the soundtrack of the movie, and that his spontaneous piano playing during filming might be used as Bella’s Lullaby.

The three “bad vampires” were a large part of the panel; Cam Gigandet as James, Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria and Edi Gathegi as Laurent.

“I wanted to be a part of [Bella's] world in every way I could,” said Lefevre. “If that meant I had to terrorize her than so be it.”

Trailers and clips of the film, especially the extended “ballet studio scene” aired at during the panel, show the movie version of “Twilight” focusing more on action than the novel did. This is good news for Gigandet, Lefevre and Gathegi because that means more screen time for them before their inevitable deaths. For Gigandet, his comes at the end of the first movie.

“We don’t actually die because you’re stuck with us on DVD forever,” joked Lefevre.

Fans have been initially hesitant about how the cast compares to the characters, and none have felt this sting more than now-”Twilight”-golden-boy Robert Pattinson.

“I just wanted to play [Edward] because he’s the hottest vampire in the world,” said Pattinson with a laugh, causing a deafening scream from the crown.

“[Vampires are hot] because that’s how I write them,” Meyer added, which turned the screaming into a deafening roar.

Although movie adaptations of “New Moon” and “Eclipse”, the second and third novels in the series, have not yet been confirmed, the idea that the “Twilight” fan base will not cause “Twilight” to be a box-office smash, regardless of the quality of the film, seems nearly impossible.

“I would love to be in [a sequel]. Love to,” said Gathegi .

“So would I,” said Gigandet wistfully.

Snyder said that when Warner Bros.  approached him about making a “Watchmen” movie as he wrapped production on “300,” he was initially hesitant, but he realized that if he refused the movie, it would pass on to another director who might not create a good translation of the novel.

“If the movie for whatever reason didn’t turn out, it still would have been my fault,” Snyder said of his decision to make the film, which will be released March 6, 2009.

Previous tries by directors such as Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky and Paul Greengrass came up empty as they tried to recreate the world of “Watchmen” in modern times using current political tensions, but Snyder tried to stay as true to the original as a two-and-a-half-hour movie can to a 416 page graphic novel.

“Making a movie about the war on terror and [modern politics] seemed really wrong in a lot of ways to me,” said Snyder. “It’s cooler if people go, ‘Oh hey, this makes me think,’ instead of me telling people what to think.”

“Watchmen” is the only graphic novel to be listed on Time Magazine’s 2005 list of “the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.” It tells the intertwined stories of a group of unwanted superheroes; Rorschach, The Comedian, Dr. Manhattan, Ozymandias, Silk Spectre I and II, and Night Owl II, from their numerous perspectives throughout various time periods. “Watchmen” dates itself as it is set in an alternative future where the United States won the Vietnam War (thanks to Dr. Manhattan), and Nixon is serving his fifth term as president.

Snyder acknowledged that while the movie will remain similar to the comic series in many ways, some aspects of the “Watchmen” world will have to be changed for the sake of length.

“You’re going to end up with some stuff that’s not in [the original story], but that’s just how it is,” Snyder said.

More important than the segments that might have been cut are the subtle parts of “Watchmen” that Snyder left in. While cavalier directors may have considered getting rid of character development for the sake of large action scenes, Snyder said that he left out a lot of the big blockbuster action attractions in order to have more of the story elements.

The four minute montage of clips that Snyder presented exclusively to the audience showed evidence of his attention to detail. The scene in which Rorschach discovers that the murdered Edward Blake was in fact the Comedian includes a brief shot of a photograph of Laurie Juspeczyk, a connection to later events in the Watchmen storyline. A light bulb flashes and Sally Jupiter rubs her eyes as she stands in her Silk Spectre outfit in a scene that matches frame for frame with the graphic novel. A Vietnamese woman slashes the Comedian’s face with a broken bottle in a scene that reveals just how cruel the Comedian had been in his life. All of these clips are of events small enough that they could have been cut, but significant enough to diehard fans like Snyder that they weren’t.

Even a shot of Dollar Bill lying dead after he got his cape caught in a revolving door surrounded by police was in the series of clips, and that was a scene that had only been mentioned in the supplemental material included in the novel compilation of the series.

Snyder said that he was especially proud of how his actors absorbed the mythology of “Watchmen” and how well they kept their characters consistent with the book.

The actor who had the most difficult time slipping into character was Billy Crudup (”The Good Shepherd”), who is playing the omniscient, blue, and completely computer generated Jon Osterman (superhero alias Dr. Manhattan). Instead of a costume, Crudup had to wear a skin-tight suit with motion sensors covering it so that a computer could capture his movements and make them Dr. Manhattan’s. He said that it took weeks before costar Malin Akerman (”27 Dresses”), who plays Manhattan’s love interest Laurie Juspeczyk (superhero alias Silk Spectre II) to look at him without bursting out laughing.

“I wasn’t the only one,” Akerman said in her defense.

“Dr. Manhattan is like nothing I have a frame of reference for,” said Crudup. “How do you play [Dr. Manhattan] while you’re a five-foot-nine, 40 year old jackass playing dress up?”

“Changing my molecules … that’s stuff they don’t teach you in drama school,” he said.

Jackie Earle Haley (”Semi-Pro”), playing Walter Kovacs (superhero alias Rorschach), said that he learned the most about his character not from the comic book but from the blogs where fans discussed Rorschach’s intricate and nihilistic character.

“The characters have really come alive in the game, and we are pleased that we will be able to add to the canon of the Mirror’s Edge universe with this project,” said Hank Kanalz, vice president/general manager for WildStorm, the DC division that’s making the comic.

Mirror’s Edge is a gutsy first person game involving a heroine messenger in a world where information is tightly controlled by the government.

SAN DIEGO — It’s coming out on DVD in January, but we got the chance to screen the upcoming Marvel/Lionsgate animated feature “Hulk vs. Wolverine” on Thursday.

Fans of the animated series will appreciate the spirit of the yellow-clad, “bub” shouting, canine-familiar superhero and the transformation between a meek Dr. Banner and a monstrous Hulk calling Wolverine “little man.”

The 40-minute movie opens true to the pair’s first comic book meeting, with The Incredible Hulk tearing up Canada and the military calling on Wolverine to put a stop to him. They square off before the story pans to some of Logan’s past and the origins of the Weapon X program, nicely paying tribute to the comic book roots.

The Weapon X program and its maniacle “Professor” are back, and they want Wolverine and the Hulk as weapons for themselves. The Weapon X crew includes Sabretooth, Omega Red, Lady Deathstrike and a hilarious Deadpool who steals the show.

It’s a bloody, limb-ripping feature that will surely please X-Men fans come January. It ship on one disc with Hulk vs. Thor.

More to come later, I promise.

Comic books.

Okay, let’s be realistic, maybe they won’t be interested in comic books, but millions are, it’s the reason why Comic-con exists and we can’t get enough of it.

With the first full day of the con behind us, here’s a look at some of the best non-major label comics that have caught my eye so far at the sold out 2008 San Diego Comic-con International.

Of course, even after trolling the exhibit floor Wednesday for preview night and a good chunk of the day today, I’m sure I haven’t seen all the good ones yet, so don’t go crazy if your favs aren’t on the list.

Valentine
Red Eye Press
Daniel Cooney

“No matter how hard she tries, Valentine just can’t leave the killing game behind. Her life as an assassin has made her a liability to everyone she’s ever known — and the lingering mental effects of the CIA’s MkUltra program have clouded her memory, making her past a puzzle waiting to be pieced together,” states the premise for Dan Cooney’s “Valentine.” This sexy, bitchy killer provides for some classic comic entertainment. The new book, “The Killing Moon,” was unveiled at Comic-con, and it is very good, opening with Valentine crashing a car through some thugs’ living room and taking out the trash.

Headlocked
Visionary Comics Studio
Kingston, Valiente, Gravel

Sure it’s been a while since the WWE was cool, but that doesn’t change how good this story of a young man’s quest to make it in the world of professional wrestling. This color glossy book is well-designed and very impressive for a smaller outfit. When writer Michael Kingston approached me, I didn’t expect much out of a wrestling book, but the amount of work the team put into the comic shows.

Toupydoops
Lobrau Productions
Kevin McShane

Imagine a world where Hollywood was run not by studio execs but by comic book creators. Enter loveable blue Toupydoops and his half-bear, half-human sidekick Teetereater. This is a black and white book that’s well-drawn and nicely detailed. Despite the language and adult situations, there’s something wholesome and genuinely entertaining to be gleaned from reading the six books that McShane and company have put out so far.

GirlsDrawinGirls
Independent
Various Artists

Not so much a comic book as it is an art movement, GirlsDrawinGirls is a fantastic journey through time as some of the top female artists and animators collaborate to draw their gender from caveman days to Victorian times, through their visages of the future. I met with three of the ladies Wednesday, including Melody Severns, who currently works on “The Simpsons.” I also bought a wonderfully illustrated print of a girl playing Nintendo Wii done by Danni S. Lou.

How to be a Serial Killer
Viper Comics
Luke Ricci, Ramon Espinoza

This book was a Comic-con special one-shot deal previewing a movie that’s coming out later in the year. The title explains it all — a man becomes a serial killer and kills people. It’s brutal and violent, but I’m glad I got my hands on a copy of this promotional comic, because the color and drawings are so perfectly done that it makes me want to see the movie — or at least wish Viper could commission a full comic series.

Three more not to miss: “DMZ” by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli and on the major label side, Image’s “Suburban Glamour” by Jamie McKelvie and “Tales of the Starlight Drive In” by Michael San Giacomo et al.

In a surprise appearance at today’s Comic-con Fox event, Hugh Jackman arrived, “directly off the plane” from the set of Wolverine after the cast and crew finished filming the final scenes. He brought with him a first look at the film, which Jackman assured the crowd he taped together himself on his plane ride.

From what the reel showed, it seems like the film will follow a Wolverine (Jackman) /Sabertooth (Liev Schrieber) friendship-to-mortal-enemies-type plot line, from their first meeting in a prison cell, through their training in Weapon X under the tutelage of William Stryker (Danny Huston). And yes, from the reel of footage, their was visual proof of a Gambit in the upcoming movie, being played by Taylor Kitsch.

Hugh Jackman seemed just as excited as we all are after the resounding applause for Gambit.

The trailer shows the blue guy and the yellow guy racing until the yellow guy cuts off blue, sending him into his yellow race trail and off into oblivion.

Then we see Jeff Bridges in his bearded glory in the real world.

Back in the virtual race world, the yellow guy — Bridges — stands over the blue guy. The blue guy shouts “This is just a game!” Bridges looks down, smiles and swings a yellow disc down violently at the blue guy saying “Not anymore.”