There are two conferences that I’ve never been to but would dearly love to attend someday. One is SxSw, and some year, there will be business reason that justifies the expense.

The other is Comic-Con which is going on this weekend in San Diego. For a lifelong science fiction and fantasy fan, it’s an inevitable pilgrimage.

Comic-Con is unique. While it’s got the networking and educational sessions that you would expect at  any industry conference, it’s more than just the industry event for the comics industry (now very very loosely defined.)

It’s got fans. Who come to see (and squee at) the actors and creative teams behind their favorite shows, films, comics, books, etc. etc.  Comic-Con is where the studios trot out their new stuff in the hopes of generating advance buzz. It’s where you’ll find the newest games, comics, action figures, and whatever else will appeal to the fan boy or girl. It’s where stuff gets announced.

And everyone at Comic-Con — even the industry insiders and stars promoting their shows on the panels —  is a bit of a fan. It’s what makes watching (on YouTube) the panels presented by your favorite actors or directors so much fun. They really like the genre and they really like the fans.  As I’ve written on my marketing blog, I think the way sci-fi genre stars, whether actors, directors, artists or writers, interact with and give back to their fans is a model for consumer engagement that companies would do well to embrace. Bottom line, they give back. Sometimes before they get very much at all. Which is why the fans are so very loyal.

Back to those announcements. I’m only paying attention to the shows I watch regularly, but there’s plenty to squee about there. So far:

• Bruce Campbell will star in a Sam Axe centered Burn Notice prequel
• Linda Hamilton will play Chuck’s long-absent mom (and hopefully we’ll get more Scott Bakula in flashbacks as a result. Please, Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak!)

Can’t wait to see Jeffster’s latest performance. Apparently this year, they opened up the Chuck panel by dancing to Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, which seems a suitable follow-up to least year’s performance of Queen’s Fat Bottom Girl:

I’m guessing fansite Chuck.tv will be the best source of video so will be stalking it this weekend. Panels today for Eureka! and Fringe. Will be interesting to see if they have any bombshells. Especially Fringe, given last season’s cliffhanger ending.

Updated with:

• Maureen Ryan’s Chicago Tribune article with links to interviews with Bruce Campbell and Burn Notice creator Matt Nix.
• Bruce Campbell’s Old Spice commercial (hat- tip LA Times’ Ministry of Gossip)

Update Number 2:

• Video from the opening of the Chuck panel at Comic-Con, from Twitter courtesy of David Coleman (@kentuckysocal)
• Pics from the season premiere of Chuck, now filming (via chuck.tv)
• Chuck posters created for Comic-Con

Update Number 3:

From YouTube, A better version of the Jeffster “Bad Romance” video and the very abbreviated Chuck panel