Despite the rotten economy, this year’s Comic-Con broke all records in terms of visitors and attendance, proving once and for all that, during the worst of times, Americans desperately need to be entertained.  Since this was my first time at the den of insanity, I quickly had to find a learning curve in order to survive the crowds and get into as many hot panels and previews of the upcoming slew of movies and series.

Among the hottest buzzed and eagerly anticipated is the sequel to 2007’s hit, Iron Man.  In a packed house, the audience was underwhelmed by a lame behind-the-scenes promo presented by directer Jon Favreau…until Robert Downey, Jr. stormed the stage crying fowl.  Even though they only finished filming weeks ago, Downey managed to cajole Favreau to roll a polished preview lasting over ten minutes, including rousing performances by Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson and highly anticipated bad guy Mickey Rourke.

The panel included the lead players minus Mickey Rourke (who was off on location).  Even though the movie won’t be released for almost a year, Cheadle asked the audience if they would mind replaying the trailer — which, of course, they didn’t — as it was easily apparent this sequel will do as well or better than the original.

Next up, Roland Emmerich — director of such apocalyptic thrillers like The Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla and, of course, the Will Smith blockbuster Independence Day – appeared on hand to promote the ultimate in end-of-the-world thriller, titled 2012.  Based upon the Mayan belief the world will end in the year 2012, the extended preview starring John Cusack was nothing shy than an ultimate thrill ride.

With CG special effects to put all the competition away, 2012 looks absolutely incredible.  With a 70% finished scene, the audience was literally swept away as we watched Los Angeles being literally devoured, as Cusack’s character races to his ex-wife’s house to pick up her and his children.  Laying the pedal to the metal, Cusack manages to stay one second ahead of the mayhem — to the very last second even — as the twin propellor plane lifts off and Los Angeles slides into the Pacific.  Oddly being released in November, 2012 seems more like a summer tent pole but will clearly benefit with higher brow competition — typically serious dramatic fare which will be trolling for Oscar nods.

Based upon the eye candy, it’s clear 2012 will deliver as a pure fun-filled visual spectacular.  I’m hoping the story is more compelling and believable than the mish-mash, uneven plot antics of The Day After Tomorrow.  Either way, I can’t wait to see this one.

Another thrill-ride coming to theaters in October is Zombieland, with yet another twist on the zombie genre.  Starring Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin and Jesse Eisenberg, the preview and additional scenes, provided by director Ruben Fleisher, had the right mix of blood, guts and tongue-in-cheek charm.  The Q&A with stars (minus Breslin) had the audience in stitches.

Even though the material has been done to death (and then some), Zombieland seems to have what it takes to milk out a few more chills and spills.  Harrelson even joked there might be a Zombieland 2 and 3 — and if the audience reaction was any indication, the writers should start sketching out the trilogy.

Mike Judge was also in attendance promoting his first feature since the tepidly reviewed Idiocracy.  Starring Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis and Ben Affleck, the movie titled Extract surrounds the travails of a beleaguered boss (Bateman) who runs a factory that manufactures an “extract” food additive and the antics that ensue between his best friend (Affleck) and a flirtation with a temp factory worker (Kunis).   Although the trailer was amusing, it clearly lacked huge laughs audiences now expect with similar movies of the Apatow generation.  Even the additional scenes introduced by Judge failed to elicit huge laughs.

The audience Q&A seemed to revolve around the director’s older credits and the projects the other cast members were involved in, including Bateman laying down the reality about a proposed Arrested Development feature in the works.  For the record, no script has been written, but there are hopes it will start moving along within the next year.

On the TV front, many of the panels were simply impossible or near impossible to attend, so I had to prudently pick and choose my favorites.  First, Seth MacFarlane and his entire staff of voices were on hand to show an extended clip of next season’s Family Guy take-off of Star Wars: Revenge of the Jedi.  Suffice it to say, the Emmy-nominated comedy delivered from start to finish, with non-stop laughter and applause from the cheering crowd.

Some of the secrets revealed for next season may or may not include an episode about abortion, which Executive Producer said will either be the funniest show ever or the most expensive DVD addition, since Fox is considering not airing the episode instead choosing to release it on the DVD set.

The voice cast was on hand, including Seth Green, Alex Borestein, Mila Kunis, and Mike Henry, vamping and hamming it up to the delight of everyone in attendance.  With the level of talent on Family Guy, it’s a wonder why Fox has yet to order a feature film, given the success of The Simpsons.  Although no one brought up the possibility, given the show’s longevity and die-hard fan base, it seems like an absolute inevitability.

Right after Family Guy, Mike Henry took the reigns of a discussion panel surrounding fall spin-off  The Cleveland Show.  Airing half the pilot, the show stumbled at first, then quickly caught steam later in the show, when Henry introduced another clip with Cleveland trying to get his son to lose his virginity.  As Cleveland drives his son to a convention center, he warns his son that if he doesn’t lose his virginity, he might turn out like the people inside… As he opens the door to the convention center, the audience roars to find the inhabitants are the geeks of a Comic-Con.

Based upon the reaction and Fox’s early pick-up of a second season currently in production, the success of The Cleveland Show seems already a fait accomplis.