Depp, Fox, Weaver add sizzle to Comic Con

SAN DIEGO: Johnny Depp had surprised fans whopping with delight when he appeared onstage as a surprise guest at the San Diego Comic Con with Tim Burton to promote Alice In Wonderland.

The bash - an annual festival of comic books and all things related to the fantasy genre - is celebrating its 40th year and this year, has brought out a host of big Hollywood guns.

Burton plays the Mad Hatter in Burton's adaptation of the legendary Lewis Caroll children's story.

He dons a wild orange wig and naturally mad hat for the role and both were on display at the conference, as well as props from the film such as the rabbit hole, and a table set with cakes, scones and a teapot from the Mad Hatter's tea party.

Burton screend the movie's trailer for the conference audience and said the 3-D Disney venture had been his toughest challenge yet.

He said: "It's the first time we've done a lot of green screen - it starts to freak you out after a while."

Also at the festival were Twilight's Robert Pattinson, who was on a panel to promote his new movie New Moon, Sigourney Weaver and Megan Fox.

Megan was promoting her latest flick, the vampire movie Jennifer's Body - so naturally vamped it up in gothic black.

Sigourney meanwhile got a standing ovation for her part on a panel called 'Wonder Women: Female Icons in Pop Culture'.

Having made her name as Ripley in the Alien series, she was veritable Comic Con royalty.