New York Comic Con (NYCC) today announced Lionsgate will be at its 2008 event promoting The Spirit, based on the classic comic book series created by Will Eisner and written for the screen and directed by Frank Miller.

At NYCC, production partners Lionsgate and Odd Lot Entertainment will present an exclusive first look at The Spirit on Saturday, April 19 in New York Comic Con’s IGN Theater, featuring the world premiere of the film’s teaser trailer. Miller and Mendes will be on hand to speak about their respective roles in the upcoming film, which is produced by Deborah Del Prete, Gigi Pritzker and Michael Uslan. Co-CEO of Odd Lot Entertainment Deborah Del Prete and Michael Uslan, President of Comic Book Movies, will also be speaking. MTV News Correspondent Kurt Loder will moderate the panel and the teaser trailer will debut to a global audience on MTV.com later that night in high definition, and on MTV the week of April 21. NYCC will also feature the debut of the film’s first teaser poster, which Miller and Mendes will sign in a formal autograph session scheduled for 5:00pm.

New York Comic Con is the second largest popular culture event in the United States and features guests including Neil Gaiman, Mike Mignola, Grant Morrison, and T.M.Revolution.

Frank Miller is an American writer, artist, and director best known for his film noir-style comic book stories. He is one of today’s most widely-recognized and influential graphic novelists. His works include “The Dark Knight Returns,” “Sin City,” and “300.” Eva Mendes can be seen in films including Training Day, Once Upon A Time in Mexico, Hitch, We Own the Night, Ghost Rider, and this fall’s The Women. She plays Sand Saref in the new film. “The Spirit,” which debuted in 1940, chronicles the adventures of a masked vigilante working on behalf of the police and is still regarded today for its deep and diverse narratives spanning film noir and crime drama as well as adventure, mystery, horror, comedy and romance.

“New York Comic Con welcomes the legendary Frank Miller with open arms, and we’re delighted to have an actress of Ms. Mendes’s caliber join us,” Show Manager Lance Fensterman said. “It is a true honor to have them with us, and we earnestly thank all our friends at Lionsgate and Odd Lot Entertainment who are making this spectacular event possible.”

Adapted from the legendary comic book series created by Will Eisner, The Spirit is a classic action-adventure-romance written for the screen and directed by genre-twister Frank Miller (creator of “300″ and “Sin City”). It is the story of a former rookie cop who returns mysteriously from the dead as the Spirit (Gabriel Macht) to fight crime from the shadows of Central City. His arch-enemy, the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) has a different mission: he’s going to wipe out Spirit’s beloved city as he pursues his own version of immortality. The Spirit tracks this cold-hearted killer from Central City’s rundown warehouses, to the damp catacombs, to the windswept waterfront… all the while facing a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill our masked crusader. Surrounding him at every turn are Ellen Dolan (Sarah Paulson), the whip-smart girl-next-door; Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson), a punk secretary and frigid vixen; Plaster of Paris (Paz Vega), a murderous French nightclub dancer; Lorelei (Jaime King), a phantom siren; and Morgenstern (Stana Katic), a sexy young cop. Then of course, there’s Sand Saref (Eva Mendes), the jewel thief with dangerous curves. She’s the love of his life turned bad. Will he save her or will she kill him? In the vein of “Batman Begins” and “Sin City,” “The Spirit” takes us on a sinister, gut-wrenching ride with a hero who is born, murdered and born again.

The Spirit will be released theatrically on January 16, 2009.

Source: ComingSoon.net