RYAN PEARSON listens in as starstruck comics fans come face-to-face with Sue Storm herself.
One of the biggest mob scenes on the show floor at this year's Comic-Con came when Jessica Alba stationed herself next to comedian Dane Cook behind a stack of posters promoting their upcoming movie "Good Luck Chuck."
A gaggle of mostly young men lined up to shake her hand and have her autograph the poster, in which she's depicted (innuendo alert!) holding a melting ice cream cone.
Blocking out screams of "Jessica, I love you!" and a flurry of camera flashes from the surrounding crowd, many approached the experience in a businesslike manner.
"Nice to meet you. You're very beautiful. You can put it to Gonzo please," said Gonzalo Sanchez of Spring Valley, Calif., moving right along.
A typical exchange went as follows:
"Hello Jessica."
"How are you?" she would reply.
"I'm good. Nice to meet you."
"What's your name?"
"Kevin."
Timothy Sexton of Arizona said he was celebrating his birthday, and gave Alba a plush red bear.
Some nerve-wracked fans simply stared. One confessed to having "a little butterflies," while another, when asked by Alba how he was doing, was only able to manage a garbled, "wegslent."
"My name's Ed. I'm a big fan of yours. I'm starstruck. I don't know what to say right now."
An on-edge Irish fan ventured, "Hi Jessica, nice to meet you. Just to Tim or something like that."
"Tim or something like that?" Alba asked.
"Well, just Tim would be perfect, to be honest. Hey, come visit Ireland sometime. Nice to meet you."
There were some recitations of Alba's movie career.
"Hi Jessica. How are you?"
"I'm good."
"Oooooohhhhh YEAH! It's just great to meet you," one fan said. "I've seen you when you were here for 'Fantastic Four' and for 'Sin City.' I wish I could've met you when you were here doing 'Flipper.' And they won't let me sign it but I brought your milk ad."
Alba kept a smile firmly on her face throughout.
Asked to sum up the responses by men who meet her in person, she said, "It's all different, depending on how they feel about the movies that you've been in, and their experience with you, and everything. It's funny. Different age groups and stuff."
A few fans confessed their interest in Alba straightforwardly.
Some were outward: "It's an honor meeting you. You're beautiful. What more can I say? I watch 'Sin City' every night religiously."
And some were more subtle. Several, including Richard Salgado, wore "Hooters" buttons or T-shirts.
"Hi, how are you? I'm Richard. It's nice to see you again," Salgado said. "I saw you at the 'Sin City' panel. I was wearing my Hooters shirt last time and you saw it and said you liked my shirt."
"Oh yeah, excellent," Alba replied.
"Cool. Thanks for coming out here. Take care of yourself."
"Oh, Hooters!" Alba said, catching on.
"Yeah, you remember. Cool," Salgado said, walking off.
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asap staff reporter Ryan Pearson will likely never stand next to Jessica Alba for 20 minutes again in his lifetime.
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