The cover of Entertainment Weekly’s July 25 issue is graced by a group shot of the costumed cast of the upcoming Watchmen movie, based on the classic Alan Moore title and starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Supernatural, Grey’s Anatomy). EW has posted a number of articles on its web site in advance of the issue, including interviews with director Zack Snyder (300, Dawn of the Dead) and the reclusive Moore himself.

Labeled as a “Comic-Con Special,” the issue is part of the marketing blitz for the movie, which should kick off in earnest at next week’s San Diego Comic-Con.  There’s a new trailer out to give the fans something to look at; and EW is sponsoring several events at the convention and director Snyder will sit in on a seminar with Kevin Smith, Frank Miller, Judd Apatow and EW Senior Editor Marc Bernardin. This special issue illustrates another way in which San Diego Comic-Con has transcended the comics industry and become a mainstream entertainment press event in recent years.

Watchmen hits theaters March 6, 2009.