Aaron McGruder's controversial comic strip THE BOONDOCKS will finally make its animated television debut on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim after pit stops at HBO, Showtime, MTV and Fox. Cartoon Network has ordered 15 episodes with the first to premiere October 2nd, with a regular Sunday time slot of 11 pm.

On day two of the recent San Diego Comic-con, I attended a panel moderated by Cartoon Network exec Mike Lazzo with Aaron McGruder, Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911), Gary Anthony Williams (Blue Collar TV, Harold & Kumar), and Jill Talley (The Spongebob Squarepants Movie). Lazzo said after viewing a few minutes of footage done for the rejected Fox pilot, he immediately agreed to do the project. He couldn't believe Fox had passed on it.

Buzzscope caught some of the footage shown at the panel and we've converted the clips to .avi files for you:

• Aaron McGruder on Lauren Hill (12.8 mb)
• Aaron on R.Kelly, pt.1 (11.4 mb)
• Aaron on R.Kelly, pt.2 (12.4 mb)
• Aaron on controversy (14.8 mb)
• Aaron on pushing the limits (24.7 mb)
• Boondocks trailer (18.6 mb)

So what can fans of the blackest, most politically incorrect strip in the Syndicates expect from the animated (actually closer to anime) version of McGruder's strip? How about :

· The voice talents of Regina King (Jerry Maguire, Boyz N the Hood) voicing Huey, John Witherspoon (Friday) as Grandpa, Cedric Yarbrough as Tom, and Gary Anthony Williams as Uncle Ruckus. In keeping with the raunchy tone of the panel, Williams said he'd "sucked Aaron off" for the job.

· Special guest voice actors including: Charlie Murphy, Ed Asner, Quincy Jones, Adam West (playing R. Kelly's lawyer in an episode called "The Trial of R. Kelly") and Mos Def. George Lucas has agreed to the use Darth Vader, but they're waiting to hear from James Earl Jones as to whether he will provide the voice.

· The N-word: After viewing a sneak trailer (link), I agree with McGruder's assessment that this show will blow the comic strip away in terms of controversy. The N-bomb was on full display and the carcasses of sacred cows littered the road. "We can say the N-word on cable, " a gleeful McGruder told USA Today. "We have a lot of freedom of structure, and we're not bound by the traditional sitcom format. I'm astounded with what we've been able to get away with."

McGruder spoke about the difficulty of finding artists and writers who could capture the look and feel he wanted. Writer Rodney Barnes, in the audience, got a shout out for his contributions. Also on display in the trailer was the work of character designer Lesean Thomas who does the comic Cannonbusters (and was himself the subject of a recent Buzzscope interview).

Finally, don't look for the character of Caesar in the first season. (Sorry to disappoint all you thug lovers out there.) In a side note McGruder revealed his all-time favorite superhero is The Greatest American hero, and that he knows all the words to the theme song.