Whatta week! San Diego Comic-Con International 2013 is but a memory, but what a memory it was!

One thing that set this year apart from previous years is that I did a full-page comic for the U-T San Diego (formerly known as The San Diego Union-Tribune), which ran the Sunday preceding Comic-Con. I lost count how many people came by the table to tell me they read it… even more than when I used to do Comic-Con packages for the Night&Day section 2001-2005. You can check it out here.

Also, Cool Jerk Vol. 4: Thinkulus made its debut. This marked the first new Cool Jerk collection since 2010 and sales were brisk. Thanks, people! We also had copies of the third and final printing of The Girl with the Donut Tattoo, and purchasers got a free taste of the upcoming sequel, which may or may not be named KaiChew.

One thing Darlene and I noticed was that many table “regulars” didn’t make it to the show. I know some of them couldn’t get tickets this year, and others were on vacation, had conflicting plans, were in prison, etc. That sucks. I think I’ll hold a signing in a few weeks to help accommodate those locals who missed the show.

Like last year, the Cool Jerk table was flanked by the comedy duo of José Cabrera and Jim Lujan to the left and Mark Gonyea to the right.

But you’re here for the photos, right? Let’s hop to it!

To start things off, meet Jamie Lim and Jay Halili. I’ve known them for probably a decade… maybe from the first year I tabled at Comic-Con. Jamie won a contest I held earlier this year and she got a free Thinkulus as a result (not to mention my undying gratitude). Thanks again for the back cover blurb!

Speaking of Thinkulus, here’s Robot Monster holding a copy for scale! (Under the helmet was 3D wunderkind Eric Kurland.)

As superhero cosplay goes, I didn’t see a whole lot of clever, stand-out or original creations this year. I’m sure there were plenty, but I didn’t wander far from my table… and not very often. But I did see a few. Here is a trio of Marvel fans, cosplaying Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell) and Dr. Strange. Kudos to Dr. Strange who knew about the Winds of Watoomb and had the appropriate conjuring gestures.

The Invaders! Human Torch, Captain America and Sub-Mariner would rather mug for the camera than beat up a Nazi maniac WHO IS STANDING RIGHT THERE, GUYS!

Last year there was an abundance of Iron Fists. This year it was Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner. Here’s another one, flanked by Moon Knight (l) and Logan (r).

Darlene was able to venture outside of the convention center on occasion, to explore, get some fresh air or grab lunch. She encountered the usual whirlwind of Comic-Con activity — Hollywood studio interactive exhibits (“Grimm,” “Godzilla,” “Dracula,” “Ender’s Game,” etc.), food trucks, throngs of ticketless spectators, zombie survival drills and protesters (yes, there are jackasses who protest the “hedonism” of Comic-Con). Shown here is a counter-protest. GALACTUS IS NIGH indeed!

Also seen outside are the original X-Men — Iceman, Beast, Cyclops, Angel and Marvel Girl, all escorting Professor X (with Cerebro® on lap).

Segueing back indoors, here are some more X-Men: Gambit (l) and Longshot and Dazzler. I’m really impressed by the Gambit costume. I asked Longshot if he indeed had three fingers (and a thumb) on each hand. He did what he could to hide the pinky finger in this photo.

Another trio of Marvel gals: Baroness Zemo, vampire Jubilee and Natasha Romanova (aka Black Widow, seen here from a recent issue of the Eisner Award-winning “Hawkeye”). Zemo is actually Megan Rae, whom I’ve photographed as a Dalek in 2009 and as Daenerys Targaryen in 2012.

Another shameless Thinkulus plug, this time by Batwoman.

Three of my favorite cosplayers: Big Barda, Inspector Gadget and a gal dressed as a dragon from Magic: The Gathering card game whose name I don’t remember because I play HeroClix, not MTG. Most impressed by Barda’s scalemail costume, which jingled when she moved.

Lunch! These delicious burritos came from Lolita’s. Darlene did another great write-up on where to eat during Comic-Con which was popular with a lot of attendees.

Here’s long-time Cool Jerk ally Kim the Catgirl auditioning for “So You Think You Can Sing About Independent Comics Creators?” We would have given her a burrito for her efforts but we were fresh out.

Here’s a fresh take on the Disney princesses. I heard people in the crowd call out to them as “Geek princesses” and “Hipster princesses.” You decide.

Somewhat random: Here’s “Arrested Development’s” Tobias Funke, the evil queen from “Snow White” and a zombie ballerina. Evil queen is actually La Bella’s Strange Trix (aka Musicalpencil) on Flickr.

What we have here is from the Marvel booth: A Nova Corps soldier and various weaponry and equipment (incl. Drax’s knives and Starlord’s helmet) from the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie. (Sorry some of the photos aren’t as good as usual; we were trying a new camera lens the whole weekend and it didn’t live up to our expectations.)

Costume of the weekend that garnered the most buzz — not only for originality but for timeliness — would probably have to be this gal, dressed as SHARKNADO. Enough said!

(Even I jumped onto the SHARKNADO bandwagon, selling canvas panels like this at the table!)

Another couple of X-Men who can get their filthy mutie paws off The Girl with the Donut Tattoo and Thinkulus. Thanks, Colossus and Psylocke!

And I think I’ll leave you with White Trash Stormtrooper (or is it Wifebeater Stormtrooper? Maybe Kid Rock Stormtrooper?), catching the trolley back to the boonies (NOT the Death Star).

Thanks to everyone who came by the table to visit, buy stuff or ask directions! WE LOVE YOU ALL!