Was it the lack of a kidney stone (and accompanying stents)? Was it the oppressive humidity? Was it the sobering reality that a sentient sack of spray-tanned dicks is running this country? Dunno, but this year’s San Diego Comic-Con felt like an ode to the best of previous years. This was the first time since 2003 that the Cool Jerk table wasn’t in Small Press K-10… we moved next door to the K-9 corner spot. Woo-hoo!

Sales were tremendous; lots of people — friends and new faces alike — came by the table to chat or buy the newly unveiled Cool Jerk Enamel Pins (limited run of 100 per design), each of which came bagged with an original penciled-and-inked drawing of a favorite Cool Jerk character. Canvas Panels did well, with the”Chupacabraccino” and “Trump is a literal bag of dicks” panels selling out instantly. I discovered that my Cool Jerk T-shirt inventory is running thin in some sizes, and as a result I lost a few potential sales. (MEMO TO SELF: Make more panels and T-shirts!)

Sincere gratitude to everyone who squeezed in a visit (and purchase) into their comic-con schedule, and to Darlene who manned the table, kept us fed and hydrated, and brought our doggy downtown to experience his first comic-con (see below).

As the recently passed June Foray would famously say, “And now here’s something we hope you’ll really like!”

Starting off with another Twin Peaks selfie, because #peaksfreak. This was taken the day before the convention opened, during set-up. SHHH! DON’T TELL ANYONE!!

Stranger Things 2 building wrap, seen in the Gaslamp Quarter a block-and-a-half from the convention center. Netflix was really pushing their original content, incl. The Defenders.

Of course, HBO’s Game of Thrones had a big presence. I wonder what was inside this crate?

Our dog, The Doctor, cosplayed as Doctor Strange (complete with Eye of Agamotto and custom-made Cape of Levitation). Here he is wowing the paparazzi outside Hall B. At one point I think he was trending on Twitter. We thought he’d wig the F out but he took it all in stride, sometimes letting people pet his head or give high-fives.

Traffic in front of our row in Small Press always includes a lot of cosplayers. Here’s Nightwing, Batgirl and Deadpool.

Here’s Spider-Man, Black Cat and Ted Washington (our super-chill and talented table neighbor for two years running).

As always, sketches are 100% free. Here’s a reader who picked up another Cool Jerk book (working his way through my library) and an enamel pin.

Hawkgirl, here, with expanding and contracting wings plus a glowing mace. Her similarly costumed partner Hawkman was elsewhere on the floor.

Here’s a Bob Ross cosplayer, proving the Cosplay Well of Ideas in bottomless.

You can call her Laura, you can call her X-23, you can even call her the all-new Wolverine… just don’t call her before she’s had her coffee.

Jennifer Walters, better known as She-Hulk. Always a popular cosplay option, and aside from the non-green tummy, she nailed it.

Wish I’d gotten some video of Lil the Dancer (“Twin Peaks- Fire Walk With Me”). She got the blinking, puckering, stepping in place and hand gestures down pat. “She’s my mother’s sister’s girl.”

Spooky stuff coming next. Let’s float with Georgie Denbrough (“IT”)…

…and beg for mercy from Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Leatherface.

Very well done Kim Possible…

…maybe second only to Carrie Kelley Robin, here.

No, that’s not “female Venom” — that’s the Julia Carpenter version of Spider-Woman (aka Arachne). Cosplayers love it when you ID them properly and get their alter egos correct.

Along with the Scooby Gang (up top), this might be my favorite cosplay team-up: Gogo Yubari and her death ball & chain from “Kill Bill.”

Wandering the floor, Darlene and I came across J. Jonah Jameson (publisher of The Daily Bugle)…

…an on-point Mystique (forget the scaly Jennifer Lawrence versions)…

…and Red Sonja holding a decapitated head with an iPhone embedded in the skull. Crazy world.

Initially thought the gal on the left was Deathbird, but the costume details say she’s a female (and feather-heavy) variant of Magneto. Next to her is the queen of the Inhumans, Medusa.

Speaking of Inhumans, Marvel had a life-size Lockjaw on display. Such hugs!

People just love doggies, I guess. Even when they’re so cute they make you want to tear your own face off.

Darlene spotted this kid cosplaying Dustin from Stranger Things and nearly got whiplash from the double take. Bravo!

This would be the first and only Bebop & Rocksteady from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I’ve seen.

Also, The Maker (evil Reed Richards from another dimension) scores points for obscurity and originality.

While working the table, Darlene handed off a Cool Jerk book to actual-size Ant-Man. THIS IS NOT FORCED PERSPECTIVE HE REALLY WAS SEVEN INCHES TALL I SWEAR.

Offered without commentary.

“Hey, Moon Knight… can you tell me who just called?” “What’s the matter, Daredevil… you blind or something?” *awkward silence*

Here’s a brief crossplay round-up: female versions of Gambit and Spider-Man, in both conventional and “Iron Spider” outfits.

And while I’d thought this was a Hayley Atwell-inspired Peggy Carter/Captain America mashup, Pandora Grayson told me she’s actually a 1940s-era female Captain America.

Longtime friends John & Charlene came by the table again this year, no doubt an overwhelming experience for everyone.

Here’s a Frank Frazetta painting come to life. All that was missing was a knife-swinging protagonist and a nude girl.

And as luck would have it (?), a nude girl did show up a few minutes later. Yes, that’s body paint and a thong… nothing else. I decided to try out my Cool Jerk “CENSORED” enamel pin.