Bell/Nilsen Tour Diary 2015 parts 1-4

Sweaty Batman

So here's another entry from the "recent happenings in the press" file, as well as a few more pictures from the "what I did on my summer vacation" files, in case anyone is keeping track.

When I was at ComicCon in July I did an interview with Brian Heater for his podcast RIYL. It was a great conversation ranging from questions of authenticity and the artist's sketchbook to how brains work to what it means to make art from grief. Also there's a parade of pedi-cabs and cosplayers going by the whole time, a few of which we describe for the listener. Peter Pan with a lightsaber? Check. Sweaty Batman? Well... he came later. More images from ComicCon below. 

Michael Deforge wasn't in costume, but he did have rabbit ears that he could move using his brain waves.

As an aside, this last picture notwithstanding, I noticed more gender-bending in the cosplay this year than I have before. There were several lady Captain Americas, a lady Han Solo and a lady Spiderman (not the same as 'Spiderwoman', that's a different character/costume, if I remember my Marvel Universe correctly). I noticed little or no crossover in the opposite direction (maybe next year?) but it was cool to see, and bodes well (maybe?) for where the culture is headed.

Next up: Seattle

Holy crap, people keep coming out to see me read comics. It's awesome. Portland rules. Floating world rules. Massive Thank Yous. Tonight I'm at the Fantagraphics store in Seattle starting at 6. Gonna try to get some skateboarding in before hand, so apologies to my audience if I'm a little sweaty.

Here are Batman and Robin at the D&Q booth:

And some zombies that aren't really trying that hard:

Some minor superhero character in blue that no one has ever heard of (plus the Joker):

A dragon that is also a...carpenter?

And some sort of weird Japanese Mickey Mouse frog face dude in a suit. Awesome.

Tomorrow: Voltron