During an episode of Fatman Beyond, filmmaker Kevin Smith told fans that if he were to attend Comic Con International as a fan, rather than as a professional, his cosplay of choice would have to be one that accommodates his figure. Asked about his choices, Smith joked that he should go as Jay (of Jay and Silent Bob fame), and then got a little more serious with choices like Mysterio and Darth Vader, both of which he said he thinks could work with a heavier man.
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Smith is a Comic Con fixture at this point, and has spent the last few installments “headquartered” out of the IMDb yacht, where he would do interviews for the Amazon-backed website. One such interview, featuring one of Smith’s last exchanges with comics legend Stan Lee, was included in the closing credits of his film Jay & Silent Bob Reboot.
“If I was not going as a professional, if I was just going to the con and I was going to cosplay, what would I do? I want to say Blues Brothers, but that’s not really on brand for the con at all. Although at the con last weekend, I saw three Blues Brothers. It was a Chicago Con, so it kind of makes sense.”
“Honestly, I think you could have a pretty husky body and still pull off Darth Vader, because there’s a lot of cape work there,” Smith said. “I saw a brilliant f–=king cosplay at the Con — if I was talented I’d try to pull this off. There was a guy cosplaying as [Mysterio] from the comics, including a bubble head that you could not see through, and he had a voice speaker system, and he had fans built into the bubble helmet.”
You can see it below.
Comic Con was cancelled in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the nonprofit behind the annual fan event held an online event instead. In 2021, they did the same, and then had a smaller celebration of comics culture in the fall, ostensibly to get a sense for how SDCC 2022 would play out.
“I can’t wait. We’re taking over the Tin Roof Inn, turning it into a Mooby’s, and that’s going to be our hub for the whole week,” Smith revealed. “So during the day, Mooby’s will be open. We’ll be doing some streaming things; I believe we’re going to be doing Fatman Beyond live every day, like a kind of “this is what happened at the con today”…and then at night, we’ll be doing the shows in the space because we have the space for 150, 200 seat audience. Normally we do shows when we’re down there…we’ll do them there at the space, so people can eat Mooby’s, get their drink on, watch the show. It’s going to be a good time.”
Comic Con International launches today in San Diego and runs through Sunday afternoon PT.