If you're at the Comic-Con next week and you want to know how many people are in the hall, it's real simple. Count the number of folks dressed as The Joker and multiply by six. I'm betting there'll be more Jokers there than you'll find in all the Video Poker machines in all the casinos in Vegas.
The Joker has always been a popular costume. It combines the three most appealing characteristics of a convention outfit: It's inexpensive to do, it gets you noticed and it makes you look like you're out of your friggin' mind.
Of those, "inexpensive" is probably the big reason. At Halloween time, you can buy everything necessary to be The Joker from the neck up for about ten bucks at your neighborhood CVS Pharmacy. You need a cheap green wig (the cheaper, the better), some white grease paint, a lipstick in some garish shade and maybe an eyebrow pencil to arch your own brows in some manic way. Then all you need is a really hideous outfit — anything as long as its colors clash enough to blind a hippie. You may already have one in your closet. It's a great opportunity to wear your gayest, zootiest suit in public.
Imagine what would be involved in building a really impressive Iron Man costume. I'm guessing weeks of labor and a few thousand bucks. Then imagine what it would take to Jokerize yourself. It's a no-brainer.
I usually see six or seven Jokers per convention. Once, I had my picture taken with three of them at once but I decided not to post it because I look like the odd one in the photo. This year, with all the fuss about Heath Ledger and the upcoming Batman flick, I'm guessing they'll be out by the dozens. They may even outnumber Klingons, which will be fine with me. Just so long as they don't outnumber good-looking women dressed as warrior princesses, jungle ladies and, of course, the original Supergirl.