The always festive Emerald City Comicon (Fri.-Sun.) annually draws a cheerful, nerdy throng of sci-fi and comic-book enthusiasts, many dressed in colorful costumes. Somehow their arrival, like so many bright-hued migratory superheroes, marks the beginning of spring. Then there’s the rather darker sensibility of Kevin Smith, who appears tonight with his old Clerks cohort, Jason Mewes. The duo are touring and recording their Jay & Silent Bob Get Old podcast; and indeed, Smith appears to be going through a midlife crisis. He had a very public falling-out with the producers of his violent, underrated satire Red State last year and finally self-released the movie, a great way to go bankrupt. Yet he survived, announced he’ll retire from filmmaking after a planned hockey movie (Hit Somebody), and just wrote a new book, Tough Shit: Life Advice From a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good. But we don’t get the title—with his constant tweeting, podcasting, and stage appearances, the 41-year-old is anything but lazy. BRIAN MILLER

Sun., April 1, 7 p.m., 2012