I have an old robe that zips up in front and fits like a muumuu — very comfortable, next best thing to being naked. Unless I go out for some reason, I sometimes don't get out of it all day.

I also have white hair and a long, thick, Santa-like beard, neither of which I take the trouble to cut very often (tho it's getting harder to find hair that "needs" cutting). These are among the rewards of freelancing — I don't have to look "presentable" for anyone else.

For a costume party a few years ago, I wore my robe and went as Mr. Natural.

The only people who didn't instantly recognize my costume were the comics fans. Sad, isn't it?

I went to a San Diego Con masquerade one time, wearing an orange sweatshirt, six-figure number across the chest with nothing but 1's, 7's and 6's, work gloves, baseball cap, and mask drawn on my face with mascara. And only at a fast-food joint around the corner did anybody know I was supposed to be one of The Beagle Boys. (Specifically, the one who likes prunes, the only one Barks gave an individual characteristic to, but even I didn't expect anyone to know that.)

Oh, the joys of working in an entertainment medium whose fans think "mainstream" consists of only one genre!

— DDM