Thursday, April 9, 2015

Sunday Fly-by to the Emerald City Comicon-2015--Encounters with Cosplayers


(Image:  Emerald City Comicon Banner)

Comicons are events where writers, artists and fans gather and express their love for comics, graphic novels and their TV shows and movies.  

Cosplayers are a special group of people that don't just admire their favorite characters from afar.

No, they immerse themselves in the roles, often to the same degree as professional actors.  Some are even considered professional cosplayers, such as AZ Powergirl and Ivy Doomkitty, both of whom attended this year's ECCC.

While Alex and I didn't meet either of the pros, we were impressed with the "rank-and-file" cosplayers, starting off with...

...The Men:

The first guy we ran into was distinguished Ambassador Londo Mollari from the show Babylon 5.


Londo walked with Alex & I for a few moments and he confided with us about the one difficulty he had with his otherwise elegant costume:  His head-piece didn't allow him to tilt his head back to drink.  So he had to drink fluids through a straw.  In fact, Londo was holding his left hand behind him not only to strike a regal Centauri-like pose, but to hide the soda bottle--with straw--he was drinking from.

After Alex & I parted ways with Londo, we encountered an other-worldy ambassador:  Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas


I have to admit that my "geek credit" is a bit anemic in some areas, especially with computer, or on-line games.  

So I'm not sure who this guy is...


...or this guy, although I at least recognize the Ghostbusters arm patch and lapel pin.  


Now here's a guy anyone with low geek-cred can identify:


Alex and I ended up running into Han Solo a few times during our walkabout.  As it turned out, Han is an actor currently performing with the USO.

Not every costume needs to be elaborate, "scruffy-looking," or otherwise. 

Sometimes all you need is a suit and badge, like S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson demonstrated:


Formal attire wasn't limited to civilians.  There was the pre-red-white-and-blue Captain America in his Eisenhower Jacket...


...and his trusty Vibranium Shield

And speaking of trusty companions, there was at least one "doctor in the house" Alex & I encountered.  In this case it was the Time Lord Doctor Who in his fourth regeneration...


...and his faithful K9.


The Women: 

The good doctor wasn't the only Whovian Alex & I met.  By my count, there were two Weeping Angels, and I managed to snap a picture of one of them in her Quantum Locking Defense


I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't seen the movie Guardians of the Galaxy yet.  But at least I recognized Gamora.


Another space-traveler, was Officer Ripley...


... from the Alien Films and her Chestburster "pet."

Sometimes it was hard to tell who was the pet...


...and who was the owner.  Or maybe dinner, in the case of this Graboid costume from Tremors

Alex & I spotted several cosplayers in various Star Trek uniforms, but only one...


...in vinyl.  (Maybe she was posing as Holodeck program?)

Coming back from "the final frontier," where "no one can hear you scream," there were Disney princesses a-plenty.

I managed to get pictures of some Disney Princesses, from bow-wielding Merida...


...from Brave, and Belle...


...from Beauty and the Beast wearing her ball gown and a Mona Lisa Smile.

Couples & Pairs: 

Cosplaying doesn't have to be a solo endeavor either.  It's even more fun to have a friend or partner with you.

But sometimes two cosplayers can be twice as confusing.  I'm guessing these women were dressed...



...as their versions of Harley Quinn

Fortunately, even in the dark there was no guess-work about Dark Phoenix...


...and Wolverine.  (I think having Cyclops around would have made things awkward for these two).

Love triangles aside, some cosplayers put on a micro-performance.  Outside the Show Floor, the Wicked Witch of the West...


...tried to remove the Ruby Slippers from Dorothy Gale's feet.

Meanwhile, Wendy Darling...



...admonished Peter Pan about it being time he grew up.

Cosplay Team:

There were more than just pairs of cosplayers at this year's ECCC.  Alex's eagle eyes spotted this pack of Minions behind us...


...and I managed to snap a picture before they set out on their mission of mayhem. 

Now as this Cosplayer Encounter post draws to a close, I'd like to thank the folks who helped make this year's convention a success...

(Image from: Archie McPhee's Flickr Page from ECCC-2012)

...the Emerald City Comicon Minions!

Note:

If you're interested in being on the Minion Team next year, log on to the ECCC Minion Application Page as the event draws near.

2 comments:

Piper Bayard said...

Great pics! Thank you for sharing them. No place on earth like a good Comic Con. :)

Ted Henkle said...

Thanks for commenting Piper! Going to a Comic Con puts a great and unique twist to your run-of-the-mill people-watching.
I had a great time and the costumes were awesome!