For someone neither in shape to wear nor talented enough to create elaborate costumes, I am a picky, fickle sort of costume photographer. (Not to mention a lousy one.) I didn’t take pictures of any well done costumes I didn’t recognize. (Sorry, shoujo fan- (and frequently cat-) girls!) I only took pictures of superlatively awesome and/or singularly unique costumes. Because I don’t care how many hours you spent spray-painting your head electric green: if you’ve seen one Joker, you’ve seen him a thousand times. People in rubber masks (if they didn’t make the masks themselves) are cheaters, so no pictures on the internet for them. And because I’m a crotchety old lady, the bias of the costumes I tracked down reflect a late 1980s-early 1990s childhood.
Sue me later; for now, enjoy these poorly lit and framed photos of my favorite conventioneers.
| Best Professional in a Costume | |
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He has the paunch of a Ray Stantz but the devil-may-care grin of a Pete Venkman! |
| Most Cunning Hat: the Jayne Hat | |
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This sucker was everywhere. I began to fear that the brain slugs had modified their camouflage. |
| Best Anime Costume: Nicholas D. Wolfwood | |
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This man carried a cross around an overheated convention…for youuuuuuu. Ergo, he wins. |
| Best Video Game Character: Sora | |
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Unsurprisingly, all of the best costumes of Square Enix characters were teenage girls. Every one. |
| Best Anthropomorphized Animal Superhero/villain Costumes: Darkwing Duck and Negaduck | |
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Almost cut out of the picture entirely: Morgana Macawber. Because she didn’t commit the way these two did. Skip the beak, get cropped out of the photo. |
| Best Immediately Obvious Yet Cleverly Unique Reference to a 1990s Game Show: the Green Monkeys | |
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Their shirts looked professional. This may be because, as was pointed out to me by fellow Tor.com blogger Torie Atkinson, they were of an age where they might have actually been contestants on Legends of the Hidden Temple. |
| Best Criminal Costume: Carmen Sandiego | |
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When I met her, she was covering her face, so I can’t tell you what color her eyes were. But I heard someone say that she likes spelunking. |
| Best Batman: Terry McGinnis | |
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Sorry, movie-Batmen. Terry takes the prize by virtue of not relying on rubber masks for gravitas nor a cape to cover the old backside. Plus! Batman Beyond! Way to think outside the box and still be in the Bat-family! |
| Best Costume Despite Impossible Character Body: Black Cat | |
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Boobs and a size two waist. Bless her. |
| Best Semi-Obscure Comic Book Characters: Spider-Woman and Mr. Sinister | |
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| Judging from Spider-Woman’s reaction when I tapped her on the shoulder to ask for a picture, she had had something of a hard time with photographers. She complimented me for asking her so politely. Between her surprise at common courtesy and Black Cat’s anecdote about the one photographer who asked her if her cleavage was her own, I would hazard a guess that busty women in tight clothing are extraordinarily popular (and not in the best sense of the word) at these conventions. | |
