Cosplay Linkspam, 5 March 2012

My goodness, fellow cosplayers. I have been a busy shadowen. One day soon, there will be an actual content post, but, for now, here’s a handful of links to please your soul.

Let’s just be honest, here. One of the best things about the Captain America film was Chris Evans’s chest the costumes. Now, you can hop on your hog and pretend you’re Cpt. Rogers himself with this Captain America motorcycle suit from UD Replicas. I’m sure somebody out there could pull this off, even if the poor guy in the promo photo can’t.
Have I told y’all about the Cap costume my friend put together? Remind me to tell you about the Cap costume my friend put together.

In the realm of less-mainstream - but considerably more interesting - cosplay, here’s a young woman as Good God from Chandra Free’s The God Machine, which arymabeth and I will be plundering for costumes at this year’s Dragon*Con.
And because everyone loves Disney cosplay, have a look at these pretty mermaids.
Someday, before I die, I will make it to Gallifrey One, the world’s longest-running Doctor Who convention. Until then, I will survive on pictures and things like io9’s interview with a fellow acafan cosplayer about gender-bending in Doctor Who cosplay. The interview is great and the pics are wonderful. I’m especially loving the adorably Mod TARDIS dress with the scarf.
Speaking of gender and cosplay, here’s a short video from the ‘Sociology of Cosplay’ panel at Katsucon talking about harassment from non-cosplayers and how it sucks.
Finally, even though it’s now March, it’s not too late to get your Cosplay for a Cause 2012 calendar, the proceeds from which go tot he Japanese Red Cross to help victims of last year’s earthquakes. I would have linked to that sooner, but... I just found out about it this morning. Because I am lame.
I’ve got a small break between shows, now, so I’ll be doing some serious costuming in the next few days. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Stay strong, fellow cosplayers! And remember: There are only 178 more days until Dragon*Con.

-shadowen

Cosply Linkspam, 8 February 2012

The internet’s been a little light on the cosplay linkage lately (say that 10 times fast). But never fear, fellow cosplayers. I’ve scrounged up a few gems for you, starting with four recent stories via io9:

Mainstream news stories about fan conventions tend to be pretty lolarious, anyway. Make it a Quantum Leap convention in 1993, featuring an adorably teenage Neil Patrick Harris and an inexplicably popular Jason Priestly, and you’ve got a recipe for retro geekery.

Even more retro (and more fabulous) are these vintage pics of Angie Bowie (The Sovereign’s first wife) as a glam-tastic Wonder Woman and Black Widow.

For the casual cosplayer (and anyone who was a kid in the ‘90s), there are these lovely custom Power Ranger hoodies, which I covet (because I was a kid in the ‘90s).
http://io9.com/5880131/dress-up-as-your-favorite-power-ranger-with-custom+made-hoodies

And then there’s this. Y’all know I never hesitate to rag on store-bought costumes, but I honestly cant do any better than the io9 commenter already has.

Finally, in the much dreaded category of Cosplay Gone Wrong, some LA buskers dressed as film characters got into a brawl outside the Kodak Theatre. It’s worth clicking through just for the top image of the abandoned Spongebob costume lying flattened in the street.

That’s all for now, fellow cosplayers. This weekend, I’m hosting a Pasty Making Party for the members of Bicycle Cabaret, so it’s entirely possible you’ll be getting a tutorial on making the perfect pasty.

I’m assuming, of course, that this is relevant to your interests.

-shadowen

Cosplay Linkspam, 16 January 2012

Greetings, fellow cosplayers! How about we start this Monday afternoon with another blast from the past?

Retronaught has a gallery of geek-tastic pics from a 1980 Los Angeles con, showing us the only things that have really changed are picture quality and hotel carpeting.

Next, Almost Nerdy’s cosplayer of the week is our favorite cosplaying couple, John and Kate.

Finally, here’s two low-tech costumes that prove you don’t have to be fancy to be awesome: Carboard Iron Man and the Crochet Cyclops.


That’s all for this week, fellow cosplayers. I’m about to enter a serious costuming frenzy for the next few months. I’m doing costumes for two stage shows opening this Spring, working on a commission piece, and trying to get my own little ducks in a row for the summer con season. I’ll do my best to document all these processes and pass the benefit of my experiences along to you.

Now excuse while I go cut a vest for this Assassin’s Creed costume....

-shadowen

Cosplay Linkspam, 9 January 2012

Been a while since we’ve had one of these, hasn’t it? In any case, I’ve got some real gems for you, today!

Let’s just start at the beginning, shall we? And by ‘beginning’, I mean a website about the first ever Science Fiction convention in 1937. Even if a convention without cosplay can hardly be called a convention, and it may not have actually been the first, the site has interesting tidbits and many pics of nerdy white dudes standing around looking smart. So I guess cons haven’t changed all that much.

Also marking a first - but in a more ‘wtf’ vein - is the Victoria’s Secret Superhero Fashion Show. It is exactly as fierce and bizarre as you think it is.

By contrast, this kid’s Transformers cosplay shows us how simple ingenuity can create pure delight.

Much like this Daria cosplay, which seems to have been done just for the hell of it.

In the category of cosplay gone wrong, however, is this wayward Darth Vader, who apparently just wanted to take a nap in the middle of the road. (And please, somebody tell me that they read the headline “Man wearing Darth Vader mask attacks trooper” and thought “Well that storm trooper was just tempting fate”.)

Finally, I think we should all read The Fan/Pro Bill of Rights and take it to heart so that everyone can have a more pleasant con experience.


Today, I bought a costume piece for a costume I’m not sure I’m doing. Ain’t that life?

-shadowen

Cosplay Linkspam, 14 November 2011

Fellow cosplayers and con goers, please join me in welcoming the brand spanking new Comikaze Expo to our great, diverse family of nerd conventions. Looks like it’s off to a good start. And the Comikaze cosplayers are certainly in good form, including this daring dino hunter and tenacious t-rex.

In the realm of “really cool things way beyond my skill set”, here’s a tutorial for making robotic cat ears that are... wait for it... controlled by your brainwaves. I love the fact that (a) this exists and that (b) it exists because this guy just wanted to see if he could do it.

And then there’s the fashion line inspired by Toy Story. Because why the hell not.

Peace, love, and happy sewing, fellow cosplayers.

-shadowen

Cosplay Linkspam, 7 November 2011

On the list of grocery store costumes that make us want to gouge our eyes, we have “Spider Girl” and Gir. Yes, that’s right. Gir, the robot disguised as a dog from Invader Zim. What is that I don’t even.

Not all children, however, are doomed to the plastic tragedy of mass produced “costumes”. Some get to be recycled as Supreme Daleks. Others solve the eternal Princes-or-Darth-Vader dilemma by being both. I believe there’s also a Princess Batmanperson somewhere on the internets.

For those of us who have grown up, but not left behind childish things, we can go to parties dressed as internet memes, like these folks.

If you like a little history with your dress-up, Jezebel gives us the cultural history of “slutty” Halloween costumes.

And, finally, 90 corgis in costumes. You’re welcome.

-shadowen

Cosplay Linkspam, Halloween 2011

If you’re like me and haven’t glanced at a calendar in a while, you may be stunned to discover that today Halloween.

It’s okay. Just take a moment to let that sink in.

For many of us, Halloween is that strange annual event on which it is not only normal to dress in costumes, it’s expected. If you can’t attend conventions, Halloween is a great chance to let your cosplay skills shine and to impress all your non-geeky friends. If you’re a regular con-goer, however, this isn’t really the time to pull out the big guns.

It’s also a great time to tool around the internets looking for costume tips, inspiration, and other resources for your next con, since this is the one time of year that the average person gives a flying fuck about costumes. Just replace the word “Halloween” with “con” and you’ve got a cosplay guide.

The Daily Candy has a flipbook of super easy and fairly clever DIY costumes, an inordinate number of which involve flannel.

Just as lazy and exponentially more geeky are io9's “20 Zero Effort High Concept Costumes Guaranteed to Alienate your friends”. Personally, I’d love to see someone dressed as the monolith from 2001.

For those who are both lazy and demure, Jezebel has “Eight Alternatives to the ‘Sexy’ Halloween Costume”, as well as “The Last Minute Half-Assed Guide to Halloween Costumes”.

Unfortunately, Halloween is also the time when evil, cheap, tacky costumes come scuttling out of the dark, wretched sweat houses in which they were created to lurk on supermarket shelves, waiting to spring out upon unsuspecting shoppers. We must know this evil, fellow cosplayers, that we may wage war against it.

Another horror to watch out for is tacky pet costumes. As with human costumes, there are fine lines between adorable, clever, and just plain dumb. Exhibit A: The Tompkins Square Dog Parade. Occupy Wall St. Dog, FTW.

Exhibit B: Pure awesome.

Sometimes, the best costumes are born out of fusing things that have absolutely nothing to do with each other, as with this example from Chris Hardwick.

For further costume inspiration (or just an excuse to waste half an hour), The Mary Sue has links to galleries from NYCC, with some beyond cool costumes, and Adult Swim has video from the NYCC Venture Bros. costume contest, which is always entertaining.

If you’re still trying to decide what cons to hit next year, LA Weekly has a point-by-point comparision between San Diego Comic-Con and Dragon*Con, which hits some points that we didn’t address and also declares D*C the best place for cosplay.

Finally, whether you’re scrambling to prepare for Halloween or planning your wardrobe for the con, it’s important to remember that some costumes are just not okay. Now, I’m not talking about the follies of spandex and skimpy outfits; feel free to display as much of your physique as your personal confidence and region-specific weather will allow. I’m talking about costumes that, consciously or not, reveal your “inner racism”. Remember, fellow cosplayers: don’t be a dick.

-shadowen

Cosplay Linkspam, 19 October 2011

I’ve got a math problem for you, fellow cosplayers. Let’s see if you can work this one out:

Full time job + 2 (part-time theatre work) + occasional need to sleep = ?

If your answer was “No time to blog”, congratulations, you officially understand my life. But never fear, friends! For I have not abandoned you, and, today, I bring you many shiny links from across the interwebs.

First of all we have two very different but equally epic costume contests happening:

For you nerdcore fans (and really, who doesn’t love nerdcore?) Sabine thinks you should know that, “mc chris is running a cosplay contest on his latest tour, picking a winner from every show. The winners so far have been pretty epic. Updates can be had at his facebook:”. Geek rap and costuming, all in one place. Sounds like a party to me.

I may be showing my age, here, by I used to LOVE watching the old Tintin cartoons on... was it PBS? Anyway, I’m super excited about the new film, and so is star Jamie Bell. He’s so excited, in fact, he’s inviting fans to send in pictures of their Tintin cosplay and offering the winner free tickets to the London premiere of the movie. Unfortunately, the deadline is 19 October, so I kind of dropped the ball on that one. Still, it’s a cool thing to know, and hopefully we’ll get to see pics from the contest, later. Fingers crossed that this will inspire a new wave of Tintin love at next year’s cons.

Speaking of which, if you’re a parent, you probably strive daily to fill your children’s lives with the kind of quality geekery that will help them grow into tasteful, well-adjusted adult nerds. Tintin cartoons are that kind of geekery, this Catwoman costume is not. Weep for that child, my friends. Weep.

Another good example of doing right by your geeky family, is dressing them all up as post-apocalyptic zombie hunters for family portraits.

And, as The Venture Bros. Blog shows us, cosplay can also be a way to bond with that special someone.

If, by the way, you’re planning for a Venture-tastic con, The Venture Bros. Blog (Gods bless Marc Ilagan, for serious.) has
a brand new cosplay guide, to which they are steadily adding tutorials and pictures. Especially useful to those who are relatively new to cosplay.

Some folks are more devoted than others. Like
this guy, who is undergoing several cosmetic surgery procedures in order to look more like Superman.*

Finally, I’d like to give two shout-outs to some of the most bad ass cosplayers at this week’s New York Comic Con.

First, let’s give it up for this fantastic Spider Jerusalem cosplayer, who perfectly exhibits all the hallmarks of great cosplay:
A character who’s distinctive and recognizable (to comics fans) without being done to death.
A costume adapted to to the wearer that still hits those iconic points. (Painting the tattoos onto a flesh-colored shirt? Genius.)
Attitude.

Last, but not least, you’ve got to love the two guys who dressed as Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick. Because, when cosplaying characters just isn’t hardcore enough, you cosplay creators. (The best part of that image is the “mind=blown” look on Jackson’s face.)

That’s all I have for you, today, fellow cosplayers. Stay tuned for more sporadic and incoherent updates on the wide world of cons, cosplay, and costuming.

-shadowen


*I want to make it clear that I’m linking this article as a point of interest, not to snark. Body image and the personal appropriation of media images are serious-face subjects, and we at Frenemy Cosplay maintain a 100% judgment-free zone. (Although, to be fair, I’m still judging that kids’ Catwoman costume so hard.) So, if that guy wants to be Superman, then, godsdamnit, he can be Superman.
That being said... And this is random and still non-snarky... There was an episode of some sit-com, I wanna say in the late 90s, that took place at a Star Trek/SF-F convention, wherein George Takei briefly played a Trekker who had gotten cheek implants in order to look more like George Takei. The phrase “iconic cheekbones” was used. Does anyone know what I’m talking about, or did I dream this?

Cosplay Linkspam, 27 September 2011

Greetings, fellow cosplayers! Shadowen, here. Remember me? Possibly not, seeing as I’ve been MIA for so long. The good news, though, is that I have ALL THE LINKS for you today, including more stuff from Dragon*Con, some cosplaying resources, and a blast from the costuming past.

First up, we have Cosplay.com and The Superhero Costuming Forum, for those of us who like a little social networking with out cosplay. Cosplay.com looks to be heavy on the anime, and the SCF does pretty much what it says on the tin. these are probably old news, but I wasn’t aware of them, so I’m passing on the info to you, my loyal readers. Check them out!

If you’re hardcore DIY, or you just like seeing how stuff is made, go here to learn how to make your very own Daft Punk helmet, then wear it to the club and see if anyone asks for your autograph.

Also in the realm of rock’n’roll costuming - and reminding us that cosplay isn’t just about our beloved SF/F - check out this stunning Velvet Goldmine/David Bowie cosplayer. One costume, twice the glam!

To thrill my little vintage geek heart, The Azarian Collection has a big photo gallery of costumes from our favorite campy 60s superhero shows, including pieces from Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman costume, plus links to other geek retro sites.

Shadowen =/= gamer, but I salute my otherly nerdy brethren and respectfully point you to this detailed and entertaining primer for PAX in Seattle.

For my fellow fans of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman - and for anyone else who likes pretty things - check out these lovely masks inspired by the Endless.

Are you now or have you ever been a Hench(person) of the Mighty Monarch? If so, The Venture Home News is asking you to send in photos and video of your adventures in villainy, presumably for a promotional spot on the glamorous life of henching.

AND NOW: more Dragon*Con

The winners of the Hallway Costume Contest were posted, sadly without pictures.

Comics Alliance has their pick of the best costumes from the con, including the truly amazing Grand Galactic Inquisitor as photographed by friend of the blog arymabeth.

And here’s a Flickr set of photos from D*C.

For extra entertainment, we have Chad Vader’s 75 more costumes at Dragon*Con 2011.

And finally, The Really Really Long Video from Dragon*Con 2011.

Time to start working on costumes for next year! ....after I pay rent.
-shadowen

Cosplay Linkspam, 12 September 2011

As part of my illness recovery process, I’ve been catching up on The Guild, and HalloweenCostumes.com is enabling us to express our love for everyone’s favorite dysfunctional gamer with the official Codex costume. Although, to tell you the truth, I’ve seen homemade ones that looked a hell of a lot better.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: A metric shit ton of stuff from Dragon*Con.

@merrypranxster is sharing three sets of pics on Facebook and is asking people to tag themselves in the photos. So check them out and see if you can spot yourselves or your friends.
Set One. Set Two. Set Three.

Our beloved arymabeth also has a ton of pictures on Flickr, including many of yours truly and the beautiful Sabine. See them here.

There’s a bit of overlap, but you can also see my pics from the con under the “Dragon*Con 2011” tag on my Tumblr. View here.

Finally, because we are all about some Venture, The Venture Bros. Blog has pics and video from the party and costume contest. You can see arymabeth and I right in the middle, next to the naked Monarch.

I’ll be honest with you, fellow cosplayers, the bog is a little up in the air right now. No idea what’s coming next. So if our devoted readers have any ideas, suggestions, or questions, drop us a line in the comments or at frenemycosplay@gmail.com. In the meantime, back to the sewing machines! Only 359 more days til Dragon*Con returns!

-shadowen

Cosplay Linkspam, 29 August 2011

Just a quick one this week.

Check out this amazing sugar skull make-up job from the FuckYeahDragonCon Tumblr, which we love.

While not directly related to costuming, this weeks' Sunday Sweets on Cake Wrecks is a celebration of all things geeky as Jen and John gear up for the con. See their Ode to Dragon*Con here.

No linkspam next week, as I'll be rather preoccupied all weekend, but we'll have a Dragon*Con survival guide for you on Wednesday, plus a con round-up on our return.

Hold tight, fellow cosplayers. It's gonna be a wild week.

Cosplay Linkspam, 22 August 2011

This week’s linkspam is heavy on the weird and the sexy, with possibly a little more weight on the weird end.

First, we have two examples of Not Cosplay. First, some dude wearing a Ninja Turtle mask robbed a Wendy’s in Wisconsin. No word on whether he escaped via skateboard. Then, in Oklahoma City, Spiderman hit up a convenience store. Seriously, guys? Whatever happened to plastic US President masks? That's some classic criminal activity, right there.

Of course, the super hero weirdness reaches new heights in this now viral video a rather dumpy Spiderman terrorizing Warsaw with silly string. Y’all, I don’t even know, but I salute his dedication.

As a... we’ll say palate cleanser, check out this super cool TARDIS corset, made by Chandra Free (aka spookychan, who you should love and adore).

And, finally, some sexy Stormtroopers. Because why the hell not?

Just 10 days til Dragon*Con, fellow cosplayers, and my bags are already packed.

Cosplay Linkspam, 15 August 2011

Fellow cosplayers, I saw exactly ZERO cosplay news items this week. I guess everyone's still nursing their SDCC hangovers. the bastards *grumble*


Now excuse me while I go kick Sabine to make sure she's actually writing her post this week.

-shadowen

PS: Only 17 days til I'm at Dragon*Con!

Cosplay Linkspam, 9 August 2011

So I’m a day late. (And a dollar short, but that’s another story.) Here’s your cosplay linkspam of the week!

Ok, last one from SDCC, I swear! The Venture Bros. Blog (via Adult Swim) has a video from the Venture Bros. costume contest. Once again, this is most notable because it contains Sabine being epic. Watch the video here.

In fannish news of a different sort, fans of I Love Lucy celebrated what would have been the fabulous Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday by having the largest gathering of Lucy look-alikes in history. Not many pictures, but you can read about it here.

io9 has some good ones, this week. First, we have Japanese politicians in Dragonball Z cosplay. Y’all, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. Check it out here.

Also from io9, residents of Vancouver can hire a live-in servant who promises to dress and act as the dinosaur of his empoloyer’s choosing for a full year. I kind of want to shake this guy’s hand... er, claw. Talon? Anyway, details are here.

And... apparently GenCon was this weekend? io9 has a round-up of some of the best costumes, including SFW pics from the con’s burlesque show and a Spike Spiege cosplayer, which I haven’t seen in far too long. See the pics here.

This has been your linkspam for the week! Now I’m going to go frantically write this week’s actual post. It’s not gonna be pretty, fellow cosplayers. It’s not gonna be pretty.

-shadowen

Cosplay Linkspam, 1 August 2011

Are you tired of hearing about ComicCon, yet? Good. Because we’ve got more cosplay photos from SDCC than you can shake a lightsaber at, plus a few other tidbits.

First, and most importantly, we have Venture-related links featuring our beloved Sabine, because she is awesome and looked totally fierce.
Here she is in the LAWeekly slide show.
And just peaking in on the second image in this post on io9. (The interview is also pretty hilarious, even if you're not a Venture fan, though perhaps not as funny as this one.)

IMDB has a great gallery of all kinds of SDCC pics here.

Movieline did a series of interviews with cosplayers throughout the con, but the best by far is The Littlest Hit Girl.

Finally, if you’re looking for all kinds of SDCC news, updates, and stories, LiveJournal has a community dedicated to the world’s largest nerdfest here.

LAWeekly also has a list of convention “Dos and Don’ts” for fans. The article is specifically aimed at us Venturoos, but it’s generally applicable to fans of just about anything. Read it here.

In other cosplay news, if you’re looking for costuming inspiration, I ran across this list of awesome women in science fiction. It’s limited, but very retro and mentions a few I wouldn’t have thought of. My next costuming project is going to be Rachel from Blade Runner, so keep your eyes peeled. See the list here.

In another blast from the past, courtesy of the lovely Harumania (who is a brilliant artist and you should follow her on twitter) we have an older post from the 4chan boards with a metric shit ton of costuming tutorials. It is, in fact, SFW, unlike many other things on 4chan. Check it out here.

That's all for today. Stay tuned for more cosplay news and Sabine's SDCC round-up!

-shadowen