Some Sweet Cosplays, pt. 2

Okay, so since I made my first post on video game cosplays, many months ago, I have developed a sort of guilty pleasure involving the subject. While I've never really cosplayed, myself, it's not too unusual for me to get caught up in looking at other people's cosplays on deviantART, sometimes for an hour at a time. So without further ado, I present you: Some Sweet Cosplays, pt. 2.

This one just cracks me up. Not only are the costumes themselves very well-done, but those of you who are familiar with Team Fortress 2 and have seen the "Meet the Spy" video know that the Scout's mom is, apparently, quite the catch. So here, we have a hilarious and unmistakable demonstration of just that. It's title? "Dat Ass". Photo and cosplay done by PANCAKEScosplay on deviantART.com where you can find lots more cosplay goodness in their gallery, including more delightful TF2 ones.

I think it's safe to say that I have a certain, uh, fascination with the Splicers from the BioShock games. But that's not all that makes this cosplay so great, to me. The costumes are exquisite and the photography is spot-on, AND the setting looks like it came straight from Rapture, like a real-life scene from the game. And after all, isn't the recreation of beloved nerdoms what cosplay is all about? Photo uploaded by Dids-91 on deviantART. The rest of her BioShock cosplays can be viewed here.

In my opinion, some of the best cosplays on the internet are ones from the Final Fantasy series. The games themselves are an impressive demonstration of interesting character design, so it's no wonder that so many people are inspired to recreate their favorite Final Fantasy heroes and villains. This one of Lightning and Serrah from Final Fantasy XIII is one of favorites, for obvious reasons...great costumes, great photo, great emotions. Photo uploaded by RainerTachibana.


Those of you who have played Fallout 3 can appreciate the awesomeness of this Lone Wanderer cosplay by Frauette. I don't think I've ever seen a better Lone Wanderer costume. I mean, with her Pip-Boy 300 and everything, she looks like she just came from Vault 101! The setting in the photo is perfect and a common sight for players in the game, making the whole thing all the more delightful. Be sure to check out the other Fallout 3 cosplay photos in her gallery, as well.



I've liked this one for a long time. If you've played Final Fantasy IX, then you should recognize Kuja (in his Trance form) as cosplayed by Demented-Kid (she's got lots of other neat Kuja cosplays, as well). What impresses me the most is the hair--or rather, feathers. I've seen lots of people attempt it, but few seem to be able to pull it off...let alone this good. Aside from that, the makeup and costume are all fabulous, too.


That's all for now. I'm sure I'll have more neat cosplays to share in the future, though, so keep your eyes peeled.

Chicago Comic-Con 2010!

I spent the weekend at Chicago Comic-Con. While not nearly as popular or renown as San Diego's Comic-Con, Chicago's was certainly an event. There were easily thousands of people who attended over the course of the weekend (Thursday night through Sunday afternoon) and quite an impressive array of vendors, artists, and celebrities like Linda Hamilton, William Shatner, Adam West, and a handful of actors from TV shows like Buffy, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica. I went Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and I'm sure that there was plenty of stuff that I still didn't get to see. To be honest, the weekend was a bit overwhelming and exhausting, but I definitely had a good time, regardless. It was also my first con, so maybe it takes some practice to be able to enjoy the full experience.

Tickets were pretty reasonable; $25 a day or $50 for all four days. I obviously went with the 4-day pass, though we decided not to go Thursday night since we were a bit unprepared. There was also lots of reasonably priced stuff to buy there, too--comics, t-shirts, action figures, posters--the list goes on. The one thing that I do regret buying, however, is FOOD. Seriously, avoid buying convention food (and that of similar events) at all costs. We're talking $3.75 for a really

lame hot dog, $5.00 for a hardly filling piece of pizza, $5.50 for a sloppy Joe, $2.50 for a small pop, and so on. What crap is that?! Needless to say, we came prepared with our own food the next day.

As the con's name would imply, it was really a comic reader's dream. My knowledge of comics is, unfortunately, rather limited, so a lot of what the convention had to offer went right over my head. There were lots of other things going on that I could appreciate, though. Unsurprisingly, I saw dozens of cosplayers, including Domo, Storm Troopers, Darth Vader, Umbrella Corporation soldiers, and more. There were also several talks and panels going on. Celebs like James Marsters and Linda Hamilton gave speeches and I got to attend a panel featuring SFX360--a gaming community who talked about "Bringing Gamers Face to Face". They had some interesting things to say about starting a community, hosting/participating in game tournaments, etc. There were also lots of people at the con promoting their artwork, webcomics, etc. Definitely a good place to network.

If there was one thing that I went to Chicago Comic-Con for, it was to meet the five cast members of Battlestar Galactica who were there and to get Michael Trucco's (Samuel T. Anders) autograph. I was mostly successful. My friend and I actually struck up a somewhat substantial conversation with Aaron Douglas ("Chief" Galen Tyrol), who seemed like a pretty cool guy. We also got to talk briefly with Michael Hogan (Saul Tigh), who was way different than I thought he'd be...totally not like his character. He was kind of funny and wacky, in fact. It was weird. And then I said hi to Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh) who was, as I expected, very nice. Unfortunately, Rekha Sharma (Tory Foster) left the convention before I got to meet her. I did, however, get to meet Michael Trucco, who was the one that I wanted to see most of all. He is, without a doubt, every bit as studly in real life as he is in the show and even nicer than I expected. Granted, I only ever saw women lined up at his booth to meet him, so he was probably in hardcore woman-wooing mode, but still. I'm really glad I got to talk with him. Oh, and I got his autograph, of course. Cost me $25, but the whole experience was totally worth it. I wish I could've gotten a photo with him, but it would have cost me even more and I wasn't really prepared to throw down that kind of money. Next time, though! I did get a picture of Michael Hogan, but he was the only one, since I felt kind of like a creeper. Now, to meet Katee Sackhoff...

All in all, the con was a pretty fun experience. I wish I would've known a little more what I was doing, but there's a first for everything, I suppose. If you're in the Chicago-land area and you're into comics, I would definitely recommend it. I would advise against going on Saturday if at all possible, though, because it was pretty much a madhouse when I went. Friday and Sunday were much better. Even though we spent less time there on those days, I feel like we got to see more because we weren't trying to navigate through so many people.

I'm looking forward to going to more conventions in the future...perhaps ones that are for things that I'm a little more interested in. If nothing else, it's nice to get out of the house and go into the city for a couple of days.

Blog post on Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (the movie) coming soon.

Some Sweet Cosplays

We've all seen it before--some fat, hairy guy cosplaying as Link. Or even better, Sailor Moon (e.g. Peter Griffin, as seen to the right). What? You haven't seen them? Well, consider yourself lucky, because most of us are not so fortunate. What is seldom acknowledged, however, is that there are actually some pretty sweet cosplays out there that their respective cosplayers have put a lot of care and effort into. So I decided to do a little browsing on deviantART.com and found some cool cosplays/cosplayers that I figured I'd share with you.

The first is a Kingdom Hearts II cosplay featuring Riku and Namine. Aside from the well-made costumes (Namine's hair looks so pretty) and the skillful photography, what I particularly like is the setting. Spiral stairs are always kind of cool, but those of you who have played the games should appreciate the appropriateness of the background. The cosplay was uploaded by Lillyxandra on deviantART.


Next is the Spitter from Left 4 Dead 2. Not nearly as pretty as the first, but equally awesome, in my opinion. She is genuinely scary and the makeup on her face is perfect. Also, I love the high heels. The pose is spot-on, too. I guess the girl's a GameStop employee and dressed up like this for the midnight release of the game Also, kudos (I hate that word) to any woman willing to set her femininity aside for the sake of creativity. This cosplay was uploaded by tycho on deviantART.



This fantastic cosplay of Rikku from Final Fantasy X-2, my favorite FF character of all time (though, I preferred her in X), was done by blackmage9 on deviantART, who has tons of other cool cosplays in her gallery. This chick is pro. Obviously, the photo has been manipulated, but the costume is the best I've ever seen of Rikku. Her hair is amazing as well. Great costume, great photo, great cosplay. Definitely check out her other stuff as well.




I absolutely adore the Pyro from Team Fortress 2 and this humorous cosplay struck a chord with me, big time. The costume is one of the best I've seen and the pose is brilliant. Also, it's a girl underneath that costume, and I'm totally all about the Pyro turning out to be female, so big points there. The cosplay was done by tehcate on deviantART and she has another shot of her Pyro costume in her gallery that I suggest you go and find if you like this one.




Another Kingdom Hearts cosplay. What can I say? It's a very aesthetically pleasing and inspiring game. This is obviously Kairi (first-KH style), looking as cute as ever. Seriously, this girl did a spectacular job. The costume is nothing short of perfect and it's just a good look for her, costume, hair (I really want that hair), pose, and all. I have no idea how she made/got ahold of that charm, either, but it's awesome. Cosplay by LiL-KRN-YUNA on deviantART, who's got lots of other sweet cosplays in her gallery for you to enjoy.




This one's another that's been photo-manipulated (I know, I thought that was a real colossus in the background too!), but it's still quite impressive, nonetheless. The character is Wander from Shadow of the Colossus, of course, on his faithful steed, Agro. One of the colossi from the game has been Photoshop'd into the background. Well-designed costume and a cool setting, all in all making for a creative shot. Uploaded by ikarus-exe on deviantART.



This cosplay is the last one and I think it's one of the coolest I've seen, like ever. It's Shiva from Final Fantasy X! The hair is especially cool, I think, and looks very labor intensive, which is always a plus (look at those crazy hoop/ring things!). Or at least, makes it seem more impressive, which is something that this one certainly is. Seriously though, it looks like a lot of work went into this cosplay and it definitely pays off. Photo uploaded by tanknstar on deviantART, who is also the cosplayer.





Well, those were just some cool ones that I came across. I'd love to see any that you, yourself, have done, or have found elsewhere on the internets. So long as they aren't, you know...scary.

Oh, and I lied...













(Knightfourteen on deviantART)

Be sure to check out all of these guys' awesome galleries!