cosplay
NYCC ’10 | There’s got to be a morning after
Steampunk Iron Man cosplayer (from Marvel's Flickr feed)
• Organizers estimate that weekend attendance topped 95,000, ICv2 reports, up from 77,000 the previous year (when the convention was held in February). Next year’s event is set for Oct. 14-16.
• At i09.com, Kelly Faircloth and Alasdair Wilkins round up NYCC’s bestselling comics — among them, Darwyn Cooke’s just-released IDW adaptation of The Outfit, True Blood, The Walking Dead, and a handful of BOOM! Studios’ licensed titles.
• At The Daily Cross Hatch, Brian Heater files a lengthy convention report, complete with photos: “One thing New York Comic Con has had going for it in past years was a genuine focus on comics culture. Other ‘geek media’ has certainly been present from the beginning, but certainly nowhere as invasive as it tends to be at a show like San Diego. This year, however, it’s clear that the show’s organizers have no issue letting it take a backseat to glitzier undertakings. Perhaps the show’s ultimate saving grace will be the fact that it’s so far from Hollywood that it just doesn’t make sense for movie makers to invest as much in the event—yet another reason to pray that the Spider-Man musical doesn’t prove a massive hit.”
Marvel Minimates cosplayers are maxi-impressive
"Boxed Avengers" photo by Nikejerk3
I’m gonna make like Dr. Phil and get real in here for a second: I honestly think that these Marvel Minimates cosplayers are sporting the best comics-related costumes I have ever seen. Check out the entire photoset at Nikejerk3′s Flickr page and tell me if I’m wrong. Not that I’d listen if you did — I’ll be too busy staring at that Loki in slackjawed amazement.
(Via Agent M)
Heroes to gather in Hollywood Aug. 27 to break world record
In May Australians gathered en masse and in costume to break the world record for the most people dressed as superheroes in one place at the same time.
Melbourne’s gathered heroes numbered 1,245, and now it looks like someone in Hollywood wants to top that — based on ads on Yelp and Craigslist. Here are the details:
Los Angeles, Ca plans to top Australia’s record of 1245 people on August 27, 2010.
Come in costume as your favorite superhero or character and remember it is welcome to families and kids too!
The more people attending the better the chances of stealing Australia’s title!
Arrive between 12:30 PM – 12:45 PM at the intersection of Hollywood & Highland IN COSTUME on August 27. Anyone arriving after 1:00 PM will not be counted as a part of the World Record attempt.
Location:Hollywood and Highland
Hollywood, CA
90028
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
reMIND
Awards | The Xeric Foundation has announced its grant recipients for spring 2010: Margaret Ashford-Trotter, Thunder in the Building #2; Jason Brubaker, reMIND; Jonathon Dalton, Lords of Life and Death; Wei Li, Lotus Root Children; Jed McGowan, Lone Pine; Ansis Purins, Zombre #2: The Magic Forest; and Brittney Sabo and Anna Bratton, Francis Sharp in the Grip of the Uncanny! Book 1. A total of $32,761 was awarded for the seven projects. The next deadline for comic-book grants is Sept. 30. [via The Beat]
Retailing | Bookstore sales in May slipped 2.6 percent to $1.09 billion, while e-book sales rose 163 percent to $29.3 million. [Publishers Weekly]
Creators | The Washington Post has named Olivia Walch, a 21-year-old rising senior at the College of William and Mary, as the winner of the America’s Next Great Cartoonist contest. [Comic Riffs]
Superheroes gather in Melbourne to break Guinness World Record
Batmen and Robin
The Guinness World Record for the most people wearing superhero costumes in one place was shattered Saturday, and it wasn’t at the San Diego Comic-Con. According to the Australian, 1,245 people dressed as Superman, the Hulk and plenty of other superheroes gathered in Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia, breaking the record of 1,091 previously set in the United Kingdom. You can see a gallery of photos from the event here.
Get your Black Widow makeover at Nordstrom
Bracelets and tights not included
If you’re in the greater L.A. area and want to sport a new look when seeing Iron Man 2 today, head on over to one of seven Nordstrom stores for your Black Widow makeover. Every makeover includes a free Iron Man 2 gift — and a license to kill ninjas, heads of state and related bad guys.
C2E2 | Sunday
Mouse Guard's David Petersen talking to fans
I apologize for not having this up earlier, but we left Chicago right after the show and didn’t arrive home until the wee hours of this morning. I was too pooped to post, but I’m sufficiently awake now to give it a shot.
My intention for Sunday was to see some more panels and do some shopping, but it ended up being lower key than that. I skipped the panels, which is usual behavior from me on convention Sundays after being overloaded on Saturday. Attendance was down from Saturday and that also helped make it more laid back, but there was still a nice crowd, many of whom had come out just for the day. And there were tons of kids.
Last Airbender fans
I babysat Grant Gould’s table while he and Katie Cook conducted a panel for kids on drawing Star Wars characters. I’m sorry I missed it because Grant said it went really well. There were kids sitting on the floor in front of the stage and drawing as he and Katie instructed and cracked jokes.
Kids vs Grown-Ups, shopping, and I meet my own heroes after the break.
Animal cosplay on Marvel.com
Lockjaw
As a way to promote their upcoming Pet Avengers comic, Marvel.com is encouraging folks to dress up their pets as Marvel characters and post pictures in Marvel’s Flickr stream.
I’m all for the new Pet Avengers comic, as it sounds like fun, but I’ve never understood the whole “dress up your pet” thing. I mean, if your dog chews up your action figures or craps in the pantry on a regular basis, I think that’s grounds for making them wear a sweater — let the punishment fit the crime and all that — but otherwise it seems unnecessarily humiliating.
That being said, I’m totally for Photoshopping your dog to make them look like Lockjaw, like in the picture above that came from Marvel’s Flickr stream. No dogs were humiliated, and it came out really well.
There you go, Astro Boy (uh-huh, yeah, like that)
Inflatable latex/rubber cosplay outfits
Gia Manry points us to the future of all-male revues fetish-wear cosplay: inflatable latex/rubber costume knock-offs of beloved anime and manga characters. There’s “Astro Kid,” “Doraimon” and, of course, “Pikachoo” — among others.
Who could’ve guessed that the phrase “Pikachu! I choose you!” would be followed by the insertion of a dollar bill into the Pokémon’s booty shorts?
The designer, one Oliver Spiers, offers the custom-made outfits for sale (you have to contact him directly, though). There are, undoubtedly, many words of caution that should accompany these ensembles, but Spiers warns on the “Astro Kid” page that “Actual flight isnt possiable [sic] in this costume!”
