Dress up for Comicon

“The first time I ever cosplayed at a con was when I wore a Silk Spectre II costume to the Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo in 2014—I remember shaking in my boots the moment I left my apartment. I was terrified. What if there weren’t many people in cosplay? Would anyone laugh at me? Do I have time to run home and change into street clothes? Thankfully, I bit the bullet. I showed up, sweating buckets for fear of humiliation, and I couldn’t have been more needlessly worried. The level of acceptance was shocking. Children and adults alike would smile as I walked past, recognizing a character from one of their favourite comic books. A young boy would run up and say “I really like your costume” before running back to his parents. The level of connection at conventions is greater than anything I’ve ever experienced.”

“I arrived at the Northlands EXPO Centre flanked by my friends, who were dressed as Hawkeye and Agent Hill. And man did it feel cool. It wasn’t long before we met up with another friend dressed as the Black Widow, and the four of us spent the day striding purposefully through the building (because S.H.I.E.L.D. agents wouldn’t walk any other way). I feel a little like I was channeling my inner Nick Fury all day, not just my outer one. This experience was an absolute ton of fun. Because we had such great group costumes, lots of people wanted our picture. I strode around the EXPO Centre with purpose. We spent the day discussing what Nick Fury would and wouldn’t do and how he would and wouldn’t do it. The four of us couldn’t help but dissolve into giggles any time we remembered who I was dressed as.”

“Throughout the day, I was regularly approached for photos, with everybody very friendly and complimentary about my costume [...] One problem I soon discovered – which may be useful to know for any of you planning to cosplay barefoot characters – was that my transparent plastic flip-flops were desperately uncomfortable. I’d heard and ignored the warnings about practical footwear when you’ll be on your feet all day perusing the stalls, so it served me right when my feet suddenly began cramping up just a few hours in. Thank goodness I had my fluffy blue slippers with me from the commute, or I would’ve been stuck on the floor for the afternoon. [...] Aside from that, it was also difficult not to touch my face and to eat, thanks to the makeup, and of course the mask and glasses detracted somewhat from the overall effect.”