Geek of All Trades: cosplay

Yes, Gen Con is coming up. Yes, I’m going (my second time!) (all four days!). Yes, I’m wearing costumes (you heard me right-costumes. As in, more than one. On different days, of course). Yes, I’m dragging my boyfriend along (he’s actually pretty excited). BRING. IT. ON!

Excitement aside, I really don’t have much planned-just a few things I know I’m doing and a few things I might do. And that’s totally okay.

A Floridian friend of mine on Facebook recently asked for some advice on conventions. She said the Tampa Comic Con looked fun, and that she planned on going, but that she’d never been a comic nerd so she didn’t know how to prepare. I typed out a long comment response, and quite liked the way it turned out, so I thought I’d share it with you as a little advice for Gen Con (or any convention). Enjoy.

I haven’t been to a Comic Con before, but I have been to Gen Con Indy, which is a gaming convention. I was not a gamer at all before I went, but I heard that they had writing classes going on too, which is something I’m definitely interested in. So I went to some writing seminars, hung out with my friends that also went, and just walked around looking at everything.

Even if you’ve never been a comic geek (or gaming geek, in my case), they’ll have something that’s related to something you’re interested in. Just look at the schedule, see what’s going on, and check a few things out. Even if you’re not a comic geek, I’m sure their exhibit hall (where stuff is on sale) will be super fun to walk around in. They have lots of stuff that’s not actual comics for sale. So, just check out some stuff and have fun!

So that’s my last word on the subject of Gen Con (or any other convention): Check out some stuff and have fun! See you there!

In case you haven’t been on the internet in the past several days, last Saturday was Star Wars Day (there were pictures everywhere). You know, May the Fourth be with you! It also happened to be Free Comic Book Day. Lucky!

Normally the only thing I would have done to celebrate Star Wars Day would have been to wear an appropriate T-shirt. This year, however, a friend of mine that works at Half Price Books had told me about the May the Fourth celebration her store had planned-posters, decorations, displays, costumes, and, perhaps best of all, stormtroopers. Yes, the 501^st Legion had a planned appearance at Half Price Books. This called for something far greater than a mere T-shirt.

I still wore a Star Wars T-shirt.

I wore it in the first half of the day, while I scrounged three different Goodwill stores for a costume. Granted, this was unnecessary thrifting, as I found all my costume pieces at the first store. But really, can you ever have too much thrift store shopping? (In case you were wondering, the answer to that question is no, unless you are a hoarder, in which case it is a resounding yes.)

After my awesome mother did my hair, I was dressed and ready to show my costume to the world. If you’re getting curious, I’ll tell you that I was dressed as Princess Leia from Episode V, in her Hoth gear. So much white! Leia really seems to wear a lot of white. Doesn’t seem too practical to me. Wouldn’t she get it dirty so quickly? But whatever.

My friend (the one that works at Half Price Books), my boyfriend, and I met for dinner before heading over to HPB. The funny moment there was when my friend and I were waiting for my boyfriend, and I heard the host say, “Are you meeting other wookies?” I knew he was talking to my boyfriend because my boyfriend has this awesome Chewbacca shirt (he got it from me).

Chewbacca for the win!

There were four members of the 501^st Legion at Half Price Books that evening: two ‘normal’ stormtroopers, one Hoth stormtrooper, and one TIE fighter pilot. My friend that works at the store was dressed as Wicket the Ewok (Yay!). Among the employees there was also a Jedi, Yoda, Han Solo, and R2-D2. I thought it was quite the nice assortment of characters.

There was much picture taking, with and without the stormtroopers. When I was taking my “getting arrested” picture, one of the stormtroopers said, “Blasters set to stun!”

That made me laugh because that time in the first movie with Leia has to be just about the only time that blasters are ever set to ‘stun.’ I mean, really.

My most surreal moment of the evening was when we were inside watching some kids beat up a Death Star piñata. The TIE fighter pilot walks up to me and says, “Boba Fett is looking for you.” Hmmm. Not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing… Sure enough, a few moments later, up walks a guy in a suit and a Boba Fett helmet and wants to get his picture taken with me. I’m game, obviously, but I get the feeling we looked like the weirdest prom couple ever. He was wearing a suit and a Boba Fett helmet! Seriously!

There was also an adorable moment with a little girl. Her father said she loved Leia, and when I met her she just smiled a lot, didn’t say anything, and cuddled up to her dad. Later, when he got a picture of her with me, she ran right up to me and wrapped her arm around my leg. I just about melted, she was so sweet! Things like that are some of the best things about dressing up in costumes-you get to make somebody’s day, which in turn makes your day that much better.

I finished out my Star Wars Day by going back to my house and watching Episode IV with my parents and my boyfriend. Such a good movie, I hadn’t seen it in a long time! My dad and my boyfriend kept commenting on everything that had been added from the original version. I’m not going to get into that debate here. It would take far too long!

I had a great Star Wars Day. I got to dress up, hang out with stormtroopers, and have a really great time (I also grabbed a free comic-Free Comic Book Day!).