My wife and I may have different goals and preferences at conventions, but one of our stronger common interests (besides a wish for better concession stand food) is a love of seeing other fans in costumes. All that inspiration, sartorial effort, and fashion derring-do enlivens and enriches even the most jaded, crowded, bizarrely laid-out of conventions. Of all the photos that we two snapped last weekend at Wizard World Chicago, these are my personal favorite costumes and scenes for random reasons.
Exhibit A: Pennywise is every nightmare you ever had. Bloodied nurse stands by, waiting to do her job after It is finished with you.
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Axel from Kingdom Hearts II. I’m a sucker for characters from the first two Kingdom Hearts games.
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Loki seems much more at peace without his half-brother or large green assailants around.
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Sherlock Holmes is perhaps as simple an outfit to assemble as a Doctor Who ensemble (which once again increased their presence this year). However, my wife and I have watched the first two episodes of Sherlock over the past two weeks, the first of which I’d like to watch two or three more times, and were delighted to see our first such fan, post-viewing. In the other corner, the only episode of Doctor Who we’ve ever stomached was played for us at a 2000 sci-fi convention where a team of fans were onstage submitting it to an amateur MST3K treatment. The episode was wretched; the commentary, differently so.
Advantage: the esteemed consulting detective.
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Victor Zsasz, one of the two most memorable Bat-villains to emerge from the 1980s Alan Grant/Norm Breyfogle Detective Comics era.
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Static and Robin, the Boy Wonder. Fans of Static are 200% okay by me, especially if they’re so old-school that they call him “Static” and not “Static Shock”. Come to think of it, I should’ve tested this guy.
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Milk and Freeze. A carton of hate and a cylinder of spite.
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The Axis of Arachnids! Variant Spidey-costumes include New Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Spider-Man 3 black Spidey, and Flipside from 2099.
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I rarely see classic Hulk villains at cons. Carl “Crusher” Creel, a.k.a. the Absorbing Man, shows up on their behalf, and even brings along his old ball-’n'-chain.
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Hulk interview Storm. Hulk ask incisive questions. Hulk good journalist. Hulk ask flying weather lady for opinion of Halle Berry. Hulk hope for candid, catty answer. Wish Hulk luck!
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Google says this is Ciel Phantomhive from Black Butler. Please correct this ignorant old man if I’ve trusted Google in vain. I’m not the best at identifying anime characters and always appreciate assistance. I like learning about new things.
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Green Arrow. Solemn. Brooding. Equipped. It works.
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Edward Scissorhands was the only Johnny Depp doppelgänger I noticed all weekend. Usually you can count on at least one Captain Jack Sparrow to make the rounds and meet the quota.
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Moon Knight, a welcome change of pace from the 6,000 Bat-characters on hand. (Additional Bat-representation will be included in a forthcoming entry.)
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We conclude with Finn, a tiny Jake, Princess Bubblegum, and Marceline with the Axe-bass, because iiiiit’s ADVENTURE TIME!
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Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
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