100 photos from the Chicago mega-convention

Seriously impressive Disney Princess fabulousness from cosplayer thesarcasticginger, who totally pulls off this Belle. Read the rest

Thor is in the house.

Elan Lee (previously) is part of the team that brought us the amazing card game Exploding Kittens (previously); writing in MAKE: Magazine, Lee explains how they built an awesome Exploding Kittens vending machine for Comic-Con, to go beyond the boring, traditional ideas of what a con booth was. Read the rest

IMGUrian Syn9 made this wonderful cyberpunk face shield helmet blinky thing. Read the rest

Satire site The Sioux Falls Headliner has a funny alternate-universe story in which an unnamed man was taken into custody after he dressed up as Arnold Schwarzenegger in his role as Mr Freeze in 1997's Batman and Robin, drove to the local Walmart, and stood in the parking lot, hollering cold-weather puns at passersby. Read the rest

Take one helmet; mount eye-facing UV LEDs in rim; insert UV-reacting contacts, voila! Read the rest

“Added some epic wings to accompany my previous Perler Bead Armor set,” says Cosplay Amy. Holy cow this is beautiful and extremely committed. It's so gorgeous. Read the rest

I love the clothes from Volante Design ("Superhuman Streetwear"); their latest is the "Starfleet 2364" line of men's and women's jackets inspired by Star Trek: The Next Generation uniforms. Read the rest

Mineralblu produced this nice video celebrating the creative talents of cosplayers at New York's Comic-Con this year.

Images: mineralblu/YouTube Read the rest

Just in time for Halloween, this cosplay-adjacent dress inspired by the Haunted Mansion's Tightrope Girl (AKA "Ballerina and Alligator, AKA Parasol Girl, AKA Ally Gal, Sally Slater, Daisy De La Cruz, Lillian O'Malley), sold with matching cape and ribbon. It's part of the fabulous renaissance in Haunted Mansion merch, including this Haunted Mansion Ballroom dress. (via Welcome Foolish Mortals) Read the rest

Epic Nerd Camp is a 5-day summer camp for adults in Pennsylvania's Poconos Mountains that celebrates cosplay, LARPing, RPGs, Quidditch, escape rooms, swordplay, wizarding, and many other special interests popular among geeks. The Washington Post's Karen Heller paid a visit:

ENC was the brainchild of Kim Kjessler, 37, a former dolphin trainer, and her 26-year-old chef husband, Bentley. “I designed a camp that I wanted to go to,” she said in the Arts and Crafts shed, where campers created wizard staffs, leather apothecary cuffs and Edvard Munch-like portraits of a “Last Jedi” porg.

She was inspired by gaming gatherings such as BlizzCon, where she met Bentley five years ago. “I love conventions, but they’re not tailored to making friends. It’s hard to make friends as adults.” She wanted camp activities and camaraderie. A sort of Burning Nerd...

ENC promotes two overarching tenets: You’re free to be who you are, and this is a no-judgment zone. “If you’re looking for some nerds to troll/bully, ENC is not for you,” the camp website states. “We’ll boot you out and keep your money.”

Participants described middle and high school as an interminable hell. They had to become adults, and wait for the world to change, to gain acceptance, and find their tribe. Yet it can still be hard to fully unleash their inner geeky selves.

"‘Growing up, we were the weird ones’: The wizarding, mermaiding, cosplaying haven of Epic Nerd Camp" (Washington Post via NextDraft)

Read the rest

This week Victorville, California police arrested a 14-year-old boy who dressed up in a sheriff's uniform, put emergency lights on his grandfather's car, and drove around "responding" to various crimes. After the real police pulled him over, they searched his room and found "counterfeit money, simulation firearms, ballistic vests and other law enforcement related items." No word on whether the youngster had cultivated cop speak. From the Merced Sun-Star:

Police also realized the teen had a busy night before he was pulled over: He had pulled over a woman in a fake traffic stop, and asked for her identification, police said. The teen let her off with a warning.

During a separate incident that day, the juvenile turned on his emergency lights, drawing a 16-year-old out of a home. The dressed-up teen told the 16-year-old he was responding to a domestic disturbance call. But when the imposter was told no one had made such a call, he left the scene, police said.

Read the rest

After careful examination of several practically-identical products and a thorough delve into reader reviews, I can finally make my long-awaited recommendation for a strap-on unicorn horn: the YanJie Shiny (~$10, Amazon).

Aside from the critical rainbow model, it comes in various colors, is adjustable, and has the all-important strap so it doesn't come off your head when under extended or vigorous use.

It is five inches long, made of polyester, and a buck or two more expensive than the competition. For an item so important, though, it's worth splurging.

"I am an 'average sized' adult and I wore this for a party," writes D.T. "it fit perfectly."

"Using for cosplay and cosplay only," reports Queen of the Succubi. "It is legit enough."

"We love it, dog hates it," cautions Daniel. "What more can I say."

If you know of a superior shiny rainbow strap-on unicorn horn, tell us about it in the comments!

YanJie Shiny Unicorn Horn [Amazon]

Read the rest

Tired: cosplaying the carpet at Dragoncon (even if you do get bonus points for attracting spurious copyright threats from the venue!); Wired: cosplaying the venue itself!. (via Neatorama) Read the rest

Jamie Kruger's 2016 Sexy Hallowe'en Costume Costume is a work of sheer. Fucking. Genius. (via Wil Wheaton) Read the rest

A ceiling, no doubt in league with the Devil, tried to steal a cross being borne by a fellow dressed as Jesus as he ascended an escalator. Spoiler alert - goodness prevailed.

Read the rest