Keeping in Touch With Your Artistic Side

When people visit any of the major comic cons throughout the country, it's typical for them to arrive in costume. Showing up dressed like a favorite character is a great way to display your personal tastes and to show your appreciation to the comic creators. It's also a whole lot of fun.

The right costume choice can completely change your comic con experience and add a fantastic social element to your experience. Some of these are easy to execute while others require a bit of planning, practice, and effort on your part.

Deadpool

Not as well-known outside of fan communities, Deadpool is a spin-off character in the Wolverine storyline of the Marvel universe. He is typically dressed in a red and black bodysuit with a matching mask. He's also typically armed to the teeth, making the costume fun to put together.

However, the fun comes when you act in character. Deadpool is famous for being sarcastic, darkly comic, and completely irreverent. It's a long-standing comic con tradition for Deadpool fans to be rude, inappropriate, and completely hilarious. If you choose a Deadpool costume, be prepared to be approached by any number of convention guests--including other Deadpools.

Metal Gear Solid Stealth Box/Naked Sim

This unlikely pairing is created due to their required equipment. For either choice, all you need is a cardboard box. Yep, if you can find a cardboard box and are willing to wear it over your head, you've got a costume ready to go.

In the popular game Metal Gear, the protagonist is famous for hiding from enemies underneath a cardboard box. That means you should choose a box large enough to do the same. The Sims are famous for being pixelated when nude. You'll have to color your box in such a fashion if being a Sim is your intent.

Genderbends

One way to create a fresh take on old favorites is to create a costume that switches the gender of a character. While this has been performed to great effect by female cosplayers, anyone male or female can do it. The key is to create an effect that is completely different than the original intent.

For example, a seductive female villain could be reimagined as a large, hairy male in the same costume. Imagine Poison Ivy in full costume--but worn by a 300 pound man. The trick is to make the genderbend as ridiculous and unexpected as possible. If you have the courage, this approach is guaranteed to start conversations with everyone else at the convention.

Non-Characters and Puns

Sometimes a movie or franchise has a defining element that isn't a character. For example, Superman is vulnerable to Kryptonite--and any fan would instantly recognize a chunk of the green substance. Arriving at a comic con dressed as a huge chunk of Kryptonite would be unexpected by most of the other convention guests. It would also allow you to interact with anyone dressed as Superman.

Made famous by the fantastic Han Solo Cup costume, pun costumes can also allow you to be a living conversation piece without looking like everyone else at the convention. After all, you might see 15 Han Solos at a large convention--but none will be wearing a large red cup. The difficult part is coming up with a unique pun that's both funny and unexpected.

Above all, it's important to choose a costume that fits your personality and your intent. If you're not comfortable with a lot of attention from strangers, you might want to avoid certain costume choices, However, if you've got the courage, a fantastic costume will always make your convention experience richer and more interactive than a traditionally-clothed visit.

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