Cosplay
There was a distinct lack of cosplayers in the morning, with many of the better known arriving towards midday; much to Matts dismay, as that was the main reason he was here in the first place, as well as following me around taking pictures; but I digress. There was a broad spectrum of quality in the cosplayers, ranging from those who simply bought a costume from a shop, or even onesies, to those who spent a lot of money sourcing items, labouring for months, and creating their own; with different levels of success ( you cannot fault the effort though). A prime example of the ‘cream of the crop’ would Iconic Legion whose costumes were unsurprisingly faultless and who were there raising money for charity.
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As with all such events no Con is worth its salt without Cosplay Competition and LSCC was no different, with there Mascaraed starting at 3:15pm, this was open to everyone who wished to participate and had created their own costumes.
Firstly the contenders were lined up outside the panel room for the public to see and given a number. The organisers then opened the panel room where the contestants where marched in one by one, asked their name, number and character (Some contestants really did need to explain their characters, but for the most, the characters were quite obvious).
The first round was the children s category, which though only had a small number of contestants held a high level of quality, with the crowds highlight being baby Thor with little Mjölnir (Ignoring his father dressed as Electro who presented him to the audience and the four judges) but the winner was an excellent Hellboy.
Up next was the adult’s category, with costumes that ranged from the excellent to the down right ridiculous (but in great humour). Opening up was a group playing as the crew of serenity, and to end we had the fabulous, if slightly surreal, Gingerbread Punisher and Gingerbread Wonder Woman (both male). The adult’s competition was won by the hairiest member of the Green Lantern Corps; whose charm, cheekiness and likability won it in the end with an almost unanimous decision.
During the day all the cosplayers, both those who bought event tickets and those who didn’t, were always accommodating to photographers ranging from professionals to families, and often found outside the hall in the general public area.
And so ended a very popular and busy day one. I would like to say I didn’t spend any money, but I weakened, and in the final minutes bought the trade editions of The Darkness: Rebirth vol.1 and Witchblade: Rebirth vol.1 & 2.
After dropping my stuff of at the hotel it was then a short walk to a local bar for drinks with the attendees, Cosplayers, artists and publishers
