The Cosplay Masquerade Of WonderCon

Published Sun, 31 Mar 2013 11:51:13 -0500

Last updated Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:29:02 -0500

Kyle Fukumoto writes from Wondercon;

Saturday night at WonderCon held the return of the Masquerade. It was hosted by Phil Foglio, the artist and writer with his wife Kaja on Girl Genius. Fans almost filled the arena seats and cheered on the contestants. There were thirty-five entries with fans dressed in their own creations and also costumes inspired by comic books, video games, and movies. The audience shouted out the number of each entry followed by an over-the-top "A-ha! ha! ha!" There was a Lego Darth Maul, an original costume the Dragoness complete with fangs, wings, and a tail, and the Ash and the Demon Girl costumes which received a strong audience response with a young boy dressed up as Ash from Evil Dead.

One of the winners for the Lucasfilm awards was Minnie R2-D2 which had a young girl in a ballet outfit complete with a Minnie Mouse R2-D2 hat. Another audience favorite was the Witch-King of Angmar which had characters from Lord of the Rings act out the scene where Eowyn defeats the Nazghul. There was a character from Legend of Zelda before a fan dressed as Gandalf the Grey. Fans dressed as Bioshock Infinite characters acted out a scene from the game winning them a judge's award. Roboromance was a mix of Robocop and Lilith from the Darkstalkers video game. Two fans dressed as Marvel Comics characters; Red She Hulk and Doctor Strange. A fan dressed as Christine Daae from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, but she missed having her Phantom on stage.

There was a fan in a Chun Li costume from the Street Fighter video games. One of the night's winners was Cobb the Spider which had a fan in an original costume that utilized stilts. Another winner was the fan dressed in her original Fem Doctor, a Victorian era dress complete with Tardis umbrella. One fan appeared as Princess Rosella, a character based on the movies featuring the Barbie doll. The fans cheered for G.I. Joe Ninja Retaliation that had Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow going into full martial arts mode. There was a costume of Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th movies.

The audience was pleased at Cat's Meow which had fans dressed in cat costumes and dancing to the Stray Cat's "Stray Cat Strut." Host Phil Foglio said that there was a missing hat and this was given to a fan dressed as Jack Sparrow. The winner of three of the night's awards went to three fans dressed as Lego versions of Boba Fett, Darth Vader, and Jango Fett and they started dancing to Psy's "Gangnam Style." A fan dressed as a princess from My Little Pony. There was a long introduction for a fan in a Final Fantasy XIII costume. Another winner was the fan in the Hawkman costume. He had the outstretched wings and mace which won him the DC Comics award. Some fans dressed up as Scarecrow, the Joker, and Harley Quinn and staged their own scene based on the DC Comics characters.

A fan dressed as Severus Snape from Harry Potter won an award for the night. There was a fan who had a different take on Captain America, an alternate version of the World War II era, and he danced to the Andrew Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." Phil Foglio was called out to take one of the swords of a fan in his original Hawknor the Relentless costume. The fan in the Headless Zombie costume won an award. Two awards were given to the fan in the Queen Amidala's invasion gown costume. Some fans dressed up in original costumes featuring the Caffeinatrix. The last costume was a fan in a Metal Gear Solid costume. During the break while the judge's made their decisions, the Saber Guild came out to perform with their lightsabers. The awards were given out and closed the night.

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