A technical challenge
Name: Tegan
Cosplay: Dr. Mrs. the Monarch, "The Venture Bros." (Adult Swim)
"I love the show and I like this costume. It was kind of a technical challenge because of how it's made in the front. I'm actually wearing a corset I built, and it's velcroed down on top so everything stays in and nothing bad happens."
Live Science: What about this character appealed to you?
"She's sassy, chaotic neutral — she's a bad guy, but she's the voice of reason, too. Her husband wants to get at Dr. Venture, and she's kind of holding the reins. She's the smart one, so she comes up with all the plans. I'm also a doctor, and she has 'Doctor' in her title — I like that!"
Live Science: What's the most satisfying part about doing cosplay?
"Seeing fans freak out and get really excited and really happy that you're cosplaying their favorite character. I think that's my favorite part."
Comedic villain
Name: Serey
Cosplay: Cobra Commander, "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" (Hasbro)
"He's a villain, but he's very comedic, like Wile E. Coyote. He has all these plans, and they're always foiled by G.I. Joe. Even though he's a villain, he's so inept — he's very comical and he makes me laugh. I guess since the show itself is from the 80's, a lot of smiles today came from the older generation who grew up with it. They got a kick out of it, and little kids got a kick out of it as well."
Brave and caring
Name: Amber
Cosplay: Minfilia, "Final Fantasy XIV" (Game Boy Advance)
"Final Fantasy is one of my favorite games, and Minfilia is awesome! She is very brave and caring and she's very close to her friends, she cares about everybody, and that's what I like about her."
Live Science: What's the most satisfying part about doing cosplay?
"When someone recognizes who you are, and they get just as excited about the character as you are."
Expelliarmus!
Names: Kyle, Courtney and Shannon
Cosplay: Hogwarts students, "Harry Potter" books and movies
Kyle: Today we did a tribute to Alan Rickman [Severus Snape in the "Harry Potter" movies], who recently passed. About 75 of us cosplayed as "Harry Potter" characters. And what inspired it was a friend of mine, he just proposed to his girlfriend of a year and half.
Courtney: It was in the middle of the shoot today. We all circled around them, raised our wands, got down on one knee. It was really sweet.
Shannon: It just completely shocked her. She thought he was going to propose about a year and a half later down at Harry Potter World in Florida.
Courtney: But we've all been living with the books since we were younger. My mum used to read them to me in all the accents, and she kept reading them to me until I was well into my teenage years. It's been a big part of our lives, so we thought for Comic Con, why don't we go as [Hogwarts] students?
Kyle: The first cosplay that I ever did, there was a 7-year-old girl who noticed me and wanted a photo with me and it just burst my heart in two! I like seeing the joy on kids faces when they see their favorite character being played out. Or they say, "I wish I could be that person," or they read the book, see the movies and get to see that character come to life, it's a great opportunity for them.
Courtney: Especially when the little kids mistake you for the actual character and come up and give you a hug.
Shannon: And they just hang onto your legs! It's wonderful.
Courtney: And for people who are more introverted it gives them a chance to step outside of themselves. They get to be that character, and then they don’t need to worry, 'Oh, it's not my natural personality to be outgoing. But hey it's this character so I'm going to take that on and I'm going to portray them for the day.' When you're wearing the cosplay, it gives someone an opening to come up and say something to you. It's wearing your interests on your body. It's a really great way to bridge the gap and find the common ground.
