I’ve wanted to whip together a Black Canary costume for some time, mostly fueled by my enjoyment of the admittedly horrible Birds of Prey TV show and the few (quality) trades I’ve picked up over the years. It was also a practical costume to add to my collection considering the amount of DC cosplay groups I’m asked to join every year.
I said I wasn’t going to shoot this costume after it’s debut out on the town at the annual Zombie Pub Crawl. I lied.
I can honestly say this was never a costume I intended to make. Crossplay (gender-bending cosplay) hasn’t been a priority on my list, and in reality I was interested in dressing up as Elika from Ubisoft’s recent Prince game rather than the Prince himself. However, one night while out with my friend Ashley, we came up with the idea of putting together a group for San Diego Comic Con featuring female versions of male video game heroes.
I’ve been on a bit of a Silent Hill kick the past few weeks and these little guys are the reason why. After creating my first custom Munny figures a few weeks back, I began feverishly debating what I should take on next. I almost instantly had my mind made up to pay tribute to BioShock with a Big Daddy and Big Sister duo, but got sidetracked by the thought of bringing to life two of Silent Hill’s most iconic monstrosities – Pyramid Head and a Nurse. Trapping myself into finishing these guys this week, I preemptively tied my CosBlog entry on Wednesday to Silent Hill. If you haven’t checked it out yet, do so here!
Minnesota is known for many things, one of them being the annual Zombie Pub Crawl. I don’t know of other such gatherings across the nation, so I’m going to go ahead and make a totally unverified/bias claim and say that ours is the best Zombie Pub Crawl in the world. Especially because they allow zombie hunters to join in on the fun.
I’m somehow playing catch-up again, still archiving costumes from SDCC 2009. But better later than never! This costume/project was as much fun as it was work - heaps of both. Considering I had already figured out the mechanics of crafting a Witchblade gauntlet from my prior two costumes, the execution itself wasn’t overly strenuous. It was the organization that got a tad overwhelming.
It’s no secret that I like stuff. Toys in particular. I’ve been collecting comic book and video game paraphernalia for years now. But the designer toy scene – in particular, vinyl figures – is new territory for me. I’ve been dabbling in Kid Robot offerings for a few years now and have developed some favorite artists, but never tried playing around with the DIY items till this weekend. I figured I would show them off here! Let me know what you think!
Elektra Natchios has always been an intriguing character to me – one of the few females in mainstream comics that is unapologetically violent and brutal. Being one of the most deadly assassins in the Marvel universe, she has a very dark side, but she maintains her femininity. It makes for a very interesting character combination.
There are some fantastic femme fatales in the Batman universe and Poison Ivy has always been a favorite of mine. Hands down. Selena Kyle, who I’ve already tried on for size, is fun and frisky. But Pamela Lillian Isley is a creature all her own. A botanist turned eco-terrorist, Poison Ivy is a character you love to hate, or vise versa. No matter how bad she is, I always find myself rooting (pun intended) for her maniacal and misguided schemes.
[Update: 2/12] I’ve added a second gallery with recent photos from Katsucon 2012! I polished up the costume a bit, and am estatic with the lovely snaps by Anna Fischer and LJinto. Check them out!
I put on Patience’s black boots and chaps yesterday for Minnesota’s FallCon convention, and it motivated me to get my butt in gear and officially post my costume write-up and photos. Read on for more details about how this costume came to be.