I Play, You Play, Cosplay

So I spent the day in a geek-a-thon on Sunday, delving deep into the world of comics, anime, horror and sci-fi at the Fan Expo Canada in Toronto. I discovered a few pop culture gems that I will mine later in the week, but the rest of the time I went to gawk at the cosplay and they did not disappoint. Halloween has got nothing on them. These are my favourites, go here for the full gallery.


Anime costumes dominated the floor, and some of the people were into their characters. I mean really into them.


Not knowing a thing about anime (and a convention floor not being a great time to ask), I have no idea who their characters are. So a little help, if you know, would be appreciated.


Of course it wasn't all anime. This woman's super power allowed her to attract all the men in the building with a camera.


And Supergirl managed to convince some people to pretend they were actually interested in Smallville.


Meanwhile Leatherface here just managed to creep me the hell out.


There were of course movie tie-ins, like Cobra Commander here.


And TV tie-ins as well. Here we see Stewie campaigning for a Family Guy Emmy.


There was very little in the way of Star Wars represented. No Darth Vaders and just a handful of Stormtroopers — but there was Mark Hamill standing all lonesome in a corner, so I threw him a photo-op. Actually Billy Dee Williams was signing autographs, which was weird.


I met the Joker and he kindly handed me a playing card. In retrospect, it was probably unwise of me to have taken it, but being Canadian I didn't want to be rude.


Seems like the Master Chief really let himself go after settling down with Snow White. Halo will never be the same.


Again, anyone have any idea who or what these are? I can tell they are doing a good job, but I have no clue what it might be.


An impromptu lightsaber duel broke out on the floor. These things are bound to happen, especially with the number of weapons being carried around.


Again, I've got to hand it to the anime folks. They really do go all out.


After a long day, even superheroes get tuckered out. I didn't have the heart to tell his parents what lied in their near future. See the full 46-picture gallery here.

Previously on Popped Culture...
When Fans Attack
The Simpsonzu
Superheroes Come In All Shapes and Cliches

When Fans Attack!

It had been years since I'd been to a sci-fi convention, so I jumped at the chance this weekend to indulge my inner geek at the Toronto Fan Expo. Man, a Lord of the Rings musical and a sci-fi convention in the same week? I suppose my geek isn't all that inner these days. Anyway, things have changed, with Star Trek and Star Wars taking a back seat to all thing anime.




Star Wars wasn't shut out entirely - we found Ham Solo here carrying the torch for Lucas and Co., but he was more of an exception than a rule. As for Trek, I saw but one Federation uniform and but a single Kilingon. What is wrong with kids these days?













The rest of Star Wars fanboys had their dreams crushed when, after lining up for hours for an overpriced autograph, they discoved that Carrie Fisher looks more like their mother than the Princess-Leia-on-the-barge fantasies they had been nursing for years.







Of course there were some other changes. It seems that quite a few women actually attend. I don't mean to engage in gender sterotypes, but well, ya know...










But it wasn't just about babes with swords and wings. The Pillow Fight League uses, you guessed it, pillows. The rules are as such:
1. Women Fighters Only. No Exceptions.
2. Fights have a five minute time limit and are won via pinfall, surrender, or referee stoppage. If a fight ends at the time limit with no winner, a winner is declared by a three-judge committee.
3. Punching, leg drops, clotheslines, submission holds, and other moves are allowed as long as a pillow is used to execute the attack.
4. No eye-gouging, biting, scratching, hair pulling, or low blows.
5. No rude, lewd, or suggestive behavior.
6. Loading a pillow with a foreign object such as a brick is strictly forbidden.




So how much do you think Vernon 'Mini-Me' Troyer is hating his life at that moment?

Check out the rest of my pics over at Flickr.