World’s Greatest Toys!

I managed to take a few compositionally interesting photographs. Despite the mad rush of bodies, seemingly everywhere you walked, I captured two (reported) “Dr. Who” costumers and a couple of thoroughly exhausted convention attendees. I like the rare occurrence of negative space.

Each year at Comic-Con, Batman and related characters account for many of the costumes you will see. I was quite impressed by some of the outfits, such as the Batman/Catwoman and Joker/Harley Quinn combinations I encountered.

In my Unofficial Comic-Con Masquerade Ball, this woman took my no-prize for “Most Ambitious Costume.”

Aeon Flux would be a tough character to pull off… if you weren’t willing to walk around with your privates almost completely exposed. Luckily for Comic-Con attendees, she was willing to go the whole nine yards in conveying the character’s diminutive costume.

Truly a Teen Titan. For most of the Con, this girl ran around with friends who were dressed as Raven and (I think) Slade. However, her Starfire costume was clearly superior and the coolest of the bunch, so we took an opportunity to photograph her alone, as she stood in queue for the Comic-Con Masquerade Ball.

I think it’s clear that modern toy companies have gone too far with their myriad figure variations.

I’m pretty sure this is French Fries-Gobblin’ Robin (left)… or is it Hamburgler Robin? Anyway, I decided to juxtapose this awesome dude with two random, super-hot Comic-Con chicks (right).

Safe to say: Never the ‘tween shall meet.

As if you need further proof that Geek Grrls Rule, I present Scarlet Witch:

Actress-turned-comic book creator Rosario Dawson yuks it up with a couple CosPlay Comic-Con villains, Joker and Harley Quinn.

OK, OK, OK.

I admit this girl didn’t exactly have the best Batgirl costume I’ve ever seen.

Do I look like I care?*

*hint: I don’t look like I care.

This could be my favorite costume of the entire convention. On Saturday night, we walked the line of fans waiting in queue for the Comic-Con Masquerade Ball. We found this young girl who created and wore an incredible Captain America costume, and I was really taken by its faithfulness while being quite original and clever.

She had cuffed boots, but they had heels! She had the shield, but it was the old-school 40s-style badge shield!

Perhaps most impressive was her addition of iconic American patches, one on each arm.

Big props to this girl. I’m guessing she is maybe 15 years old, and a case-in-point example of my assertion that Geek-Grrls Rule!

Update: August 5, 2007 — It has been brought to my attention that this “girl” is actually a 19 year-old woman who regularly engages in CosPlay at comic book conventions. I apologize for my inaccurate guess.

Taking a much-needed rest on Saturday afternoon, Andrew, Martha and I were chillin’ out in the convention hall’s atrium. I spotted an adorable woman about 50 feet away. When she raised her head and gazed over our heads, I struggled to reconcile the emptiness where her eyes should be.

“Andrew, check her out,” I nudged my buddy. “Oh, cool,” he said. “She’s doing the ‘Dark Willow’ thing.” Not being a fan of Buffy, I had to take his word for it.

She started to leave the area, so Andrew and I ran over to request pictures. She is really pretty, but the black contact lenses were really creepy!

Having failed to bring drops, she was blinking her dried-out eyes furiously. She was a good sport and managed to keep her eyes open long enough for us to get some cool images.