Cosplay begins with the inspiration usually stemming from someone’s passions or interest. This could be a video game, a television series or an anime or a movie, a comic book series or any other interest. If there is already a character, you enjoy reading and watching movies. That is the character that you really should be considering to replicate the looks of. Now, the assembling of the costume, for that you have multiple options for that. In the cosplaying community, many cosplayers find satisfaction by constructing their own costumes themselves.
The more difficult the costume is, the more recognition that person usually receives. You might even see people who utilize mechanical parts to make incredibly intricate costumes. People can also exercise creativity in what they are cosplaying as. One way to be creative is to do what’s called cross-play. That means changing the gender of a character or dressing up like a character of the opposite gender. But isn’t that sort of strange? Well, let’s make a simple comparison. On any given Sunday, you’ll see all sorts of people dressed up wearing the jerseys of their favourite sports teams. The guy with the mullet covered in blue and red face paint is not really judging one of the Houston Texans. He’s just expressing his enthusiasm for a team. In the same way, someone would dress up as suicide squad cosplay costumes. They dress up to show their love for the DC Extended Universe. The main difference is commitment and creativity. Cosplayers often put weeks into perfecting their look and hours getting fully costumed for an event.
Where did cosplaying come from?
In the early 20th century, some Americans would dress up as the Martian comic strip character Skyjack, which William fell in 1908. When he attended a mass skating Carnival in Cincinnati, accompanied by his wife dressed as Diana dill pickles. Two years later, a man was arrested and was quoted “masquerading” as Mr SKYGACK in Tacoma. These were the first recorded examples of cosplay.
We know further advancements were made in technology. Sci-fi itself grew in popularity. It became so popular that in 1939, the first-ever world con. It started at a science-fiction fair back in New York. Sci-fi enthusiasts Myrtle R Douglas and Forrest Ackerman showed up in what they called a futurist. Costumes made by Douglas and inspired by the 1939 HG Wells film “The things to come”. By the 1940 World Con convention, enough people in costume held an impromptu costume contest.
Where does the word cosplay come from?
It’s a combination of the words costume and play, creating the word cosplay. Why does so much constantly involve characters from Japanese films or games? Cosplay is a global phenomenon. Like the explosion of video game content from Japan in the 1980s and the translation of manga to the west. Influenced and helped continue the transition of cosplay from being centred on science fiction to absorbing the wider fantasy world. Okay, so who does cosplay, from professional cosplayers who appear around the globe to amateurs who go to their local sci-fi conventions? Cosplay is for everyone.
Costume Ideas to Consider If You Are a Comic Nerd!
Now fast-forwarding the time to 2021, when all the famous movies are live-action versions. Whose storylines are based on their previously published comic book, which all enjoyed a lot? Now, as you know, what caused this event or convention to come to life? And they are one of the most crowded conventions. The numbers of cosplayers are increasing year by year. When the cosplay event was turning into a proper event. It was around when the first-ever comic book was released. In 1933 to be precise, and it instantly became the first place of inspiration for the early cosplayers.
Costumes for the DC Aficionados!
So if you are a DC comic books or even a DCEU fan. Let’s have a look at some of the most popular ones. You can look into them without being worried if it’s your first time cosplaying.
Batman!
Let’s mention the costumes from the DC comic books. It would be a disgrace to not start the list from the billionaire vigilante of Gotham City, Batman. The beloved character of the era, as we all know. He made his first-ever appearance in the series of Detective Comics issue #27 in May 1939. Right out of the gate, it was highly praised by all the comic readers of that time. Till to this date, this character is probably among the top five best. They are the beloved characters of all times. So how can it be possible that anything can go wrong? While you can facsimile his looks for the next cosplay convention. Suppose you are planning on going with friends.
Joker
With the greatest vigilante comes the greatest nemesis of all time. Now, this is also a fun thing to talk about. Suppose you rank 10 best villains ever featured in any comic book universe. More likely, the chances, the most number of villains in the list would be DC’s. DC has maintained to come with such a personality of the villains. It just makes the entire storyline more fun to read. Now, if a comic is fun to read hence the enormous fan base, it is going to entitle. On to the point of getting the most dashing costume from the comic books. And you want the facsimile of Joker’s looks. It doesn’t get any better if you have a personality somewhat similar to the nightmare of Gotham City.
Wonder Woman
Wonder woman is the daughter of Zeus and an Amazon warrior. She firstly appeared in the pages of the All-Star Comics issue # 8. William Moulton Marston, in December 1941, created it. Even though she got her stand-alone comic book in 1942. She was already among the most praiseful characters of that time. After the establishment of the communities of cosplayers, everyone wanted to be her. This was every woman’s main costume. People wanted to don it for any upcoming cosplay event. So when you are looking forward to going to a comic-related convention. Getting a facsimile of Wonder Woman should be at the top of your potential costume list.
Harley Quinn
She is another fiction character from the nemesis side of the DC universe. Suppose you can be chaotic and psycho about certain things. Then getting the looks of Harley Quinn would be on point. But only if you are someone’s frequent accomplice. Because just the looks don’t really matter in the cosplay world. One has to have the attitude of the character you are cosplaying as. Let’s have a bit of this character’s background; did you know that character originated from Commedia Dell’arte? Not quite literally, the personality of a psychopath and the funky looks was given to her by her creators. Paul Dini and Bruce Tim were the real initiators. Her first-ever appearance in the pages of a comic book was in 1993. However, her first-ever appearance in the animated series was in 1992. She was the only character who was introduced in the animated series. It was because of all the readers and the fans. Her character was loved and appreciated by everyone. It is the only character with almost zero critics.
Arrow
Probably the most underrated character from the DC comic universe. But recently, the series of the same name was released. It is when he got his deserving fame and appreciation. Even though the character Arrow is now at its peak. Suppose you look at some of the lists of superheroes who can take some hits. And they still have the day without the Justice League behind their back. This name would be on that list. You are an amateur cosplayer but don’t want to don the costume. It is something most amateurs do. Then Arrow’s bow and Arrow would be the best one to carry on any comic cosplay.
Today around the globe, there are literally hundreds of conventions held. These cosplays are attended by millions of cosplayers and don their costumes that they have worked on for days. Now two types of cosplayers are out there. The first just ordered the costumes online. The others made their costumes by hand. It makes their costume stand out and is praised the most. If you really want to experience this day of confidence and pride. As you have a soft spot for comic books, then you really should give it a shot. There are loads and loads of costumes that you can wear to the convention. The community is so welcoming and nice. So if you mess something up with your costume. No one is going to mock you but will guide you through it. There are a lot of those forum sites out there. On which you can talk with the ones who have been cosplaying for years. So if you have any concerns about it just simply post your threat. They will reply to you regarding your question and how to fix it.
