Tag Archives: Harley Quinn

2014 Comikaze Expo: Talking With Cosplay Fans (Day 2)

It’s been a pretty long time. I finally returned to Comikaze to talk with cosplay fans at the 2014 Comikaze Expo. If I had to sum up trending costumes, I’d say Marvel has really figured out how put obscure characters in the spotlight. I saw MANY people dressed up as characters from Guardians of the Galaxy. I probably should have talked with some…

Comikaze Expo Video Timeline Breakdown

00:00 A basketball showcase

00:39 I’ve never been more creeped out/impressed with a take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula than this. Check out her work here.

01:44 Wall-E and Eve wander the halls gather attention from many. It’s very impressive how Eve floats right next to him.

02:08 A fan favorite, R2D2 shows it’s inner child, literally

02:22 Aang is really a Jimmy John’s delivery guy from Wyoming. Who would have guessed?

03:37 El Chapulín Colorado is not very well known. That’s because he’s from Mexico. He’s a clumsy hero with a hammer

04:14 Uncle Fester is a regular at the conventions and I finally spoke to him about how he transformed into the lovable oddity. He assured me that he’s carrying real fat and actually more scary without the makeup.

06:03 Radioactive man is an original creation that shines bright. He works with electronics so the costume probably was a cinch to make.

07:38 It’s a guy with a small body or a puppet with a large head. This is a pretty fun costume and the guy pulls it off well. Check out his work at lincolnworld.com.

09:00 Zapp Brannigan and Leela tell us about their love for Futurama and energy efficiency.

Mark Interviewing Futurama

Interviewing Futurama’s Leela and Zapp Brannigan

11:17 fans try to break a world record of connected Tetris pieces.

11:44 a very impressive Slender Man cosplayer strides across the halls on tall stilts

11:52 Smoke (Mortal Kombat) loves every single Mortal Kombat and plays Diablo and hopes to get Dragon Age Inquisition. She shares her thoughts on gamergate. Oh yeah. She’s also vegan. Check her out on Facebook

14:05 Raiden was probably one of my favorite cosplay fans. It’s probably because I just like led lights. His hard work of constructing the outfit for 3 months definitely paid off. We get his thoughts on the future of Mortal Kombat on the big screen. When he’s not Raiden, he’s a longshoreman.

16:03 I’ve always heard how crazy Game of Thrones. I’ve only watched the first episode and was pretty shocked at not just the nudity but very carnal nature of the show. It seemed that I would find very young fans getting into the spirit of some characters from one of TV’s grittiest shows. I asked about the dragon and it turns out to be a creation of one’s mother who’s a big fan of the show.

18:38 Harley Quinn loves being fun and awesome while carrying a bat around. If there was another Batman movie with Harley Quinn, she’d want Sarah Michelle Gellar to play her because she loves Buffy. She’s a musical theater dancer that dreams of being on Broadway.

21:07 These two girls do Anna and Elsa from Frozen so naturally because they’re sisters! One is in marketing and one is a scientist.

22:52 I bumped into the Chicano Joker/Harley Quinn represent the Mexicans of Southern California.

Interviewing Chicano Joker

Interviewing Chicano Joker

24:14 I probably sound like the biggest ignoramus when it comes to Lord of the Rings. How crazy is the facial hair on Fili and Kili. They agree with me on the franchise being stretched out a bit thin. They’re no stranger to the cosplay scene.

28:00 Hellboy loves men with giant fists and wants to be a game artist.

30:26 Mystique is a model that’s been in makeup since 9am. This is her first Comikaze and she’s very impressed with the large robotic cosplayers. Check out EI School of Professional Makeup if you’re seriously into makeup.

32:28 The Pikmin do it all for the ladies.

33:40 A weeping angel from Dr. Who can send you back in time and tells us who her favorite Dr. Who is. She took a month and a half to make her costume. She wants to be a homicide detective.

2012 Comikaze: Talking With Cosplay Fans (Day 2)

Better late than never!

 

00:00 – The ultimate mashup of Dr. Who, Rainbow Dash, Team Fortress explains why My Little Pony is such a hit. He says it’s a slice of life but can’t seem to describe it.
02:01 – Sonic the Hedgehog loves how much fun and active he is. He’s a gamer and also a grad student. He tells us why he felt a connection with the X-Men
03:52 – two friends cosplay characters from Dynasty Warriors. One’s known for being intelligent and the other is known for being quiet
06:39 – Lucca (Chrono Trigger) doesn’t like making eye contact. She’s behind on comics because her computer is dead. She confesses she got tackled a few times.
08:22 – Catwoman discusses her thoughts on Anne Hatheway portraying her in the latest Batman movie. Harley Quinn is very passionate about her version even though there are many other ones out there.
11:51 – I get severely tongue tied while talking to this Poison Ivy. Try not to laugh
13:39 – Kitty Pryde (X-Men) tells us how she got into comic books because of her dad and talks about being next to Stan Lee
15:41 – Super hero Ariel and Aurora are both big gamers and showing us an interesting take on Disney characters
17:58 – Flame Princess (Adventure Time) is known for her hot temper and shares her secret for a rigid hair look
20:16 – Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) picked this one of the four because he’s smart. Temari (Naruto) is from a sand village and is bad ass. She explains how her fan works and at what point you should be worried for your life. Leonardo is working on some other costumes
23:41 – Stan Lee talks about his latest projects and does some Q&A with the true believers

2012 Los Angeles Anime Expo: Talking with Cosplay Fans (Day 3)

This sure is taking a long time to get posted!

00:00 – SF-A2 Miki (Vocaloid) is known for having a voice similar to Miku.

01:34 – Kaito (Vocaloid) is known for singing and being a computer person tells us how her aunt played a big role in her cosplay efforts

03:13 – Derpy Hooves (My Little Pony) is known for derping and works for a moving company

05:32 – Sister Tender Shall is nice and white but a very evil person. She also cosplays Zombie Miku

08:10 – James (Team Rocket) is missing a wig. He chose this character because it’s fun playing a bad guy. He’s seen many boobs over the weekend and even had some hands-on time. He server for the marines and now works for the cable company

10:04 – Frank West from Dead Rising has a great vented mask. His costume is very impressive for a first time and it’s good to know he’s a caregiver

12:38 – At first, I thought I was dealing with a girl… because of the outfit… then I realized this fellow had just put in lots of time to perfect this look of a death knight night elf from World of Warcraft. He shares the agony of focusing on building his costume

16:27 – Battle Bunny Riven (League of Legends) likes cosplaying different video game characters and beating a game a week

18:59 – John Egbert (Homestuck) is known for being silly and aloof and talks about his first experience with anime

21:25 – Fans of the japanese harajuku talk about crazy fans asking for too many pictures and wanting to be a sex slave

23:36 – Sheryl Nome (Macross Frontier) has been working on her outfit for a year and it really shows. She gets energy from anime and explains she can learn so much from anime. She even did her thesis on cosplay

28:03 – Censorship is a group of guys capitalizing on fans trying to see some skin

30:20 – Some Avatar cosplay fans discuss his method to maintaining his fit body

31:58 – Once again, the Pokemen put on a show

33:34 – Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin (Ouran High School Host Club) are known for the twincest. They talk about the anime scene in Chicago being much smaller. They mention running into some wild fans with interesting requests

37:08 – Gingerbread man doesn’t want anyone seeing his face38:50 – Some swimmer guy is known for swimming and catches me off guard with questions of his own. We discuss Ninja Scroll

 

00:00 – Pinkie Pie (My Little Pony) is known for parties and ball-breaking and discusses the challenges of standing out as in the overly saturated vlog world. Check out his youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/RandomEncountersEnt

03:34 – Moka Akashiya (Rosario + Vampire) is sweet and has a split personality and is slightly crazy like most women. She’s going to school to become a veterinarian and is big fan of venomous reptiles. She traveled all the way from Utah to be at the convention and is also going to the San Diego Comic Convention. Stick around and watch her get proposed to by a horse head fan

08:06 – A group of cosplayers show off their very well crafted Alice in Wonderland costumes and talk about their first experience with anime. Their name is The Antics, but I can’t seem to find them on Facebook

10:28 – Seong Mi-na (Soul Calibur) shares a great story about how she got into playing the game (hint: it all started at a laundromat). She’s a Japanese tutor and shares her experience of being around during the earthquake. She also talks about a hidden ninja village

14:47 Harley Quinn (Batman) gives an intimate explanation of why she likes her character and why she chose her major in college

17:25 – Panty (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt) is known for being an angel that uses her panties to fend off bad guys. She loves cosplaying and hopes to travel around the globe

19:37 – Sally (Nightmare Before Christmas) isn’t much of a chatter but I definitely recognize the group from other conventions

20:57 – Harle (Chrono Cross) is one of the bad characters of the game. Her costume is amazing and she traveled all the way from Quebec and decided to pack costume for her vacation. Her red eyes scare me.

23:12 – Samus (Metroid) loves the complexity of her costume. I don’t remember the character having a Monroe piercing though. She’s a big fan of the red power ranger because he embodies the spirit of the conventions

25:29 – The anime expo dancer shares some time telling us how she got into anime.

26:54 – the infamous red ranger tangos with another cosplayer. Watch out for the bulge

28:38 – Hurcule (Dragon Ball) embraces his character. Once I find out he’s a chef, we talk about his experience with strange orders and the beauty of food trucks

31:15 – Frederic Chopin (Eternal Sonata) loves cosplaying Mega Man and plans to watch a soccer match for the 4th. He really wants to cosplay Voldo from Soul Calibur

34:09 – Katrina (League of Legends) plays a lot and discusses her gaming tactics. She dualed with the Fiddlesticks. She is studying pharmacy because she loves health care but hates dealing with blood

38:15 – Asagi (D) finds the vocalist to be creative. She is studying costume design and wants to create her own fashion brand

39:47 – Facebook profile is funny and getting lots of laughs. You can even place your face in his window and be his friend. I ask him about his history with anime and he discusses the joys of fansubbing. He prefers old anime.

Comikaze Aftermath with Photos

Comikaze was a triumph!  It’s hard to overstate our satisfaction with Comikaze Expo.  We were amazed by the dedication of the volunteers and the very huge turnout of fans.

There were so many things and people to see and here are some of the highlights (listed in no particular order):

  • Smaller venue – This one is a bit misleading, because the venue was just right for the occasion.  It wasn’t as massive of a scale as San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) but as a smaller venue it still maintains its fun.  There weren’t too many people to dodge (sort of) when walking around.  We watched 2 guys in full body suits go into an impromptu dance off and everybody was cheering at the end of it.  At the end of the convention, we saw a Jurassic Park hunter and raptor chasing each other on a Power Wheel Jeep throughout the floors of the convention.
  • Low cost – We believe this was the leading reason why the turnout was so great.  For $20, you get to go for both days.  At such a low cost, it doesn’t bleed out your wallet. Now you have money to buy any item at the convention like comic books, artwork, plushies, swords and so on.  Other low price promos, such as Groupon and Goldstar, helped in creating a good crowd as well.
  • Diversity of the booths – There was a lot of options available of varying interest, from a steampunk outfitter to your regular toy/plushie/comic book vendors. They even had a tattoo artist booth, that were available to give you a tattoo on the spot!
  • Celebrities – There was an incredible number of fans that came for headliners Stan Lee and Elvira!  Fans lined up and stretched for quite a while. Even when the locations would change a bit, the fans just shifted over and continued to wait in the long line just to meet their favorite celebrity.  The venue was intimate enough to meet and converse with other celebrities like Ernest Borgnine, Miracle Laurie and/or Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim of Star Trek Voyager). In fact, we learned that Sean Kanan, who was the villian in Karate Kid Part III, has a cookbook!
  • Artist signing/drawings – Being able to get custom art or purchasing some of the art (whether it was a poster or a shirt) from your favorite artist is always great.  Sure you may see their work in comics and web sites, but being able to talk to them in person is always a nice bonus on top of supporting them.  There was even an artist who was willing to draw you in zombie form.
  • Informative panels that was both funny and engaging – Morgan Fairchild knows a great deal of paleontology.  Garrett Wang watched the 2009 Star Trek Movie nine times.  Being able to debate who would in a fight is always fun, well besides facing Batman (he has an answer for everybody).
  • Costume Masquerade – A bit unorganized at first, and it was standing room area, but it was nice to see the turnout of cosplayers in quality and quantity.  Costumes were fantastic!  We saw so many well done costumes, there’s too many to list (thankfully we have photos below).  The three hosts (Dante, Chun Li and Jake from Blues Brothers) did an excellent job of maintaining order and keeping it fun.

Here are things we thought that could’ve been better (listed in no particular order):

  • No time schedule/program readily available – Though there was a schedule posted at each booths and makeshift rooms (more on that later), there was a sense of confusion when you didn’t quite know when some panels were going on.  This was slightly addressed on Sunday when there was a time schedule printed on a poster board near the front, but there were many that weren’t aware of where Room 306 AB was or that a panel even existed up there.
  • Makeshift rooms – There is an understanding this is the first convention so we’re hoping this one will get addressed.  The sound was atrocious as the people within the panels would become hard to listen, mostly because of the ambient noises from the convention itself.  Some people could break through the curtained off areas to sneak into the panel from the side (good or bad thing).

Despite the minor complaints, it was a great outing and we look forward to seeing this event next year!  Likewise Mark has been posting quite a few videos we took as well.  Enjoy the crazy amount of photos we took that weekend!  Photos were courtesy of Danny and myself and have been combined for your entertainment.

Comikaze Expo is the largest multimedia pop culture convention in Los Angeles. This unique event brings together the best in comics, gaming, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, anime and all other cult programming. Comikaze took place November 5-6, 2011 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and offers a slate of innovative programming, panels, contests and other activities that provide fans access to their favorite artists and creators in this adventure-packed weekend.

Please go to the official Comikaze Expo page for additional information.