New York Comic Con brings together fans and creators of all things comic, anime and gamer related. Dedication and creativity reach a whole new level when cosplayers bring their favorite heroes and villains to life.
Below I've compiled photos of my favorite cosplayers of #NYCC17.
Click the photos to enlarge.
Colorado Captain
Denver native Matt Gnojek dons a fitted leather Captain America outfit and a custom helmet. His superhero vehicle of choice? A shiny Harley Davidson. Known as Colorado Captain, Gnojek aims to raise awareness and money for youth charities and refugees.
“This character is not intended to be political, he’s about being hopeful, spreading joy and love, but if I’m going to be driving around wearing the American flag on my back then I think I should stand for something." Gnojek told me. "Rather than voting with protest or causing anger or difficulty, my idea is to bring a change in the world by putting my money where my mouth is. So that’s why I believe that America loves refugees and I want the world to know that. So when they see me riding down the road they’re going to know — refugees welcome here.”
Harley Quinn and the Joker
Lilly Wilton, better known as @LillyDubs has been cosplaying for over four years. Wilton is drawn to the popular Suicide Squad character because she "is not inhibited by societal norms and indulges in everything naughty and pleasurable—sex appeal, junk food, whiskey, et cetera." Even in her most sinister form, she says she does everything "in the pursuit of a great punchline." And of course, Harley Quinn is never too far from The Joker (brought to life by Danny Roman, @therealdannydarko).
Wilton revealed her attraction to cosplay."For a brief amount of time we can be as loud, powerful, sexy, colorful, et cetera as we want to be," she said. "That kind of freedom is intoxicating."
Toothiana, Tooth Fairy from "Rise of the Guardians"
This handmade rendition of Toothiana from "Rise of the Guardians" took a year to make and features over 5,000 feathers. [Cosplayer: @acaswell23]
Hip-Hop Spidey
"I break dance and hip-hop was just a huge influence on my life. Being a teacher I’m teaching the youth now so I feel like another way to get to the youth and make people happy just like I’ve been doing, is by dressing up like a character that people can recognize and maybe grasp onto.”
[Cosplayer: @HipHopSpidey]
Bumblebee and Honeybee from "Transformers"
This extravagant Transformer, commissioned by Hasbro and standing over nine and half feet tall, took the company Extreme Costumes five months to make and required a dedicated team of five. Tom DePetrillo, the owner of Extreme Costumes, told me about his attraction to cosplay. “I do it because it’s the greatest experience in the entire planet and this is the most fun I could have in four days.”
Ororo Munroe, better known as X-Men's Storm
Heather Mann (@Miss318it) has been cosplaying for over three years and is passionate about black female representation in comics. She noted that black female superheroes are becoming more prevalent at Comic Cons and comics themselves.
Swamp Thing
"I decided what I was going to do last week and I went to Walmart to buy the cheap stuff and then it got more expensive as it went."
[Cosplayer: Alex Holland]
Sylveon, an evolution of the Pokémon Eevee
“I am a huge exhibitionist and I love attention. I thrive on it and I love the camaraderie and the community that this place has.” - Aedan Roberts, @AedanRoberts
Urban Bunny
“I think it’s a great opportunity for people of all walks of life," Urban Bunny told me about the subject of cosplaying. "Once you put a mask on you can be a woman, you can be black, you can be Asian, you can whatever and you can be Spider-Man, and you can be Superman, you can be Batman. It’s just a fun way to get outside of yourself and be someone else for a day."
[Cosplayer: @urban_bunny]
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