Tag Archives: cosplay

Sometimes, It’s Not About Making the Sale

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New York City at nightNext week, my wife of infinite awesome and I are heading up north to New York for a writer’s conference. It is the Writers Digest Conference, and we are heading up there to talk about two things we do very well:

  • Steampunk
  • Social Media & Content Marketing

Now, here’s the thing. There are going to be a lot of writers at this conference. This is an event where writers of varying backgrounds—fiction, non-fiction, beginners, seasoned veterans—go to pitch their ideas and perfect their approach to business. This isn’t really a “con” like RavenCon or Balticon, but this is an honest-to-God, professional, industry conference. No cosplayers. (But we will get punked up for the Steampunk panel, sure!) No panels on who would win in a fight—Batman or Superman. (Supes.) Less fans of our writing and more people who want to be professional writers. (Awww yeah, it’s business time!) This is a very different dynamic than a book event at a teashop or a steampunk convention. This is an event where writers are learning about the business of books. Continue reading →

Heroes of Cosplay: Cautionary Tales of Competition

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syfy-heroes-of-cosplayI am not a fan of reality television. There are few exceptions that keep my attention; and with friends I have in the reality television business, some of the scripting and direction behind supposed slice-of-life docudramas is just painful to watch.

But enough about Amish Mafia. I want to talk about the latest reality show that has gotten many a geek and especially that sub-culture within the subculture that I love supporting — cosplayers — into a close-on-rabid uproar. I speak of SyFy’s latest offering, Heroes of Cosplay. Continue reading →

On the Arguments of “Cosplay Is Consent” and “Fake Geek Girls”

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So I’m about to leave Facebook to get back to editing when this image from Being a Geek (via Lauren Harris) popped into my feed…

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I now post this for creative ladies like Lauren, Raven, Riddle, Jenn, Jean, Alexia, Freddie and cosplayers everywhere.  Some of these incredible creators I know. Some are total strangers to me. All of them are fans through and through, dedicating their time and talent to bring their favorite characters of comics, film, and television to life.

And no, they’re not doing it to get attention, score dates, or lure you into a bed strewn with roses. These ladies—and the guys who also cosplay—do what they do for the love of the genre and for the love of those characters.

They are also writers, gamers, and artists.

If you believe this, stop this sort of sexism when you see it. Whether it is Dragon*Con, Comic Con, or an entirely new convention, this kind of idiocy needs to be called out. After all, that is what the Science Fiction-Fantasy-Horror community is all about — acceptance.

Time we start practicing it.