Tag Archives: costumes

Indy 500 Festival Parade 2015 Photos, Part 5 of 6: The Nationalities Council

May 26, 2015 By in Indiana Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Nationalities Council!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This year marked the fifth time my wife and I attended the Indy 500 Festival Parade in downtown Indianapolis. It’s an annual date-day tradition for us — partly to see the floats and high school marching bands, partly for the famous names (even if the rest of the audience loves them more than we do), and partly because I love the sight of a bustling downtown Indianapolis (which needs to happen every single weekend ever).

The next six entries (to be posted over the next few days as quickly as time and attention span permit) represent a fraction of the pics my wife and I snapped.

Each year our 500 Festival Parade pics always include a few shots of the Nationalities Council of Indiana, a local nonprofit that makes a strong showing every time with a scintillating array of members showcasing their heritage in costumes and clothing from dozens of nations. Their official Facebook page sums up their mission statement:

The Nationalities Council is a non-profit, all-volunteer educational foundation comprised of more than 50 ethnic or national affinity organizations plus other groups, corporations and individuals interested in celebrating Indy’s diversity. For more than 30 years, the Council has worked to increase the visibility of and participation by ethnic groups in the community life of central Indiana. The Council’s website includes links to hundreds of multicultural and international organizations in Indianapolis and Indiana, a comprehensive calendar of international events, and links to thousands more pages of information, including the only comprehensive directory of ethnic restaurants, markets and festivals in the Indianapolis area. The Ethnic Hoosier, a monthly newsletter, is sent free of charge to an electronic mailing list. Since 1976, the Nationalities Council’s annual International Festival, held each fall at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, has been a popular “Celebration of Diversity” that introduces thousands of schoolchildren and adults to the wide range of Indy’s culinary, historical, social, ethnic and linguistic heritage.

This year, rather than narrow down their parade appearance to one or two nominal shots, I’ve decided turn the spotlight in their direction for an entire entry and post every usable shot we have, because that’s how impressive I thought they were. Further information regarding what they do is available at either of those last two links.

Continue reading →

The Heroes of Our Free Comic Book Day 2015

May 3, 2015 By in Comics/Lit, Conventions & Events, Indiana Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Bat-Villains!

Even those dastardly Bat-Villains love Free Comic Book Day because it’s the one day of the year they can have nice new things without resorting to theft or deathtraps.

Happy Free Comic Book Day! The fourteenth annual celebration of graphic storytelling narratives and/or floppy funnybooks was a rousing success, far as we could tell from our single stop at Indianapolis’ own Downtown Comics North. In years past I’ve made road trips to visit multiple stores for the occasion, but our schedule was too packed with other obligations and joys. Regardless, ’twas a morning well spent, money well spent for a few items, and an experience fully enjoyed.

Right this way for FCBD photos! Including cosplay!

Indiana Comic Con 2015 Photos, Part 3 of 4: Random Saturday Costumes

March 15, 2015 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments
Doomsday!

Superman’s murderer, Doomsday, still wearing his original “Death of Superman” spacesuit.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: my wife and I attended the second annual Indiana Comic Con despite our calamitous experience last year. Part One covered our Friday experience, a smooth and engaging experience. Part Two was our bewildering Carrie Fisher encounter.

This time around: our Saturday costume photo collection. The following subjects are a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the characters on who were in the house. Many, many thousands of attendees packed into the Indiana Convention Center, this time without inviting a fire marshal’s wrath, and an impressive number showed up dressed as their favorite heroes, villains, supporting characters, animals, antiheroes, murderers, and licensed merchandise. I’d hoped to bring back three or four times as many pics, but we’ll discuss why that didn’t happen in Part Four.

Right this way for costumes, costumes, costumes!

Indiana Comic Con 2015 Photos #1: Our Lucky Friday the 13th

March 13, 2015 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment
Jason Voorhees!

MIKE MIKE MIKE MIKE MIKE MIKE MIKE! GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS!

Last year my wife and I attended the inaugural Indiana Comic Con in our hometown of Indianapolis, a decent-sized Midwest city whose Indiana Convention Center went from merely one geek gathering every year (Gen Con, always a fave) to no less than five such shindigs in 2014. ICC was first up to bat that year but had issues, which I covered at length here and here. We figured it would take a lot of nerve for Imaginarium, ICC’s out-of-state showrunners, to return and try again.

We considered shunning ICC forever until they added a pair of irresistible names to this year’s guest list. Even then, our decision to forgive and relive wasn’t made lightly. To improve our chances of deriving some unblemished enjoyment from the experience, we took a different approach: instead of attending only on Saturday (the most crowded day of every con ever), we anted up for full weekend passes and burned through most of our to-do list today, Friday the 13th, in hopes that a Friday would be tough for any convention to screw up.

I have no idea what tomorrow will bring (other than much longer lines), but today for me was a winner.

Right this way for anecdotes and photos and such!

Wizard World Indianapolis 2015 Photos, Part 1 of 2: Costumes!

February 14, 2015 By in Conventions & Events, Indiana Tags: , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Baroness!

The Baroness welcomes you to Wizard World Indianapolis 2015! Unless you’re with that accursed GI Joe. Then you can go attend the dental networking seminar across the hall for all she cares. (Fun MCC trivia: we’ve actually met before! You can visit her Facebook page for more pics and future cosplay plans.)

This weekend is the inaugural Wizard World Indianapolis, currently taking up residence in three exhibit halls, one ballroom, and a handful of meeting roomings at our ample Indiana Convention Center downtown. My wife and I have attended several Wizard World Chicago weekends, but this is the first time their company has seen fit to grace our hometown with their geek marketing presence. Not that we’re necessarily complaining, mind you. After the parade of conventions that each tried their luck here in 2014 with mixed results, it was refreshing to watch established pros come in and show the pretenders how the job’s done.

As of this writing WWIndy still has one late evening and all of Sunday to go. My wife and I attended today and stuck it out until we ran out of energy and hit a programming snag I hadn’t expected and didn’t have the patience to endure. Derailed plans notwithstanding, today was a vast improvement — in terms of attendance and organization — over the issues we encountered with last year’s events.

Right this way for costumes, costumes, costumes!

MCC’s Top 15 Favorite Cosplay Photos of 2014

December 6, 2014 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , 9 Comments
Bucky, OLD SCHOOL.

Extremely honorable mention: Captain America’s sidekick Bucky, comics old-school style.

As of last weekend my wife and I officially finished our 2014 convention schedule. We attended seven cons this year, our new all-time record. In addition to our annual Chicago trips, Indianapolis itself became the epicenter of a Midwest convention explosion and offered us more opportunities than ever to meet comics creators, greet actors old and young, buy cool stuff, and see lovingly crafted costumes drawn from across several decades and all available media. Some cons fared better than others; some will return in 2015 with lessons learned and bigger plans than ever; and at least one will be a mere footnote in local geek history. At least two more newcomers, Wizard World Indianapolis and Culture Shock, are also inviting themselves to the dance for 2015. Somehow our convention bubble is bursting and expanding at the same time.

We here at Midlife Crisis Crossover would like to thank the crew and guests of all the cons we attended this year, throw a shout-out to those people we met whose names we didn’t catch (and vice versa), and salute the scores of cosplayers we saw, photographed, and appreciated for their presence, their fandom, their inspired creativity, and their fortitude in the face of the physical rigors, the construction costs, the naysayers, the gatekeepers, and the gawkers like us who stop you every three feet because either (a) we don’t get you but we love what you did, or (b) we do get you and your brilliant character choice just made our day.

In particular, this entry goes out to fifteen of the standouts we captured from among that vast, maddeningly talented crowd. Thanks for helping make our 2014 an unprecedented, wondrous, far-out year of geekiness.

Right this way for the niftiest of the nifty!

Starbase Indy 2014 Photos, Part 1 of 2: Costumes and Pastimes

November 30, 2014 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , 3 Comments
Darth Predator Maul!

Darth Maul/Predator mash-up. Call him Maulator.

On this weekend in 1988, the inaugural Starbase Indy introduced Indianapolis to the amazing world of Star Trek conventions, though it later expanded its dominion into other sci-fi TV shows. Setting aside several years skipped during turbulent times, SBI is one of the most persistent fan-run geek conventions in Indianapolis. It’s a fraction the size of Gen Con, Wizard World, and our other regular cons, but we’ve attended SBI more times than we have any other con. The smaller scale allows for shorter lines and less suffocating crowds, while still attracting talented guests from shows and works we know rather well (and some we don’t). For local geeks such as my wife and myself, it’s a regular highlight of our average Thanksgiving weekend, more fun and with far fewer confirmed fatalities than Black Friday.

2014 marks SBI’s nineteenth iteration, and a more diversified guest list not only from Star Trek, but also from the worlds of Stargate and Battlestar Galactica. Before we cover the guest list, though: mandatory costume photos!

Right this way for a few more costumes!

Halloween Stats 2014: Snow Falling on ‘Treaters

October 31, 2014 By in Mundane Tags: , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

White Halloween!

Maybe next year we can buy new Halloween decorations with voice chips that sing Christmas carols.

The photo at left was taken earlier tonight, on Halloween night. No, those aren’t real birds. Yes, that is real snow. This kind of poorly timed, anti-holiday pandemonium is what happens when you live in a state that refuses to legislate holiday weather. THANKS, YOU PARTISAN HACKS. I’ll remember this next week on Election Day and all of you will pay somehow.

We knew tonight would be rough. Everyone around us has been talking about the ominous weather forecast for days and preparing for either disappointment or pneumonia. Last year’s event wasn’t freezing or flurrying; worse, it brought a severe thunderstorm that forced Indianapolis to take unprecedented drastic measures and postpone Halloween till November 1st. I didn’t blame them, but the rescheduling killed our turnout. If there were a cartoon nemesis actively trying to end Halloween as part of his master plan to take over the world, he probably spent that night cackling and proposing toasts to himself.

Tonight’s Halloween proceeded on schedule, despite some early light rain and sharp, gusty winds all throughout. I understand snowflakes showed up much earlier in other parts of Indiana, but ours came later. Regardless, the damage was done. We saw very few kids under age five, very few loners braving the harshness solo, and very few young Method actors opting out of winter gear in the name of costume integrity.

Right this way for this year’s attendance figures!

Awesome Con 2014 Photos, Part 2 of 3: More Costumes!

October 5, 2014 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment
Vince Glortho!

Louis Tully, a.k.a. Vince Glortho. Hobbies include Twister, Parcheesi, locking himself out, and warning us how we’ll all perish in flames.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This weekend my wife and I attended the inaugural Awesome Con Indianapolis, the latest attempt to bring the geek convention life to our fair-sized city. [yadda yadda yadda] The important thing for now is, there were costumes! And photos of same!

Last time: half of our cosplayer photos. This time: the other half of our cosplayer photos. Regrettably, we didn’t attend the Saturday evening costume contest, but we like to think we saw our fair share. Otherwise, the same MCC disclaimers apply as last time.

Right this way for costumes, costumes, and costumes!

Awesome Con 2014 Photos, Part 1 of 3: Marvel and DC Costumes

October 5, 2014 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Surf Joker!

Best Joker of the Year. Not just a fan creation, this getup was from a specific episode of the ’66 series that my wife remembers in detail. When the DVD boxed set comes out in November, her pain can be yours, too!

This weekend my wife and I attended the inaugural Awesome Con Indianapolis, the latest attempt to bring the geek convention life to our fair-sized city. The great and powerful Gen Con has had an established presence for years, but cons for other interests besides gaming have had mixed results. In March, the first Indiana Comic Con brought in actors from Game of Thrones and drew in a crowd of thousands that they were ill-equipped to handle, resulting in hundreds (at least) of angry citizens being locked out and turned away. At the end of May, the first Indy PopCon brought in a healthy mix of actors and comics creators, but attendance fell short of expectations. Awesome Con is our newest contestant, an expansion of a company whose previous efforts were in Washington, DC.

Like Indy PopCon, Awesome Con had no specific focus, mixing guests and dealers from the worlds of comics, gaming, TV, animation, and so on. We tried to keep our expectations modest after our previous experiences, but when the local news media kept boasting attendance expectations of 30,000+, particularly in light of the con’s numerous TV ads and interviews, we wondered if perhaps things would go differently this time.

More about that later. The important thing for now is, there were costumes! And photos of same!

Standard caveat for newcomers to MCC: This is something my wife and I enjoy doing, to show our appreciation and awe for those with the flair for this particular aspect of the scene. We apologize in advance for the costumes we missed, and for the non-professional results. Comments and especially corrections are always welcome and appreciated. She and I aren’t plugged directly into every single geek scene out there, so if you notice any wanton acts of mislabeling, please don’t hesitate to call me out. I enjoy learning about new worlds and universes, giving credit where it’s due, and dispelling my old man’s ignorance.

Right this way for round one!

Wizard World Chicago 2014 Photos, Part 5 of 7: Last Call for Costumes

August 28, 2014 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , 3 Comments
Grootbusters!

Who ya gonna call? GROOTBUSTERS!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This weekend was that time again: our annual excursion to Rosemont, IL, for Wizard World Chicago. My wife and I took plenty of photos as usual, many of them usable. We’ll be sharing those over the next several entries, but I’m still too fatigued from the experience to figure out how many entries these will take.

Later we determined the correct number is seven entries in all. Part Five is two smaller subsets combined. Half of these photos are “pot luck” miscellaneous characters. The rest each contain at least one mystery character that defied my knowledge base and all research attempts, both personal and outsourced. The MCC standing plea of thumb as always is: if you recognize someone I don’t, pretty-please feel free to chime in and teach this old guy something new. (Prime example: at far right in the above photo is an original character named Kattosha. That was new learning for me. See the comments below for more of her story.)

Right this way for our last, best hopes for Wizard World Chicago 2014 heroes of cosplay!…

Wizard World Chicago 2014 Photos, Part 4 of 7: Animation Costumes!

August 27, 2014 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Team Rocket!

Jesse and James fire Meowth, welcome new sidekick Ash. Meet the all-new, all-different Team Rocket!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This weekend was that time again: our annual excursion to Rosemont, IL, for Wizard World Chicago. My wife and I took plenty of photos as usual, many of them usable. We’ll be sharing those over the next several entries, but I’m still too fatigued from the experience to figure out how many entries these will take.

I’ve been dealing with con crud all week long and struggling to reactivate all portions of my brain, but the math finally came together for me: we’re looking at seven entries in all for the WWC 2014 photo parade. Part four of those, then: characters from cartoons and anime. Enjoy!

Right this way for your favorites from Japan and/or Saturday morning…

Wizard World Chicago 2014 Photos, Part 3: Marvel and Dark Horse Costumes!

August 26, 2014 By in Comics/Lit, Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments
The Avengers!

The Avengers! Classic lineup, different take.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This weekend was that time again: our annual excursion to Rosemont, IL, for Wizard World Chicago. My wife and I took plenty of photos as usual, many of them usable. We’ll be sharing those over the next several entries, but I’m still too fatigued from the experience to figure out how many entries these will take.

Part three, then: representatives from the Marvel Universe, along with a few folks from other comic-book companies. Enjoy!

Right this way, True Believer!

Wizard World Chicago 2014 Photos, Part 2: DC Comics Costumes!

August 26, 2014 By in Comics/Lit, Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments
Batman!

…BECAUSE I’M BATMAN!

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

This weekend was that time again: our annual excursion to Rosemont, IL, for Wizard World Chicago. My wife and I took plenty of photos as usual, many of them usable. We’ll be sharing those over the next several entries, but I’m still too fatigued from the experience to figure out how many entries these will take.

Part two, then: the amazing world of DC Comics. Enjoy!

Right this way for heroes and villains from the Distinguished Competition…

Wizard World Chicago 2014 Photos, Part 1: Costumes! (Movies, Games, Doctor Who)

August 25, 2014 By in Conventions & Events, Movies/Films/Flicks Tags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment
Sephiroth!

Personal fave of the entire show: 8-bit Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII.

This weekend was that time again: our annual excursion to Rosemont, IL, for Wizard World Chicago, a four-day entertainment convention packed with tens of thousands of attendees seeking actor autographs, viewing the panoply of cosplayers demonstrating their sartorial talents, wandering Artists Alley in search of new comics and art, or hoarding merchandise from the dealers and exhibitors. The big-name comics publishers haven’t attended in years, but WWC seems to be doing well nonetheless, playing to their strengths and not paying total lip service to their comic-con roots.

My wife and I took plenty of photos as usual, many of them usable. We’ll be sharing those over the next several entries, but I’m still too fatigued from the experience to figure out how many entries these will take. Part One begins arbitrarily with costumes from movies, video games, and from Doctor Who, because arbitrary categorization helps me organize my thoughts more clearly. I’m not the kind of guy to upload fifty random cosplay photos and yell, “HERE!” Hence, themes.

Enjoy! Right this way for Round 1…

Gen Con 2014 Photos, Part 5 of 6: Last Call for Costumes

August 18, 2014 By in Conventions & Events, Indiana Tags: , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments
Khal Drogo!

Not taking Khal Drogo seriously would prove to be his last mistake. After the scene of carnage, his friends divided up the contents of his pockets between them.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: my wife and I attended Gen Con 2014 and took pictures as usual.

Parts One through Three were the Costume Contest winners and contenders. Part Four was cosplay in the exhibit hall, the other halls, the other rooms, out and about, and wherever. Part Five: more of those, but the last usable ones in our collection. If you’re not shown here, either our destinies didn’t cross on that fateful Saturday, or we crossed at mistimed moments (really sorry I missed Pirate Harley Quinn), or we have a tragically blurry pic of you that’s not worth anyone’s upload time. Better luck next year, maybe?

For those who know every fictional character ever invented, this entry shall be your geek-culture playground, as it contains the largest number of “WHO DAT” cosplay moments. If you recognize any of the unnamed folks in these pics, now’s your chance to label them with pride.

Right this way for the last of the famous international cosplayers!

Indy PopCon 2014 Photos #6: Last Call for Costumes

June 3, 2014 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , 7 Comments

The marathon continues! As promised in our first installment, please enjoy more photos from the first annual Indy PopCon convention. Same guidelines apply: we’re fans, not pros; corrections and comments welcome; hope they’re enjoyable.

Part Six: our last remaining costume photos from other categories that didn’t receive separate entries — characters from movies, TV, American animation, the time-honored “potpourri” division, and ensemble setups. After disqualifying several photos that were either blurry or missing key portions of anatomy, what’s here is what’s left of our costume pics. That’s not to say the Indy PopCon marathon ends here. Two more entries should be following this week, and then MCC returns to its regularly random programming of whatever and stuff.

Japanese virtual pop star Hatsune Miku bids you welcome.

Hatsune Miku!

Right this way for your last chance at costumes, costumes, and more costumes!

Indy PopCon 2014 Photos #5: Gaming and Anime Costumes!

June 2, 2014 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

The marathon continues! As promised in our first installment, please enjoy more photos from the first annual Indy PopCon convention. Same guidelines apply: we’re fans, not pros; corrections and comments welcome; hope they’re enjoyable.

Part Five: at last, anime and gaming! This is always the section where I can use the most assistance from You, the Viewers at Home. If you recognize a character I didn’t, please feel free to speak up so that others might learn and possibly discover a new universe to explore. Better still, help this old man become fractionally less ignorant of stuff you like. If some of these are original characters, introductions are always welcome.

Longtime MCC readers are aware of my soft spot for Final Fantasy, so it’s a logical starting point. Behold: Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII plus follow-ups, and Genesis from Crisis Core.

Sephiroth and Genesis!

Right this way for more, more, more!

Indy PopCon 2014 Photos #4: the Costumes of the Doctor

June 2, 2014 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

The marathon continues! As promised in our first installment, please enjoy more photos from the first annual Indy PopCon convention. Same guidelines apply: we’re fans, not pros; corrections and comments welcome; hope they’re enjoyable.

Part Four: people and things related to the world of Doctor Who. After years of avoiding his corner of universe, my wife and I finally relented and began watching the show last winter. We’re now partway through season six and hoping that major events such as Indy PopCon stop sucking up our precious TV-watching time so that we might stand a chance of catching up with the rest of the world before season eight arrives in August. If Netflix would hurry up and add season seven to their roster, that’d be outstandingly helpful to us as well.

Anyway: what once flew over our heads and outside our camera range in previous cons is newly fascinating to us. We’re naturally obligated to commence here with the Ninth Doctor because he’s our “first Doctor”. It’s also the first time I’ve spotted anyone as him at a convention. Accompanying him in the costume contest was an adorable li’l Seventh Doctor.

Doctors Who!

Right this way for more Doctors, including a real one! Allons-y!

Indy PopCon 2014 Photos #3: Costumes from Comics

June 1, 2014 By in Conventions & Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

The marathon continues! As promised in our first installment, please enjoy more photos from the first annual Indy PopCon convention. Same guidelines apply: we’re fans, not pros; corrections and comments welcome; hope they’re enjoyable.

Part Three: characters from comic books past and present, with a few special guests here and there from other media. Exhibit A: Wolverine as Weapon-X, hanging out with Vanellope von Schweetz from Wreck-It Ralph, Tinker Bell, and…uh, the winged one at far right was introduced at the costume contest as “Space Fairy”. Maybe that’s a thing?

Wolverine vs. Tinker Bell!

Right this way for more Marvel, DC, and one creator-owned character!