Having back to back conventions to attend really put things into perspective. I remember leaving WonderCon and my parents were telling me how they thought the costumes at WonderCon were superior to those we saw at C2E2 and honestly I agree with them.

I don’t mean to talk shit on the people at C2E2 I just think that WonderCon made it easier to have better costumes just because WonderCon is just more logistically friendly for more elaborate costumes.

This may have been my first visit to Chicago so I can’t really call myself an expert on Chicago but I see it this way: It’s one of the biggest and one of the most populous cities in the US, on top of this they also have an easy to use mass transit system running through their downtown as well as very high parking rates. All this equates to less incentive to drive your own car and more incentive to take public transportation, and realistically if you’re on a train, or in a taxi, or on some sort of ride share service would you really want to ride in one of those while lugging around a ton of props or a big elaborate costume, or even a change of clothes? On top of this and I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before in my C2E2 posts but it was like mid-30s during the convention and with temperatures that low I feel it limited costume choices for a lot of people.

California on the other hand has pretty good weather so people aren’t restricted on how scantily-clad their costumes are. Also, while California might not be driver-friendly due to all the cars we also don’t have a practical form of public transportation so when it comes to conventions if you want to attend you either drive your own ass down or at least have your mom drop you off. Either way having your own vehicle makes the elaborateness of your costume and your props limited to either your imagination or what you can fit in your trunk.

While I feel I managed to get photos of a lot of good costumes, I also feel a bit cheated. Due to me losing so much time because of parking I was rushing myself to get as many photos as I can and I feel bad I didn’t give myself the time and opportunity to do a better job at trying to be more creative with my photos. I know I mentioned somewhere in an older post that logistically trying to take creative photos at a convention is hard due to all the people but I feel I really should have at least tried. I really need to go into conventions with a game plan and not just plan stuff on the fly like I’ve done so many times in the past.

Right now, the next convention I have planned is my white whale, it’s San Diego Comic Con and my luck finally kicked in for me because I’m going for multiple days. Based on my past experiences at conventions this will be both cool and also a giant clusterfuck so I really need to come up with a plan on how I’ll do things. Until then here are the first batch of my cosplayer photos of WonerCon 2019.

Here’s one guy who made me wish I finished this before Game of Thrones ended so I could have tried to get in on those spikes in GoT google searches but here’s a guy who’s dressed up as Robb Stark after the Red Wedding where the Frey/Bolton soldiers to add insult to injury took his decapitated corpse and replaced his head with the head of his pet dire wolf, Grey Wind.

DC villain, Deathstroke. I really like his armor, it looks really close to the Joe Manganiello Deathstroke that was introduced in the post-credits scene in the Justice League movie. My only complaint is that this guy needs some weapons to complete his ensemble.

A Kate Kane Batwoman. Even though it’s not part of the comicbook costume I feel the corset was a good touch just because I feel that if Batwoman was a real person she would have a corset as part of her costume, even though in reality a corset would just be really restricting and too cumbersome to be wearing while fighting crime.

I’m like 99% sure this is instagramer @unlucky_criminal hanging out on light fixture again in his black Spider-Man costume. I really want to give it up to this guy for having the dedication to be hanging out there for so long so he could sell his costume. This guy basically took cosplaying and turned it into performance art. I really like how he added a camera prop for his costume.

Here’s a good mix of the DCEU Wonderwoman portrayed by Gal Gadot mixed with the Arrowverse Supergirl who is portrayed by Melissa Benoist.

Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones. Based on the outfit I would say this is Cersei circa end of season 6-to the end of the series.

A Tank Girl. I know new issues o Tank Girl are still being published but after seeing so many Tank Girl cosplayers at conventions lately I’m wondering if this is generating enough interest for another Tank Girl movie.

This is a clever costume. He’s the guy from Fifth Element who tries to rob Korben Dallas only to be disarmed and have his gun taken away. He did a really good job recreating the photo of Korben’s hallway for his hat. I’m really curious where he got that image although I suspect there was a screenshot from the movie he could have used. I looked the guy up and in the credits he’s listed as “Mugger” and he was played by Mathieu Kassovitz, a French director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and actor.

A gentleman dressed as Lando Calrissian. I remember I found his Instagram handle once but I can’t remember what it was.

Kato, the Green Hornet’s sidekick/chauffeur who was portrayed by the legendary Bruce Lee in the 1966 TV series and Jay Chou in the 2011 movie. This look would go on to be the inspiration for the 1996 Jet Li action film Black Mask and the 1992 manhua Black Mask was based on.

Here’s a family doing the cast of Gravity Falls. Even though they got all the major players, Dipper, Mabel, Grunkel Stan, and Wendy I kind of wish they got somebody to be Soos.

Here’s a really good Master Chief from Halo. His armor is pretty legit and the Shemagh is a touch as well. The energy sword and the needler are pretty good too. I just wish he found a way to make them glow. Perhaps if he figured out a way of wiring some colored LEDs into them?

I’m not sure what this girl is from. I just thought she had a really awesome Victorian-era dress.

Grifter from Jim Lee’s WilC.A.T.s. I told this guy he needed guns to complete his costume but he said they got confiscated by the prop checkers. I’m pretty this is the first time I ran into somebody who decided to cosplay as somebody from the Wildstorm universe which is surprising considering how it is a pretty expansive universe.

A Poison Ivy I ran into at one of the booths. Her costume is pretty simple by Poison Ivy’s standards but and not to sound too creepy I thought she was cute which is why I got her pic.

Sora from Kingdom Hearts. I really wish I thought to get a clear picture of the her keyblade because she did a really good job on it.

Dark Helmet from Spaceballs. I really like how this guy made sure to get the really thick glasses to wear under the helmet. Also, I’m wondering if this is just a coincidence or just good costume work on his part but this guy really looks like Rick Moranis. Like he could be Rick Moranis’s brother or son.

Daenerys Targaryen circa season 5 of Game of Thrones.

These guys dressed as Cylons from the original Battlestar Galactica series were drawing quite a crowd while walking through the convention center. From their armor to the red lights on their visors, these guys really nailed it.

Here’s Snow White done up in a style to match who I’m guessing is the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. It’s a unique take and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it done before.

White Raven. I’m not sure if White Raven existed in the comicbooks or if she was only in the cartoon but according to the Teen Tians wiki White Raven is supposed to be her “most primal, significant, and powerful version of herself… a symbol of her highest hidden power and inner purity against the consuming evil of her father,” so White Raven is essentially Raven’s final evolution.

Lego Batman along with…

Lego Kylo Ren…

A Lego Stormtrooper…

And a Lego X-Wing fighter. These guys had really big and elaborate costumes that had to be incredible hot inside and also must have been very hard to move around or see in so you have to give it up to them for putting in that kind of dedication.

John Hammond from the first Jurassic Park movie. The cane with the mosquito trapped in amber is a good touch.

A store-bought inflatable Pikachu costume. I probably should have skipped passed on this since there’s really nothing too worthy about a store-bought costume especially one of this quality but I’m just a sucker for Pokemon stuff.

Here’s a guy dressed as Matt Hardy and Lita from the WWF/WWE Attitude era. These two did a really good job pulling this off. The baggy black cargo pants, Matt’s arm warmers and way too tight t-shirt, Lita’s thong riding up. Hell when I first saw them I almost thought they were Matt and Lita.

Here’s a good mashup between both the new Westworld series on HBO and the 1973 movie. It’s Delores and Teddy from the HBO series but they have robot faces like the robots from the 1973 movie.

I’m not 100% sure who this girl is supposed to be. Based on the horns I’m thinking she’s like a Loki from the MCU mashed up with like the spirit of Fall. Or maybe she’s a forest spirit from some property I’m not familiar with. I really don’t know.

A girl wearing the reverse-bear trap from the Saw series. This is another first for me, I’ve never met anybody who would dress as a character from Saw but realistically that’s not a movie full of costume ideas.

Wandering around the convention center I found these 2 guys in inflatable t-rex costumes battling before ending it by hugging it out. I really wish I got more photos of them battling but they attacted a huge crowd so it was really hard to get clear shots of them.

Post-apocalyptic version of Tina and Louise Belcher from Bob’s Burgers.

Azula and Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I just want to make it clear that they’re dressed up as the versions from the cartoon not that craptacular M. Night Shymalan movie.

This is a really good Predator. I especially like how he has an actual Predator mask complete with the dreadlocks, and mandibles. Instead of just wearing a Predator hunting mask like I’ve seen so many others do. My only complaint with this guy’s outfit is that he doesn’t have any weapons or enough accessories.

Samara Morgan from The Ring and Valak the Nun from the movie The Nun.

A Doctor Octopus from the 2004 Spider-Man 2 movie starring Toby Maguire. This guy did a really good job with his tentacles. They look just like the ones Alfred Molina wore in that movie.

When I was done taking pics of Doctor Octopus a kid in a Spider-Man costume thought it would be okay to jump in so people could take pictures of them. I figured I should jump on the wagon and get some photos of them too

Thanks for checking out part 1 of my Cosplayers of WonderCon 2019. Check back soon for part 2.