I know I’m late with this, but like all that San Diego Comic Con stuff I was struggling to get through, I was just in a difficult place at the time. I was proud of myself for getting the pictures of all the generic stuff I saw while walking around LA Comic Con up in a relatively reasonable amount of time and I really thought I would have been able to keep that momentum going in terms of getting stuff done but then things got crazy and I just got buried.

2019 was a really busy year for me, not just with what was going on in my personal life, but also in terms of traveling to generate content for my site. In 2019 I went to C2E2, WonderCon, San Diego Comic Con, D23, and LA Comic Con. Out of all those conventions I honestly think that LA Comic Con had some of the best cosplayers out of all those conventions and that includes San Diego. San Diego is the gold standard when it comes to comic book conventions, but honestly, I feel it was a quantity versus quality situation. San Diego just brought out too much and as a result it took a lot of digging and searching to find some standout cosplayers while with LA the standouts were a lot easier to find.

When searching for cosplayers at conventions I’ve made it a point not to just look for people who do an amazing job on their costumes, but also to find people who either put a unique spin on their characters or choose to dress up as the last characters you’d expect, either because they’re from an obscure or forgotten series or franchise, or they are just the last characters you would think somebody would dress up as and I feel LA Comic Con really brought it those categories. I don’t know if it’s because LA Comic Con is so close to Halloween and the cosplay costumes double as Halloween costumes or maybe it’s because LA Comic Con is so late in the year that it is the last con of the year for so many people and that it is their last chance to get their costumes perfected but there was no shortage of high-quality craftmanship or uniqueness at LACC.

I keep going on and on about how unique and impressive the costumers were but it’s probably best I just show you.

Enjoy!

A Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop minus the red shirt. I almost want to be a stickler for her not having the red shirt but to be fair Faye doesn’t really wear the red shirt all the time in the series. In fact, if you look up Cowboy Bebop: The Movie you’ll see Faye on the DVD box cover without her red shirt. Really good job with the lavender stockings and the garter/suspenders that Faye wore underneath her suit, details that I feel many amateurs would surely overlook and forget.

Fiona from Tales From the Boprderlands. One thing I like about Borderlands is that the creators rendered it in a way to make it look like an animated comicbook, and I really love it when Borderlands cosplayers go that extra mile to add that comicbook look to their costumes and make up like this young lady has done.

Here is Lakitu, or as he is known in Japan, Jugem, the Koopa who rides around in the cloud and acts as the flag guy in the Mario Kart series. I’ll admit this costume is a bit half-assed but I do want to give him some credit for choosing to do a character many would never think to do.

White Raven and Starfire from Teen Titans. I really love it when people go the extra effort by painting themselves for their costumes, although I am a bit disappointed with Raven for not remembering to do her hands.

Here’s those two having some fun. While it’s cool to have cosplayers do poses appropriate for their characters the last couple years I’ve been wanting to be more artistic by catching people in more casual moments, or encouraging them to have fun in front of the camera like this.

A female version of Venom. She probably should have done a better job with the spider logo but she really nailed the mouth with the big ass teeth.

I applaud her dedication for being willing to walk around all day with the fake teeth on her face and boobs.

Here’s some generic X-People. You got Jubilee, who I’m assuming is Domino, Rogue, Storm, and Emma Frost/White Queen.

A version of Beetlejuice heavily inspired by the Tim Burton movie. The mold around his face is a good touch and something that I’m sure most would overlook.

A SHIELD agent and War Machine.

This girl had me do a second take before I realized who she was. She’s Moe from the Simpsons episode Bart Sells His Soul. In that episode Moe tries to change the image of his bar by changing and rebranding it into a family-friendly theme restaurant called “Uncle Moe’s Family Feedbag.” Unfortunately for Moe the pressure of running the restaurant along with abuse from his customers causes him to snap, alienating his customers and forcing him to change the bar back to what it originally was.

As you can see from the clip Moe took a lot of shit in this episode.

Hammer Morty, one of the alternate Mortys from Rick and Morty. Hammer Morty can be seen in the episode “Rickshank Rickdemption” when Rick C137 teleports a Federation Galactic prison into the middle of the Citadel of Ricks causing a giant battle to break out between the Ricks and Federation soldiers. Hammer Morty can be seen being wielded by a Rick who uses him to smash several Federation soldiers to death.

Bellatrix Lestrange and Voldemort from Harry Potter. I’m really curious what kind of mask Voldemort is using because it looks super creepy as hell—almost like a fetus.

Princess Jasmin and Aladdin when he was pretending to be Prince Ali Ababwa from 1992’s Aladdin.

Popeye and Olive Oyl. This is the first time I’ve seen somebody do this.

Here’s a woman dressed as DC’s Powergirl. I don’t know why I didn’t catch this earlier while I was running around taking photos. Maybe it was because I was just too caught up in taking pictures but I’ve seen her at every Southern California convention I’ve been to in like the last 2 years, and every time I see her she’s dressed as Power Girl.

Little Nell and Dr. Frank-N-Furter from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, another cosplayer first for me.

Oogie Boogie and Jack Skellington in his scarecrow costume from Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas. Like Power Girl this is like the third year in a row I’ve ran into these two dressed in these costumes. I probably should have thrown this out since I’ve already featured them but you have to admit they are impressive-looking.

While we’re talking about Tim Burton stuff here’s Willy Wonka from Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Wonka Bar prop was a good touch as is the giant goggles from the part where Mike Teavee accidentally shrinks himself when he tries to use Wonka’s transportation equipment.

Sexy Boba Fett I guess? It’s a unique take on Boba Fett. With Mandalorian being as successful as it is I won’t be surprised that we’ll start seeing more twists on Boba Fett or other Mandalorian bounty hunters.

Rinzler and an original costume that was also inspired by Tron: Legacy.

I’m really kicking myself for being so late getting to this because I remember she explained the backstory she created for her costume to me but I can’t remember what she told me.

Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s a bit appropriate that I ran into this guy while he was waving a Wild Bill’s Soda Pop Co. mug around given how Jack Sparrow is an alcoholic.

Another Star Fire and Raven. I’m a little curious what kind of bodypaint Star Fire used since you can still see her tattoos through the orange.

A Predator elder. This guy nailed the look. From the wrist blades to the gauntlets, the dreadlocks, the facemask on top of the alien mask. Even little details like the skin and bone necklace.

Here is Kumamon, the mascot for Kumamoto Prefecture. From what I understand he was created to increase tourism in the region after the opening of the Kyushu Shinkansen rail line. He’s a very popular figure in Japan as he’s been able to generate billions in yen not just in tourist revenue for Kumamoto but also in merchandise sales.

Chief Jim Hopper of the Hawkins Police Department from Stranger Things.

Officer Jenny from Pokemon. At first, I was thinking this costume was missing some embellishments like a badge or something but after looking up Officer Jenny I see that she pretty much nailed it, even the purse is accurate.

Here is a 1930s twist on Rogue from X-Men. Some casual observers might not catch it right away but the white streak in her hair and the gloves are a dead giveaway of who she’s supposed to be. I won’t go into too many details because I don’t want to spoil anything but I will tell you this is not the same version of Rogue from the X-Men: Noir miniseries.

Even though Rogue isn’t from X-Men: Noir her companion however is Spider-Man Noir. I’ve already said how I make it a point to find unique takes on characters and I always love it when I find somebody who does an alternate universe version of a character.

Thanos as he looked in Avengers: Endgame having what looks like a existential crisis. Really good job on this costume. From the armor to the Infinity Gauntlet, to the sword, it is all done very well.

Here is somebody dressed as that meme of the janky-looking Sonic the Hedgehog ice cream bar with the gumball eyes. This is just straight out of a child’s nightmare.

The Babadook from the horror-movie of the same name. I wonder what people would find scarier, this guy or the Sonic the Hedgehog ice cream meme a few inches above it.

Shipwreck from the GI Joe. This is the first time I’ve seen somebody do Shipwreck, although to be honest he’s not as iconic as say Snake Eyes, Cobra Commander or Destro which is why nobody thinks to do him.

A really good Tina Belcher, her dead-eyed look just pierces into your soul. Really good touch with the Erotic Friend Fiction notebook.

Here is professional cosplayer Alicia Marie as Tyreen Calypso, one of the main bad guys from Borderlands 3.

Here are three Spartans from Halo. With Halo being as big as it is I wonder if there’s a fan group like the 501st Legion for Halo enthusiasts who go out and cosplay as Spartans or ODST soldiers.

Here’s another professional cosplayer, Elizabeth Rage as Camie Utsushimi from My Hero Academia, another anime series I should really look into.

Here’s a unique take on Bowser as what I’m thinking is lounge singer or contestant on the Bachelorette. After seeing this picture on my computer I’m really kicking myself for not catching this earlier and not getting another shot with a deeper depth of field so that his Piranah Plant bouquet would be in focus.

Here’s Peter Porker Spider-Ham from Earth 8311. Fun fact, one of the creators of Spider-Ham was Larry Hama who was responsible for much of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero’s success in the ’80s.

Joanie Brosas, as the movie version of Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice, a character made famous by Winona Ryder.

Here’s a Mad Moxxi from Borderlands. It’s one of the more simpler Mad Moxxi’s I’ve seen, but considering how much detail goes into Mad Moxxi you can’t blame her for not trying. I have to give her points for doing a great job on the hair and makeup.

Deadpool riding a unicorn, I believe this is inspired by either a poster from Deadpool 2 or the cover to the DVD/Blu-Ray

Captain America during his battle with Thanos in Endgame. This guy did a freakin’ amazing job to recreate the look. The cracked shield, Mjolnir, the dirt and grime on his face and costume. Even the blood on his face. I should practice my photoshopping with this picture, see if I can splice it into a scene from Endgame and see if people can tell the difference.

I’ll close out this post with this guy who was cosplaying as one of those wacky waving inflatable tube guys. The guy was literally just hanging out in the convention center lobby just waving his arms. I really love it when people turn cosplaying into performance art.

Just look at him go.

As a special bonus (and my lame attempt at trying to keep readers on the page for another 40 seconds or so) here’s Al Harrington’s Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tubemen commercial from Family Guy.

Thanks for checking this out and don’t forget to stop by soon for the rest of my cosplayers from LACC 2019.