Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Cosplay sparks creativity

Casey Trojanowski morphed into a 902-year-old space and time traveler just by crossing the threshold of the Tekkoshocon convention.Suddenly, he spoke in a British accent and referred to himself as “the Doctor,” a character from the BBC series “Doctor Who.”However, Trojanowski does not have a multiple personality disorder. He is simply a cosplayer – a term used to describe people who like to dress up as characters from alternative culture through the use of costumes. Cosplayers have created a type of cult subculture across the United States.“Whenever you … absorb yourself into the character … nothing can really hurt you,” he said in the lobby of the Wyndham Grand Hotel. “[You] just get into it. Have fun with it. That’s what it’s about.”Cosplaying is when a fan emulates the style of a certain character in an effort to evoke a response from other fans using a combination of words, costume and role-playing.Two main gathering points across the nation for these die-hards are two popular comic book conventions in the United States: Comic-Con in California and Otakon in Maryland.Locally, cosplayers flocked to Tekkoshocon, a spring convention celebrating Japanese animated movies, comic books and overall geek culture that attracted 4,000 attendees in 2011, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Another big event, Pittsburgh Comic-Con, will attract Steel City nerds to the Monroeville Convention Center on Friday, April 20 until Sunday, April 22.Comic-Con will be drawing a significant crowd this year due to an appearance by Marvel comic book legend Stan Lee, creator of the notable comic series Spider Man, X-Men and Iron Man.Comic fans will be lining up to get an autograph from Lee, despite the $50 price tag. If that is too pricey, fans can also snap a $40 photograph posing with their comic hero.Although not every convention-goer is a cosplayer, those interested in posing as their favored caped crusader can register at 1 p.m. on Sunday for the 2 p.m. costume contests.While cosplay ensembles are usually inspired by a favorite comic book, they can also be derived from a television show or movie and are designed to be easily recognizable to other fans.Good cosplayers copy costumes down to the extreme details, such as at Tekkoshocon where fans added props like colored contact lenses, wings or faux weaponry made of foam and wood.Although Trojanowski chooses to role-play or act out his persona through mimicking personality traits, some cosplayers simply copy the style of a certain role without embodying it.At the March Tekkoshocon convention, these fans made Downtown home.Inside the Downtown Wyndham Grand hotel, where this year’s Tekkoshocon was hosted, a menagerie of obscure figures paraded around the lobby stopping to grab snapshots of one another. Sights included an avant-garde Elmo from the popular children’s show “Sesame Street” wearing nothing but a speedo and a giant mask, as well as a girl dressed head to toe in red who ran around with a chainsaw laughing.Dressed head to toe in white with a red felt “R” embroidered on her chest, Gabby Burke, 19, from Dormont, was one half of Team Rocket: two Pokemon thieves that are always up to no good in the television show.Even before her friend Caitlin Antel, 19 also from Dormont, arrived as the second half of the devious duo, Jessie and James, Burke had her photograph taken by two Pokemon fans that recognized and appreciated her costume.Burke said she first got into cosplaying in the beginning of high school and has done multiple characters from video games and anime.“I liked dressing up ever since I was a kid, and I just like being other people,” Burke said during Tekkoshocon.Burke repurposed or created all her costumes, including the props she carried, including a Styrofoam “pokéball,” a device used to catch the wild monsters called Pokemon in the video games and television show.Both girls posed as Jessie and James and performed the couple’s trademark speeches in the lobby of the hotel during the convention.“Prepare for trouble,” said Antel, dressed as Jessie.

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