The Ballsiest Costumes of NY Comic Con 2012!

Greeting, True Believers!

It's that time again, whenceby I declare my list of Ballsiest Costumes from NYCC 2012. I still plan on posting my Favorite costumes, but these are the cosplayers I deem to possess cajones comprised of solid brass. So without further lily gilding, I present my Illustrious Six:


The only black guy to dress as Spider-Man who went for Ultimate Spider-Man:

Photo credit Alex Erde

Listen, there are a lot of nerds at Comic Con. Many of them are also of African descent. It would be racially unjust to hold it against them when they want to dress as their favorite super heroes, especially since a vast majority of the best ones are Caucasian. Sure, there are a few Go-Tos: John Stewart (Green Lantern), Black Panther–there was actually a great King T'Challa, but he wasn't included on this list because it was too obvious by comparison. The trouble is it just looks wrong when you see black Batman, even if that was made a pre-52 canonical universe in Final Crisis. If I see you and know you're a guy in a costume instead of the character you're trying to perfectly emulate, you've done something wrong.

Except Miles Morales is the current Ultimate universe version of Spider-Man, and he's half black, have Latino. And he looks pretty similar to this guy above. I say Kudos for picking a character matching your physicality–not just in hue but in build–and wearing a quality costume with aplomb.


Bain Capital, Batman & Mitt Romney:

Holy crap. First off, it's a giant latex puppet costume. Secondly, it's ludicrously well-made. Thirdly, it's a giant political pun, in context for Comic Con, playing off the character's recent popularity in his movie appearance this year and his comic book roots. And he's pummeling Deadpool for fun, which is pretty great. (HI, MAIDPOOL! Didn't see you there until I looked at the picture. How was Con for you this year?) Also, rockin' Converse.


Gozer the Gozerian, Ghostbusters:

Photo credit Alex Erde

Listen, with all the nerds walking around with licensed proton packs, dressing like Bjork/Lady Gaga isn't the safest choice. Bravo. Now nobody think of anything.


Squirrel Girl, Marvel Comics:

Miss, you perfected this costume, which is surprising insofar as I'm a giant nerd and all I know of Squirrel Girl is her general appearance and that she is one of the most obscure characters in the Marvel universe. She was a Great Lakes Avenger. When that team disbanded, she became the nanny for Luke Cage's daughter. Yeah, that's about as relevant as Squirrel Girl gets.



Carl Grimes, The Walking Dead

This is a ballsy costume on the grounds that it is pretty perfectly done, and so I had to take this photo from a distance like some type of creepy pedophile, out of fear that approaching Carl too closely might result in my horrible, horrible death. Seriously, Carl, goddam it, why can't you just listen to your parents?



Actual Orco, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe:

 Two years ago, I gave a Ballsy nod to a guy dressed as the Final Fantasy Black Mage (I do not know if he, like Spider-Man, was African or just "black") simply because anyone dressing like this:

could easily be mistaken for Orco, and get his shit kicked in. Orco's a dangerous character to dress like. I'd rank it up there with Snarf, Jar-Jar Binks, and boxer shorts Osama bin Laden with a Playmobil Airport set.

That said, I am ecstatic to compliment this gentleman for nailing a character so well, and having the stones to nailing this character. This is the official Ballsiest Costume of New York Comic Con 2012. Bravo, Sir. You took on the competition, and you beat them all. Much as I imagine you were at some point shortly after this photo was taken beaten to death by those around you.

R.I.P. Orco

Oct. 14, 2012.

Happy All Hallows Day!

They're not Deathly, but they're all dead, certainly.

Welcome to one of the happiest days of the year, kiddies. Happy because today I get to go out and buy like four solid bags of Snickers and Milky Way bars for a dollar.

Oh, and I didn't have to sit outside in the cold last night, what with working for money and all. Granted, I didn't get to wear a costume, but here's the gist of it, minus the appropriate white shirt, tan khakis and fedora-wearing co-host who might at any minute spontaneously combust.

Good times.

Ballsy Costumes of NY Comic Con 2011 (for which I had to scrounge flickr)

These probably would have made the list this year, if I had been able to get pictures of them when I first saw them. Since I didn't, I trolled flicker through 37 pages of "ny comic con 2011" tags and got most of them. All photos were free-use, except for the ones I stole for my personal collection. Sadly, you're not allowed to see those here.

X-Men - Man-Phoenix

Pretty sure I can see exactly how ballsy this guy was.




The Family Guy - Meg Griffin

This girl wasn't hideous, but she was pretty plain and kind of frumpy. All-in-all, it was an incredibly bold move to dress up like such a loathed character. That's just inviting hilarious punishment from fans "playing along."

X-Men - Dazzler

So … those might not technically be "balls," but I could certainly strip down to my skivvies on a beach and volley those back and forth in slow motion as keytar riffs from Kenny Loggins' "Playing with the Boys" echos through the surf, if you know what I mean.


Dr. Who - TARDIS Girl & Weeping Angel

You had a pretty sweet TARDIS dress, and the police box hat you made was the better of those I saw. Your weeping angel friend was really well down also, but I couldn't find your photos online.

Final Fantasy - (Black) Black Mage

The one I mistook for Orko last year was a bold move.

However, that guy didn't have to worry about all the "black" jokes. Ballsy move, Black Black Mage.


South Park - Girl Mysterion

That was a wicked question mark you had on your sweet-ass cape. Brava.

The Legend of Zelda - Navi

Why it's ballsy:

Because everyone wants to fucking kill you.


The Venture Bros. - Female Hench-Person

You could have gone for the Dr. Girlfriend, or Dr. Mrs. The Monarch like eight other women, or her White Queen costume, or even just plain college-age Sheila.

Instead, you went for the equal opportunity cosplay. Well done.

Final Fantasy VII - Sephiroth and Jenova

One is a pretty girl, and the other has a giant penis…

…coming out of her blue navel.


Star Trek - Fat Admiral Kirk

That was ballsy. Not only was your admiral's uniform movie-accurate, you padded your frame pretty plumply.

Had Robert Kirkman wandered past me on his cell phone, trying to locate a lost associate, I totally would have stopped you for my first picture taking opportunity Thursday preview.

But, man, Kirkman's got a powerful beard.

The Venture Bros. - Sgt. Hatred

So, you're overweight, over 25, and you're going to dress up like a known pedophile. Awesome. Great. Where's Chris Hansen?

(And no, he's not 'reformed' when he's wearing that costume.)


X-Men - Wolverine (Height Accurate)

Short of not having the perfect, admittedly huge and complex facial hair, you were my favorite Wolverine this year, because you were, well, short. You might have actually been 5'3", which would put you at just about eye level with the comic book depiction of Logan. Plus, I was just wishing for a short Wolvy about 5 minutes before you walked by, Saturday, so that was really convenient.

Fastball Special!

The Best Costumes of NY Comic Con 2011

New York Comic Con this year had certainly fewer costumes than last year, but upon inspection of what I deemed the best of the best, I have to say that the average upper-tier costumes were a grade above what I was expecting. To that end, this year I am announcing a few categories for costumes of different types.

First the second-runner-up category, Thank You for Not Sucking. These costumes are usually so terribly done that to craft and enact one well is itself a meritorious feat.

Photo © Alex Erde

1. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Midna (imp form)

This is a costume usually performed by an overweight girl of modest stature donning a baggy, painted Lycra suit, flecking paint. Not only was this girl's headdress perfect, she had the height appropriate to an imp. She still had curves appropriate to the character, but the shape was right and so was the bodysuit.

Makeup and prosthetics were top-shelf, so thank you, Random, Possibly Asian-Looking girl, for taking an overused and under performing character and letting her shine.

2. Panty & Stocking with Garter belt - Panty and Stocking

I saw a few Stockings, throughout the weekend, but I suppose a decent number of those could have also been generic gothic lolita fashion girls, as opposed to simple, poorly executed Stocking costumes.

Panty is looking like a complete bitch who thinks she's wat hotter than she actually is, which–frankly–is perfectly in character. Considering they were also with another couple girls cosplaying related show characters, They are granted bonus points.

Thank you, Not-Sucky P&S!

3. Durarara - Celty

There were two or three Celtys in total this year, but this was the only one I saw who was the right height, the right gender, the right physique, and had both a (well-fitted) motorcycle suit and a real motorcycle helmet. Even the "ears" were made of the same material as the rest of the helmet.

Plus she had her scythe with her.

For those not familiar with the cute ensemble cast show recently airing on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim anime Saturdays block, Celty is a "dulahan," a Celtic faerie type that is immortal, powerful, and carries her own head around with her while riding her horse across the countryside.

Of course, Celty 'lost' her head and with it her memories, so she turned her horse into a bike and set off to find her head, wherever it went.

Thank you, Not Sucky Celty.


Extra Nerdy Awards

Photo © Alex Erde

1. Internet - Longcat

Thank you, internet, and thank you, all of you people who made a Chinese dragon of Longcat and paraded around the Javits center holding this monstrosity.

Your work and sense of humor (and camaraderie) is greatly appreciated.

Photo © Alex Erde

2. Axe Cop - Axe Cop

An ordinary cop, until he picked up a fireman's axe and became … Axe Cop.

Originally, this was a comic drawn by a talented artist depicting stories narrated verbatim by his–I think–then nine-year old cousin.

Astounding.

3. Mega Man - Cutman (vintage)

This costume is wonderful in how bad parts of it are, while other parts remain incredible: boots, gloves, and especially helmet - all awesome. Look at that, he cut sheet metal to the proper configuration and bolted it stylishly to a batting helmet. Well done!

Then again, he's out of shape–was he ever in-shape to begin with?–goateed, and is wearing a baggy, white sweatsuit.

This is what I talk about when I say that a crappy costume, meant to be crappy, can be awesome.


Best Cross-Gender Costumes

Photo © Alex Erde

1. The Labyrinth - Female Jareth (David Bowie)

Dude, I'd consider banging David Bowie in The Labyrinth and he's still technically a guy. (Though, if I may quote Family Guy, "Androgynous enough that we could both feel attracted to him and it not be weird.")

Props on the epic hair, perfect to character, the frilly blouse, vest, gloves, and the contact juggling ball. Really, the only inaccuracies here are

a) I don't think she has a penis, and
b) Her eyes are both brown. But I begrudge no one for not possessing dichromia like Bowie and I.

Photo © Alex Erde

2. X-Men - Female Gambit

First off, really cute Asian girl. Who's into comics. And has fashion sense. Thank you.

Secondly, this was by fath the best Gambit costume I saw all weekend. Thursday I saw one that might have been on-par, but it was movie Gambit, not comics Gambit.

This one is badass, appropriately tailored, and altered only in so far as the costume needs to fit a woman's frame instead of a Cajun man's. It is faithful to the comics, the '90s cartoon, and about 837,000 fanboy fantasies now, I'd suspect.

Photo © Alex Erde

3. Iron Man - Female Tony Stark

Again, Asian girls just seem to have more technical prowess than us white boys.

Alex dragged me over to get a picture with my counterpart to the costume I wore last year.

Alright, I had a real beard, but my chest piece was a Tap Light© covered in gorilla tape and strung around my neck with twine.

This girl built a fully working Arc light prop from internet tutorials and glued it in place with bandage tape.

Oh, and she's currently working on the Mk III "triangle" piece.

Most impressive.

Photo © Alex Erde

4. Conan O'Brien - The Flaming C

Brilliant.

Obscure, accurate, flamboyant, and–like all good Rule 63–perfectly altered for depiction by the opposite gender.

Girl even had a hand-made jai alai scoop!

Also, epaulets are totally in fashion right now. Women's clothing really picked up on the men's military dress trend.

5. Deadpool - Deadpool in a German Bar Maid Dress

To be fair, I don't think this was a woman.

I took a look just to be sure, and those boobs were not exactly in the proper placement and orientation for real boobs, nor did they possess a natural form as (s)he walked. Also: almost no hair.

Based on gait and physiology, I had to surmise that this was a man wearing a Deadpool costume, who then donned a beer wench costume.

Why?

Because Deadpool, that's why. Of course he would do that. I'm sure it even made sense. To him. For like a second at least.

Nice gams.


Adventure Time Awards

 I am giving an aware to everyone who wore awesome Adventure Time costumes.

1. Manliest Finn


















2. Most amazing  Fiona.

Not only did she nail the costume, she had a sick Cake the Cat, and her friend there was dressed as the male version of Marceline (canonically called "Marshall Lee," a name a refuse to acknowledge in favor of "Man-Celine).

Manceline even has a hyper-sweet reproduction of Marceline's battle "axe."

They were amazing and I love them both forever.

3. Best Cake the Cat

This was a crocheted backpack critter type thing. I don't think it held or did anything, just hung around this girl's back.

I felt like a total skeever taking this picture too, because the girl was like 15 but I couldn't resist such a sweet, sweet crochet job.

4. Most accurate Princesses

Alright, Princess Bubblegum I could take or leave. She was well done here, but honestly, if not for her voice actor in the show, I don't care for the character. Too easy.

Lumpy Space Princess, on the other hand, that is an impressive costume.

That's a ballsy move for the little girl inside that big, purple cloud shape. All hot and gross inside, suffering for her comedy.

Because make no mistake, the only reason to go as Lumpy Space Princess when you could be Bubblegum or Fiona, or anybody else, is it is hilarious.

Photo © Alex Erde

5. Best Universe-Shattering Slash Fiction

Him: A Finn cosplayer

Her: A Fionna devotee.

Together: The most adorable couple's costume at the whole con.

Somewhere, Pendleton Ward just sat down after experiencing a great disturbance in the Time, as if thousands of voices suddenly cried out in cheer on the internet and began furiously typing up fan fiction, then were suddenly never silenced ever.




Just Awesome Costumes:

(In no particular order.)

Photo © Alex Erde

X-Men - Archangel

Blue face paint is a commitment.

Giant steel wings that must weigh a ton and could probably really hurt someone or at the very least impare your mobility in a crowded convention center:

That's some semper fi marine shit, right there.

Photo © Alex Erde

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Casey Jones

Yeah, I'm ignoring April O'Neil here.

I'll tell you why:

First: she's not that good. I saw a much sexier, much more cartoon-accurate April on Thursday, and if you remember the cartoon, you remember that girl had some Barbie-doll level of impossible proportions on her. And Thursday's April met them. Pretty sure she was even a natural redhead.

Secondly: Casey just kicks ass here. Ratty old golf bag full of five-irons and hockey sticks? 2000s accurate cartoon mask? Hell, by that iteration of Casey, even the sweat pants, sneakers, short shirt, and ties/wraps are accurate. Plus, he brought an entire girlfriend as an accessory, and she has her own accessories. She's like a Ken doll, to stretch the previous analogy.

Hellblazer - John Constantine

Perfect costume, with "lit" cigarette (think it was an LED), and the schtick of following around other obscure comics heroes and skulking in the background of their photo opportunities?

That's John, for you.

Darkwing Duck - Darkwing Duck, Morganna Webb, and Megavolt

… Just … I-

Simply amazing. So freaking funny, accurate while also more realistically anthropomorphic, amazing accessories for everyone, and, I don't know if you can see this so I'll give you a little close-up:

Those duck feat are made from three pairs of Converse All-Stars painted orange and white.

They used the same technique in the Whoopi Goldberg vehicle "Theodore Rex."






 

Photo © Alex Erde

X-Men - Hank McCoy

Speaking of blue before, here's some commitment for you:

Dressing like a giant nerd at a convention of nerds nerdy enough to know how big a nerd you are for pretending to be a specific giant nerd.

Who is also blue.

And dressed like an associate professor a at state school.

Epic facial hair, though.

Marvel Comics - Luke Cage (1970s)

Okay, you can't really tell much scale here, but this guy was, no lie, not shorter than 6'10". He was just enormous. People were walking by him and grown men stopped at his collar bone.

Plus the costume was 100% comic book accurate. Forget all the She-Hulks in "4" leotards I saw all weekend, Luke Cage is my favorite substitute Fantastic Four member from this day forward.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Master Shake

Asked if he had anything to say after the costume contest, Shake had only this to utter:

I should have been in the contest.

Marvelous.

That straw's a giant foam pool noodle, by the way.

Photo © Alex Erde

Another giant man.

This one dressed as The Rhino, from Spider-Man, complete with latex chest pieces and headgear, and just generally gargantuan arms.

The feet are a nice touch, to grab attention away from the mamoth sweat pants.

Batman Forever - The Riddler (Jim Carey iteration)

This is another bold move.

Both for the leotard on someone so gangly, and the hair, but in-character both work perfectly. He was also flappy and jaunty and doing a lot of physical stuff Carey did in the movie.

It's also bold since that was a terrible movie and the worst version of The Riddler. I'm not saying it was Batman and Robin bad, but it was the next thing over.

This kid pulled it off, though.

A Nightmare Before Christmas - Jack Skellington

This guy actually won the costume contest. Amazing tailoring, and if you couldn't tell, the walking stick is because in order to look appropriately freakish and lanky, this guy was walking around on stilts.

Batman - Bane

This is the guy I was actually rooting for to win the costume contest.

Paul, as I found out, says,

"I have never seen someone as Bane who was in shape. They were all either fat or wearing a muscle suit. So I worked out like crazy and dieted for 6 months lol.

LoL, indeed, Paul! Not only was his costume spot-on, he pulled out all the stops with matching shape and having poses and a full act handy, where he would drag Batman around all day by the limp ankles of neck, and then "break" him over his knee with a lumbar-twinging floppiness anyone familiar with the comics is ecstatic to witness. You can see a sweet pictorial and write-up of it here.

Paul doesn't have a website, but if you're interested in seeing his other work, he has a Dark Knight-styled short film giving the Nolan treatment to the origin of Harley Quinn over on YouTube.

Advice from NY Comic Con

1. Walking

• Like Sand People, always ride single-file, both to hide your numbers and so people in a hurry can get around you.
• Fat people, especially take note.
• Hold hands to stay together, but trust that feeling the warm touch of another human is assurance enough they are still back there. Stopping and turning every six seconds is annoying to others.
• Walking hand-in-hand, side-by-side is especially frowned upon.
• Fat couples, really take note here.
• As with guns, don't aim for where the open space is, aim for where it is going to be.
• Experience playing "Frogger" helps.
• You are going to see many interesting things. If you can help it, never stop in the path of foot traffic. Aim for a nearby corner, wall, or divider, and stay out of the way.
• Unless they are going your way, never get stuck behind large or bulky costumes, or people in wheelchairs [or baby strollers].
• If they are going your way, ride in their wake.
• "Follow the Wookie" was something I never thought I'd joyously live to hear.

2. Personal Space

• You don't have any.
• Wear deodorant.
• In fact, bring an extra stick. Even travel size. Maybe breath mints too.
• Don't be the awkward old Asian man on the subway and start getting handsy with the cute girls. Most of them will take a photo with you in ridiculous poses as long as you ask. You can even touch them if you're not a creep about it. Just keep it to G-rated behavior, dude.
• Be mindful of protruding parts of your costume.

3. Further Photo Etiquette

• Always ask before taking a photo of someone unless they are already in the process of posing for someone else, in which case a simple head nod and smile is usually sufficient to beg a few seconds more of their time.
• Offer your business card or email address in case they would like copies.
• If you post photos online, credit the models where possible.
• Compliment the costumer's performance
• Do not take photos of a group and leave out certain members. Pull one aside and at least explain that you'd just like a special pose of said character in addition to the group shots.
• Always thank the people when you're done.

4. Miscellaneous

• Hitting on Booth Babes is like hitting on bartenders: don't do it while they're working or still in uniform.
• Chat them up nicely, don't take too much of their time, offer to socialize if they have free time after they finish up and feel up for it. Do not be pushy or overeager.
• Bring a big, empty bag. You will need it.
• Hydrate.

Official Rules of Costuming | Dispatches from NY Comic Con 2011

There were some pretty weak costumes at Comic Con this year. I overheard several exhibitors and attendees complain that there was a greater commerciality about the event this year, an air of Big Business and less of an emphasis on independent artists.

But mostly we were all just unimpressed with most of the costumes we were seeing. Expect a teardown of the best costumes in the next couple days, but for now, let's establish some ground rules so as to avoid these issues in the future:


Rules of Proper Costuming:

1. Costumes may not be purchased as-is. Yes, NY Comic Con is in October, but this isn't Halloween.

2. Costumes must fit your body type/ethnicity. No scrawny Supermen, no morbidly obese Deadpools, no Caucasians posing as Japanese 14 year old school girls.

3. If you choose an iconic character, you must have a spot-on likeness. Do you look nothing like your favorite character? Don't feel like making an effort to look more like him/her? Then don't do it. Find a character that suits you better or skip it altogether. We're not against enjoying something even if you don't look the part, but remember that you are judged on quality at Comic Con.

4. Interesting and interactive costumes are more impressive than even the most perfect reproductions. Of course both is the best case scenario. Have a good pose ready, at least, for those who want to take pictures with you.

5. Group shots are less impressive with three Dragon Ball Z villains and a Power Ranger. Two people, fine. You can be different. I saw a couple dressed as Misa and her giant, creepy shinigami from "Death Note."

Awesome. Yet they were walking with a white (rage) Asuka from "Evangelion." I took their pictures separately, and one of them was for pity's sake. You can still see her in the edge of the frame, yet to be cropped out. Why is she so pissy looking? Because she's been a third-wheel all day and she's tired and getting a yeast infection from her plug suit while the scrawny blonde is going to have sex tonight.


6. Know what the hell you're dressed as. It's cool to get your girlfriend to put on a Mary Marvel costume while you wear red and run around shouting "SHAZAM!" But for gods' sake, give her a little back story. Last year a comedian asked a smoking hot Green Lantern girl which Lantern she was, paired to her boyfriend's Hal Jordan, and she didn't know. He just dressed her in an outfit that showed off her ass. Thank you, but you looked like a fool and we all knew what was going on.

7. Some notes on quality:

• No camel toe. Ladies, double up on underwear. Men, get a friggin' cup. I know you played peewee something back before daddy gave up on your sports career.
• No papier mâché or visible cardboard. If you can't make it yourself, commission it. If you can't afford it, don't do it.
• Avoid wigs unless A) you can't physically grow your hair long enough in time, or B) physics otherwise would preclude natural hair from taking that shape. That said, a box of hair color and some industrial strength holding spray go a long way.

Irony Exemptions:

1. You can alter the race/gender/physical profile of any character if it is well performed. Black Ken and Ryu? Sure, they had great costumes. Sexy Girl Han Solo? As long as you have the right clothes and gun.

"Hana Solo?" I'd herd her nerfs, alright.

2. Your costume can look like crap if the joke is it looks like crap. Cardboard box robots and child-sized Halloween costumes stretched over 6-foot grown men included. Hell, buy a generic Superman costume and add black rimmed glasses and a cardboard sign with "Totally Not Superman" scrawled on it, and you'd got the best Clark Kent costume I've ever seen. (Wit > Visuals.)

Or you could be this guy. Hilarious commentary. Good quality; homemade. And child appropriate.

 

NY Comic Con: Saturday | Photo

Cutman will cut you. Cut you so bad, you gonna wish he didn't cut you so bad.

Big Apple Comic Con: Not Your Big Daddy's Con

So Big Apple Comic Con. Actually, after the behemoth that was New York Comic Con this past year, BACC was much more what I would have expected from such an event. It reminded me of when I was a kid and would check out the permanent indoor flea market a couple downs over and talk to the one guy who exclusively sold Star Wars paraphernalia. It smelled of old toys and comic pages and a little bit of sweaty nerds. Here were my favorite moments:

Darth Vader and a few sandtroopers wandering around outside while the line to get in wrapped halfway down the avenue. THEY HAD THE VOICE CONTROLERS!

40-something Harry Dresden meandering about.

Fat black Ben Riley.

X-Men Noir: All your favorite characters, de-powered and stuck solving murder mysteries and whatnot. How had I not heard of this?

And I'm told that in some colleges, down South, according to my source, young women will wear a tampon soaked in vodka and absorb the alcohol directly into their bloodstream, so they can get hammered in class. I would recommend against using a red wine, but then again that may be the best camouflage of all.

May The Force Bark With You!

 

 

If we can dress out snub-nosed dogs like Ewoks, Darth Vader or Yoda, I want to know why I can't find a tiny Imperial navy uniform for a dog.

I would name him Admiral Shnozzle.

Ten Ballsiest Costumes At New York Comic Con 2010

Runner Up #1: Guy dressed in authentic Sailor Moon costume



















Walking around with his friend at Anime Fest on the lower level. You've got balls, but you knew you weren't ugly enough to make this anything less than a good joke.

Runner Up #2: Fat Black Haruhi Suzimiya

What does it matter that you're cosplaying a Japanese high school girl? You've got  character you like and you ran with it. Honestly, you'd make the main list if all of the other kids in anime costumes weren't equally depressing.

10. Poka Fett

Everyone hates polka, but everyone loves Boba Fett. Street performer who knows which nerds will be at the Javits Center on 34th St and when, you are ballsy.

9.  Sexy Fidel Castro

Congratulations, Sexy Fidel Castro, you have managed to take a sexy girl and make her into something I don't want to have sex with. You could have gotten laid with ease at Comic Con (and probably still could, really), but you've significantly reduced your chances. In fact, I'm really just assuming this is a woman from the clear skin and lack of proper saluting procedure, but this could just as easily be, like, Justin Bieber or some other young boy. Sexy Fidel Castro, that was pretty ballsy.

8. Sexy Dalek

There you go. You know how to try and get laid at Comic Con, don't you? However you went a dangerous route, Sexy Dalek; you went with revealing, easy access, and so remarkably geeky and recognizable that it's probably a good idea to keep a stick around to beat nerds off with. Although that sounds pretty sexy too. Sexy Dalek, you are definitely ballsy.

7. Pedobear(s)

Pedobears, you stand the greatest chance of getting parents to have you pose with their kids. You also knowingly stand the greatest chance of being arrested for posing with children. It' an incredible joke with a frightening outcome if things go wrong, and how can they not go horribly, horribly wrong? Pedobear(s), you are ballsy.

6. Trollface

From the same web origins as Pedobear, "GTFO OF HERE" Trollface was accompanied by his friend "FFFUUUUUUU Guy" Rage Face. You two go all out but stay in the lamest medium of cardboard, cementing your place as nerds in a room full of nerds, and as complete newfags in a room full of, well, even more newfags, but I'm sure there's a few oldfags mixed in there as well. Every time I look at you, Trollface, I want to punch you in your real face, and I don't think anyone would think ill of me. Trollface, you are pretty ballsy.

5. Dark Phoenix Mom

Dark Phoenix Mom, you are ballsy and a little disturbing. Why? Because your son is dressed as Scott "Cyclops" Summers. You are dressed as your own son's character's lover. I don't even want to think about whose idea this was. Dark Phoenix Mom, you are ballsy and possibly a little pedobear, yourself.

4. Guy Gardner



















There was a guy dressed as Guy Gardner, dead-on and with an officially licensed replica power battery. It was an awesome Green Lantern costume. However Guy Gardner is generally perceived as an even worse Lantern than the squirrel guy, undeserving of his ring and so loathed that DC brought his predecessor back from the dead and kicked him out of his own comic. He's still around, somewhere, being under-appreciated. To embody such a character so thoughtfully, Guy Gardner Guy, you are extremely ballsy.

3. Ben Reilly

Everything I said about Guy Gardner? Apply that to Ben Reilly and then double it. Then triple that and raise it to the power of Jason Todd. A Peter Parker clone who coopted the Spider-Man identity repeatedly around donning this low-rent leotard. Emphasis on "tard." Ben Reilly's hated up there with Jason, Guy, and Jar-Jar Binks. For your commitment in the face of great suckage, Ben Reilly, you are super ballsy.

2. Black Mage (Final Fantasy)

Black Mage, you are ballsy because for three days I thought you were He-Man's Orko and I wanted to kill you. I am sure many others thought the same thing, and I did not see a single other person more openly inviting their destruction while walking the halls of artist alley. Incredibly ballsy.

1. Neil Gaiman's Delirium

Oh- Oh God. Geez. Um, yeah. I can't see them, but you've got to have some pretty big ones to dress like this around 100,000+ geeks. God bless you, ballsy girl. You have the Ballsiest Costume at Comic Con.