And the prize goes to…

By Durrilion

I love costuming – whether it be historical, sci-fi, or fantasy.  The amount of hard work, sweat, tears, and maybe even some blood, that goes into putting something together is impressive.  I know from personal experience.  It takes courage to wear one’s costume (or more specifically for this blog – cosplay) in public, let alone on stage in front everyone for a competition.  Amazing Arizona Comicon has some pretty impressive cosplayers.  While not all of them entered the competition, quite a few did.  Let’s recap that night for everyone who missed it, or even for those who were there and want a trip down memory lane.

There were too many entrants for me to include everyone, so here are some of the ones that stood out for me.

Joe and Barbara as Wolfrider Chieftain Bearclaw and Joyleaf,

Briana and Tyler as Wirt and Greg, with a crossplay twist,

the villainesses of Disney’s Descendants,

Aquaman, one of my favorite Superheroes,

Osgood from the Doctor Who series, complete with inhaler,

Once the show portion of the competition was done, it was time for the judges decisions.  (Drumroll please…)

In the Youth category:

Third place went to Hawkgirl

Second place was Shredder

Both Hawkgirl and Shredder really took over the stage with their characters.

First place went to Anna Sophia as Rey from Star Wars the Force Awakens,

In the Novice category:

Third place went to Emma as a water Pokeman.  I still can’t make out what the competition MC’s were saying.  If anyone knows anything about this young lady, and/or her cosplay let me know!

Second place went to Michael as Edward Kenway from Assassin’s Creed

First place went to Melissa as Princess Mononoke

In the Experienced category:

Third place went to Gambit and Rogue (they were bumped up from Novice because the Judges felt their construction -handling the spandex- was “superb”).

Second place went to Kristen aka Lil Sparkz as Elune

First place went to the Descendants group.  The dancing was phenomenal, and the flair added by the Classic Villainesses was great!

Best in show went to ThunderPunch Group for their Samuari and Baby Doll from Gunner.  They won tickets to Amazing Las Vegas Comicon.

While we applaud those who won first place, and those who received recognition in second and third place, let’s take a moment to remember something.  Winning is great, it feels awesome, but at the same time, be a good sport.  Name calling, disparaging comments about other competitors, and even the judges are not cool.  Reputation is forever and a good one will take you very far.  A bad one may never go away.

To everyone who entered the competition, I salute your skill, your vision, and your courage to stand on that stage and let everyone ‘judge’ you.  Congratulations and best of luck to all of you in the future.

I hope to see you at the next con!