Costume Retrospective: 2009
Pulp Batman & Poison Ivy, Grendel, Steampunk Spiderwoman, Troll King (v1), Modern Victorian, Father Nightroad, Otto von Shriek, Aquaman (v1), Mur Laferty & J.C. Hutchins puppets, The Flash
The year I started seriously making costumes for other people. I will not realize what a mistake this is until next year.
The Pulp-style Batman & Poison Ivy, was meant to evoke the Golden Age of Comics by way of pulp novels and film-noir movies. It was a collaboration with protographer Rae Winters, and as a result, the photos are gorgeous. I love the one posted here. That’s Russell and Jenn, who you may remember when they were caped, looking all sexy there.
Grendel and Steampunk Spider-Woman were Halloween costume omissions. Neither Brennan nor Krista wanted spandex, so I had some fun with textures and materials. Grendel is linen and leather, while Spider-Woman is silk and brocade and mylar (standing in for brass). I really love the colors in that Spider-Woman outfit.
The Troll King has the honor of my first prosthetics-based costume; the mask came first, and we built a character and costume around it. Like the Pulp-Batman, this character was purely for a photoshoot, but I like him so much, he’s shown up again.
This photo was taken by Kyle Cassidy, for a poster. It came out so nice, it was placed on the wikipedia article for Steampunk. So, yes. If you look up steampunk in the encyclopedia, you will see my face. That’s the the Dollar jacket again, and Captain Jack’s wrist computer, along with some nifty light-up goggles.
Father Nightroad was made for JR, as a birthday present. We were attending a vampire-themed Halloween party, and he was really the only choice. For my part, I went as Otto von Shriek, the vampire photographer from Terry Pratchet’s Discword. My favorite part of this costume is the antique camera, which feels so perfect with the character.
Rae Winters has access to a pool and a desire to shoot in it, so naturally, I wanted to do Aquaman with her. While I like the idea of Aquaman in a leather jacket, I will be the first to admit it doesn’t quite work.
Balticon had a “Come As Your Favorite Podcaster” Party, so naturally, JR and I made puppets of our favorite podcasters, Mur Laferty and J.C. Hutchins. If you look closely, you will see I am on crutches, as this was not long after I broke my ankle. Yes, I would rather operate a puppet on crutches than not at all. Such is my puppet devotion.
This stylish leather-jacketed Flash was made for a staged reading of that 1962 classic “The Duel of the Super Heroes!” where Flash & Green Lantern meet for the same time. It works well next to the GL jacket, I feel. Again, this is something I occasionally feel compelled to revisit, but probably never will. Though, it is a fun piece.
The Flash jacket was made for a series of staged comic book readings called “Superheroes Who Are Super,” and my relationship to them would eventually lead to me not doing costume commissions for anyone anymore. But that’s not until next year.
