Cosplaying has been around for a long time. Just look at the legion of Star Trek, Sailor Moon, and Star Wars fans who have crafted intricately designed costumes for decades to emulate their favorite characters. At comics, manga, anime, gaming, and horror conventions cosplay has become a part of the culture so deep that contests, dances, and other events are held for cosplayers. They enhance the experience for other attendees by bringing to life a wide variety of characters with their creativity. Scoop spoke with Gemstone Publishing’s Vice-President of Publishing, J.C. Vaughn, to discuss the popularity of cosplaying and provide an early look at The Overstreet Guide to Cosplay.

Scoop: Why do people cosplay?
J.C. Vaughn (JCV): Aside from the cool factor, there are many different reasons. Fans of comics, sci-fi, and anime get so excited by the stories they read and watch that they want to be a part of them. When your favorite character is Iron Man, Goku, or Buffy it’s a blast to wear a costume emulating that character. It also offers cosplayers the opportunity to be a deeper part of the convention experience, posing with fans, making friends with other cosplayers. We’ll be exploring as many of them as we can in the book.

Scoop: How is expensive is cosplaying?
JCV: For people who make their own costumes, the expense can run the full gamut from very inexpensive to very pricey. The requirements of the costume, the goals the cosplayer has set for himself or herself, and obviously the materials used and the time required to make the costumes are significant considerations. Additionally, if cosplay is your reason for attending out of town conventions—going to shows you wouldn’t be going to under other circumstances—then transportation and lodging get included as well. The more committed you are, the more it can cost.

Scoop: Do you think there has been a definitive event that has caused the jump in popularity for Cosplay?
JCV: I should probably leave this question for more experienced folks, but as an observer I think it’s like most other things in popular culture or general history. There is no single precipitating event, but rather there are a lot of contributing factors. Cosplayers who have been involved in manga and anime know that it has been prevalent around those niches for many years. Likewise, Star Trek fans have had cosplay for years and years. In fact, Sailor Moon and Star Trek might be as close to precipitating events as we’re going to get, but even collectively they can’t account for the explosion of cosplaying at conventions the past few years.

Scoop: Do you think the impressive success of comic book based movies and TV shows over the past few years have been contributing factors?
JCV: Unquestionably. They—and the record prices paid for comics—have definitely entered the awareness of the culture as a whole. It’s not only them, though. We’re also seeing characters from video games as well.

Scoop: What kind of influence do cosplayers have on comic conventions?
JCV: It depends on the convention. The can do everything from the good—helping to create a spectacular, family-friendly environment for fans and civilians alike—to the negative—jamming up the aisles for spontaneous photo shoots in unsafe fashion. There’s been a lot of talk about the changes conventions are going through, but I think there are many, many more positives than negatives. It’s an overwhelmingly good thing for comics that folks are this passionate.

Scoop: The Virginia Comic Con in November is offering free admission to cosplayers. Do you see this as a new trend?
JCV: It’s definitely a trend for that show. They had fantastic cosplayer attendance at last year’s two-day show, as well as at the one-day conventions they’ve had since then. The interest from the cosplay community is strong, and based on the reactions of other attendees, I think it’s clear that the show promoters and the other attendees love having them at the show. Watching children reacting to cosplayers and interacting with them should warm even the most cynical hearts.

Scoop: Steampunk, the sub-genre that combines science fiction, industrialization, and the Victorian era, has been adapted into a variety of mainstream cosplay costumes, such as steampunk Poison Ivy or steampunk Stormtroopers, do you see this trend continuing or is it on its way out?
JCV: Other people are far more qualified to answer this, but while Steampunk or any niche may have its ups and downs, there are some entirely awesome steampunk cosplayers out there. I saw one, Ellie Retrophilia, due a steampunk version of G.I. Joe’s villain, The Baroness. It was distinct, and yet I knew what who she was portraying right away. That one definitely stuck with me.

Scoop: Are there other subgenre’s that are gaining popularity amongst cosplayers?
JCV: At the last few shows I’ve attended—and of course this is anecdotal—I’ve seen a lot of mash-ups or blending of genres, characters, and properties. For years at Comic-Con International: San Diego we saw Stormtrooper Elvis. That’s the one that always comes to mind immediately. I’ve also seen a strong number of non-traditional interpretations such as female Winter Soldiers (some really good ones, too!).

Scoop: You mention seeing female Winter Soldiers, is cross-gender cosplay a common thing? Are reactions any different from people who cosplay as a character of their gender?
JCV: It’s certainly not an oddity anymore, though I think at this point it’s more common to see female cosplayers interpreting male characters than the other way around. I have never witnessed any negative reaction to this, though people are people, so there’s probably been some. I’ve seen more negative comments about racial or ethnic interpretations of characters, which is something we’ll talk about in the book.

Scoop: Who’s the best cosplayer you have ever seen?
JCV: There’s no correct way to answer that question. I’m blown away by so many efforts, but Eddie Newsome’s Deadpool is really pretty killer… and there are many, many great Deadpools out there. I love when people do creator-owned characters, and Lisa Tran has done some beautiful versions of Billy Tucci’s Shi. I got to see Amber Love and Bryan Treakle do a photo shoot as two of Jim Kuhoric’s characters from Dead Irons. But seriously, there are so many great individual and group efforts that it’s impossible to pick one. I think the best interactions I’ve had have been with people talking about what gave them specific ideas for costumes, what it took to get it done, how they dealt with things that went wrong, and so on.

And cosplayers really can have an impact. I saw this kid, he couldn’t have been five years old, at the Chicago Comicon in 1995. He was dressed as the Flash and he was running everywhere, unless you wanted to take his photo, in which case he did slow motion or just stopped in a running pose. The joy that kid brought to it, man, I think we’d all be better off if we were like that. It’s 19 years later and I’m still talking about it. Some of the folks I see in cosplay really enjoy what they’re doing. It takes such dedication that you have to get some joy out of it.

Scoop: Have you seen cosplayers interacting with the creators-artists-writers of or actors who portray the character they are cosplaying as?
JCV: Absolutely. Three that I just mentioned, starting with Eddie Newsome as Deadpool. I know Rob Liefeld, the character’s creator, loved it. He had Eddie at his booth. And it was really awesome to observe Jim Kuhoric’s reaction to seeing his characters come to life in a photo shoot. I’ve been friends with Billy Tucci for a long time now, and I’ve had the chance to see many cosplayers come by his booth at various shows. Seriously, how cool is that? Someone likes your character to make the costume, often from scratch, and come to the show? C’mon! That’s great!

Scoop: What will The Overstreet Guide To Cosplay be like?
JCV: It will fit in with other books in our “How To” series, but it will also be its own animal. Since we’re doing the official kick-off of the book at this year’s Virginia Comicon, cosplayers are going to have a big chance to help us shape the book for its November 2015 release.

It’s going to be an exciting process. We’re going to address everything from how to make costumes to the social issues facing cosplayers today. We’ll include everyone from beginners to professional cosplayers. And we’ll be at several shows offering the opportunity to be featured in the book. It’s going to be a very interactive process.

I think the team we have working on it is going to be superb. On the editorial side, we have Creative Director Mark Huesman, who has a ton of practical experience with putting costumes and sports uniforms together (as well as more than 17 years of putting books together), and Assistant Editor Carrie Wood, who has been cosplaying for 12 years. I don’t think that part of the equation could get any better.

On the writing front, our lead authors are Eddie Newsome, who I mentioned previously, and Geppi’s Entertainment Museum President Melissa Bowersox, who I think are going to lead us in very interesting directions. They’ve both already been in touch with a number of top cosplayers and the feedback about us doing the book is huge.

We hope that as many cosplayers as possible will join us at the Virginia Comicon, November 22-23, in Richmond, Virginia, for the book’s official kick-off.