Nathan is *not* a companion.

(Originally published June 3, 2013)

I’m a “retired” cosplayer (what that really means who knows) in most respects, but on occasion I will attend a convention for a day to let out a little fandom steam. Wizard World Philly being one of two that I usually hit up each year now, they have done a good job making the event easier to navigate as well as family friendly. Of course you still have your share of anime wee-a-boos walking around, but  that’s par for the course.

Of the very few pictures I took at the convention, this one is my favorite. I not a big fan of Dr. Who as I haven’t paid attention since the 2011 season, but I did watch it continuously from the 2005 reboot and find it a wonderful bit of sci-fi. Anyway, I figured with a wonderful full-scale TARDIS on hand it would be a perfect opportunity to get a good group shot. And I confess that I don’t know which version of the Doctor this guy is portraying, but I suspect it is one of first three.

The Walking Dead has been a very big hit as of late, both on television and for fans. There were big lines for Michael Rooker (Merle), John Bernthall (Shane), and Norman Reedus (Darryl) Saturday afternoon to get their autographs and pictures taken. In fact, the line for Darryl was as bigger than Rooker and Bernthal combined, though theirs weren’t lacking. I am a big TWD fan, and I can definitely see how and why Darryl is a fan favorite. Hell, they even made a first-person shooter with him in it, something none of the other characters have. Props to the whole group.

One thing that turned me off was a group of porn stars, current or former I know not, promoting themselves as cosplayers when all it is is them dressing up in pre-fab Wonder Woman, Kitana (Mortal Kombat), or any other obviously form-fitting costumes and walking around in it for (no) fun and (lots of) profit. I have no issue on the grounds of raw capitalism; find a market and exploit it. But I’m too close to cosplay from a pure fandom perspective to have much tolerance for this type of lowest common denominator exploitation for horny male nerds.

An afternoon well spent overall.