So impressed over the years by the cosplayers who attend Dragon*Con, cosplaying became an item on my bucket list. Finally, after a false start or two, I cosplayed my beloved Black Canary at Dragon*Con 2012. Not the one from the Golden Age, not Dixon’s Dinah, but the reason I am a comic-obsessed fanigirl at all – I was Gail Simone’s Black Canary.
I am just going to say this out of the gate because I know some people will be thinking it. And it needs to be said. Is the character of Dinah Laurel Lance drawn provocatively? Yes. Do her fishnets and zip-up bodysuit scream festish? Yes. Does that make her any less inspiring? Not to me.
I didn’t choose the costume to show off my bits, I chose it because I love the character. Dinah’s skill, strength, integrity, and straight-up moxie are the qualities that stand out to me. And I just could not have been any other character for my first cosplay.
The commitment and creativity that goes into this process is so much more than I had ever imagined. While I am not very skilled at hand-making costumes (yet), I did put a great deal of thought and effort into finding the right pieces. I did a podcast all about my costuming process and experience – the highs, the lows, the fun and the smelly – over at Stimulated Boredom.
While this is something I have very much wanted to do, and I certainly enjoyed being Dinah for a weekend … this was about my love and celebration of comics. And the spark that lit that fire was Gail. This costume is dedicated to you, Gail. You and your Birds.
I just realized that comic characters do not have blond hair, they have yellow hair. I don’t know, do they sell Cosplay Yellow at Walmart?
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I am going to come snatch some rosemary, Ned! All of the rosemary.
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Having the artwork in the slide show to complement the photos was a nice touch. You can really see how great the costume really is. Job well done Ms. V.
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Awww … THANKS, Craig. That means a lot to me. It’s a simple costume, but I really did put a lot of thought into it. Poses and all!
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Gahhhh yet another reason why missing Dragon Con sucked! Awesome awesome costume Ms. Gabriel
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Thank you!
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Definitely worth the wait! I had to retire my fishnets a couple of years back… just as well, I could never quite carry it off the way you have. ; D
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*blushes*
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V! Thanks for sharing your love and experience of your first Cosplay!
It was neat to “experience” this with you!
So who are you going to be next year? : )
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Thank you, kindly! I am thinking about doing Commander Winter from Lady Mechanika. A bit more obscure, but a brilliant costume. It isn’t final, but whatever I decide on … there will be steampunk involved.
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I LOVE Lady Mechanika! It is one of my favourite books and has been a salve to cover the wound the DC’s New 52 is and what they have done to Wonder Woman.
I think you will make a stellar Commander Winter! You will of course have to have Titian hair but I think that you look good as a redhead!
Steampunk can be rather nifty! :)
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