The days are growing warmer and the first hints of spring are in the air. It’s that magical time of year when fan boys and girls have just one thing on there mind; costuming.
Some people get bitten by the bug and run around looking for something to wear while the veterans have been planning for months and are gathering final material to make their work just right. This may not hold true for all but convention season is just around the corner and this is crunch time for the dedicated costumers and cosplayers
I fall some were in the middle since I do very little costuming for myself. I’ve been costuming in one form or another since I was a child. As a teen I fell in with the renaissance fair crowd. In the last decade I’ve been doing mostly sci fi and recently Cosplay. I can’t begin to count the number of costumes I’ve done. This last year I made 17 costumes: the most ever in a single year. I’d only planned to make three but I kept getting requests and volunteered and the number kept growing. My sanity was sorely tested. I’m determined to keep the number of costumes I make this year to a minimum.
I was in the Los Angle Fashion District with a friend shopping for this year’s projects when I met some young people planning to do a group cosplay of power rangers They were very enthusiastic about their project but hadn’t settled on a season yet. It was fun to talk with people new to costuming. The girls had been to Comic Con International and wanted to make group costumes for this year.
The same day I kept running into a hardcore cosplayer as well. When you pick a fairly obscure anime such as “Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn!” that's nothing short of dedication. Unlike the younger group I found myself talking shop with this woman and her friend. It’s good to hear other’s opinions on the merits of different materials and commiserate over wardrobe malfunctions. We both share a desire to improve our metal working skills.
Metal working?
Yes, metal working. Forget those images of effeminate nerds hunched over sewing machines; the modern costumer is a jack of all trades. As one progresses in costuming the attention to detail increases. Little things like belt buckles can make or break a costume. Ask anyone who does Star Wars costumes about belts and you’ll get a Homeric tale to rival the search for the Golden Fleece. As for storm troopers that would make the Odyssey seem like a trip around the block. So a word to the curious if not wise; start small.
How to get started will be one of the many things I’ll be covering. I plan a running theme we’re I’ll give hints and resources to aspiring costumers. I hope to do interviews with old hands and novices to help flesh-out what costuming entails.
Till next time.
-CJ
What I'm Doing - Sewing Things Up
What I'm Thinking: Color in comics
I have to say that I had not heard of several of the artist mentioned. Cory Thomas, "Watch Your Head", Jerry Craft "Mama's Boyz", Charlos Gary "Cafe con Leche" and "Working It Out", Steve Watkins "Housebroken", Keith Knight "The K Chronicles", Bill Murray "The Golden Years", Charles Boyce "Compu-toon" and editorial cartoonist Tim Jackson. None appear in my local papers. Being African-American you would think I’d be more aware of minority artist and you’d be wrong. As with any product you have to advertise so people will know it’s available. And this is how I see Sunday’s effort to shine light on this subject.
I can now say I have read most of the titles and can honestly say I’m now a fan of some, so Mission accomplished. But wait there’s more to the story than getting a few people to read a strip on line. For cartoonists the true goal is wide syndication of a title. Much like a recording artist gets residuals when they’re played on the radio cartoonist see financial gain when a large number of periodicals carry their work. Here’s were the real trouble lies.
When an editor of a paper or magazine says they don’t think a comic strip is suited for that publication or their not in the market for any new strip this is a legitimate reason. It is the job of the editor to set the tone for his readership and whoa to those that make a misstep. If the same editor is looking to replace a poorly performing strip but won’t consider any new strips with charters of different race or ethnic background because they already have a minority comic and don’t need another this is tokenism and that is just wrong. The emphasis should always be on quality. The solution is to not take any aspect of a comic strip into consideration other than is it a quality product. If a third of a news paper’s comic are ethnic or minority and boost the sales, so be it.
Now for those who are champing at the bit to say I’m wrong to insist on preferential treatment of a single group please take a moment to re –read this article from the beginning. I’ll wait…Done? Good, let us continue.
The comic industry is cut throat it can take years for a good artist to be recognized as such. Aaron McGruder’s “Boondocks” was as iconic as was Bill Watterson’s ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ each setting a very high bar for industry standards. As an avid comic reader I will always demand quality. Of the eight artist listed above I can honestly say I will be following the work of four and reading two on a regular basis. Which two, you say? That is my personal opinion and I’m not here to influence anyone. Go read them for yourself. If you think any of them should be in your local paper write your editor and let them know. Can you do that for a brutha!
-CJ
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