stranger things cosplay GenCon2016Indianapolis just got through hosting “the best four days in gaming” known as Gen Con. In addition to all of the gaming that goes on, the streets of downtown Indianapolis are marked by costumed attendees. Cosplay is serious business, a large part of gaming and geek culture. Cosplay (costume play) is like performance art for fans. How they join in with the object of their fandom, often (re-)interpreting it.

The costuming goes on all week, the Convention Center hallways filled with everyone from Chewbacca, Galactus, an assortment of Disney princesses, My Little Ponies, Dragonball Z, and if you threw a stone, you’d probably hit someone in a Deadpool or a Harley Quinn costume. My personal favorite costumers were an interracial family whose dad was Captain America, the mom as Agent Carter, and their six year old daughter as Black Widow. (Although Jerry Gordon captured some Stranger Things cosplay that was a close second).

The Saturday of Gen Con is the costume parade and the costume contest. Knowing their audience, a group dressed as the Wolfguard Squad fro Warhammer 40K won first place in the group category. Katherine D’Adamo (12) won first place in the kids category for her Sabine Wren costume. Ruby Rouge won first place in the fantasy/historical category for her the Queen of Blades costume. Dressed as a fallout raider from Fallout 4, Eric Livesay took home first place in the video game category.

Next year marks Gen Con 50 and I already excited to see what people will do.