By James Johnson
In a military town like Fayetteville, seeing square-jawed heroes strolling around in uniform is not an uncommon sight, however those uniforms are typically never made out of colorful spandex. That will all change on the weekend of October 21 through 22, at the Crown Complex Expo Center, when organizers will hold their third annual Fayetteville Comic Con event.
The event, which will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, will feature appearances from some giants within the comic book and film industry, including actor Lou Ferrigno, star of the late 1970s TV series The Incredible Hulk.
Other guests slated to appear are Sam Jones, star of 1980’s cult classic Flash Gordon, actor Jack O' Halloran, famous for playing the villain Non in the original Superman film franchise, survivalist E.J. Snyder from the series Naked and Afraid, voice actors Chris Sabat and Linda Young-Most of Dragon Ball Z, voice actor Vic Mignogna of Full Metal Alchemist, and many, many more.
“We are always excited about the Fayetteville Comic Con! Such a tremendous turnout from the area's geeks and nerds and just fans of comics, movies, etc,” said primary organizer Michael Chaudhuri. “ … our guest list gets bigger and better every year, and we just added Chris Sabat, who voices many of the Dragon Ball Z characters and is major, major talent. Most of our guests fly in from Hollywood or New York and would be unlikely to visit Fayetteville were it not for the con, so this creates a lot of excitement.”
Last year’s convention was hampered by Hurricane Matthew, which had occurred the weekend before and prevented many of that year’s guests from attending. Chaudhuri said, “There were some fans who also could not make it and many active military had extra duty helping with the recovery, so we lost some fans. We expect they will all be back this year and we cannot wait to see everybody in October.”
Of course, one of the most exciting parts of attending a comic con, is the opportunity to dress up as your favorite characters from pop culture, or even see the creative costumes made by others. Sadly, not all of us are so creative (otherwise we’d be the ones signing books and answering questions at these conventions) and so we have decided to put together a guide for those last minute comic con goers who need some super easy costume ideas of somewhat obscure characters. You don’t wanna be the 200th dude dressed as Deadpool or Harley Quinn.
J. Jonah Jameson
Perhaps among the most memorable characters featured in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy (as played by professionally angry actor J.K. Simmons), J. Jonah Jameson should be a fairly easy costume for a resident of Fayetteville, as he already sports the classic military high-and-tight haircut (if you don’t already have this haircut, it can be achieved with a whole bunch of hair-gel).
The character is primarily portrayed as publisher of the fictional Daily Bugle (when he isn’t portrayed as the newspaper’s editor, as it seems most comic book writers aren’t clear on the difference in job descriptions). Since his comic book debut in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #1, as Peter Parker’s verbally abusive boss, Jameson has had one immediately recognizable feature only shared by Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler - a toothbrush mustache.
Combine the ‘stache (which can easily be achieved with a magic-marker or face paint), with some suspenders, a tie and a cigar and you’ve got yourself an instantly recognizable boss. Pro tip: If you see someone dressed as Spider-Man, remember to shake your fist at them and say “You’re a menace, Spider-Man!” Then look to any kid with a camera and shout, “Parker, get a photo of that menace for the Bugle’s morning edition!”
Quicksilver
Perhaps the best thing to come out of the most recent X-Men films, Days of Future’s Past and Apocalypse were the scenes featuring everyone’s favorite mutant speedster, Quicksilver. Quicksilver has been a minor player in the X-Men comic book series for decades, since his debut in 1964’s The X-Men #4, but his appearance had always been fairly difficult to achieve for anyone who didn’t have easy access to the wardrobe of a professional figure-skater. However, in Bryan Singer’s film adaptation of the character, he was reimagined as a younger, more fashionable, version of his classic self.
Now, all one needs to pull off a perfect Quicksilver cosplay, is some hair dye and a trip to the local thrift shop.
As Days of Future’s Past takes place in the 1970s, a Pink Floyd t-shirt is an absolute requirement. Some black tight-fitting jeans (though not so tight that you can’t run around in them while all your friends pretend to be frozen in time), a silver jacket, a pair of bulky headphones and some goggles should help complete the look.
Misty
Many people thought that the popular app Pokémon GO revitalized the Pokémon franchise, but the truth is, Pokémon hadn’t gone anywhere. The game and anime series has remained consistently popular for decades now, thanks to a tireless fanbase. Though the cartoon series has had many incarnations with many different casts of characters, among the series’ most popular characters, has been the character of Misty, who first appeared in the game Pokémon Red and Blue.
In the cartoon, Misty accompanies the character of Ash in his quest to capture Pokémon. As Misty is essentially a little girl with a pet collecting hobby, dressing as her isn’t terribly complex. A pair of jean-shorts, some red-suspenders and a yellow tank-top should do the trick. Dye your hair red and put it up in a ponytail, or invest in a wig and you’ll be the spitting image.
If you wanna go that extra mile, try carrying around a toy Pokéball, or a huge stuffed Staryu doll.
Velma
A cosplay classic, and you don’t have to be a world-renowned mystery debunker to figure out why, as the character of Velma from the Scooby Doo franchise has a uniquely simple sense of style. Velma, the smartest among the Scooby gang, tends to sport a pair of glasses and a brown bob hairstyle. Once you have that, you’re halfway there. Complete the look with an orange sweater (preferably a turtleneck) and a pink or red skirt. If you can find some knee-high orange socks, that will help but no one will complain if you go without. Finally, buy a magnifying glass from the local dollar store, and you can roam around the convention trying to find casual ways to work the word “jinkies” into conversation.
For more information regarding tickets, a schedule of events, panels, and vendors visit fayettevillecomiccon.com.
