photo courtesy of Jason McMinn
Per Matt
Costumed Creations were on full display at the Dragon Con Masquerade!
Year in and year out, the Dragon Con Parade and Masquerade are by far the highlights of the convention. It’s clear that the contestants take this competition business seriously.
Perched high in an upper-level catwalk in a reserved section, the Zombies In My Blog crew got some great photos from the Media Section. We were late arrivals for the children’s portion of the competition, however, we wound up catching the end of that competition and a got a great group photo-op.
photo courtesy Jason McMinn
Hosted for the first time (that I know of) by Voice Actor Vic Mignogna (who was doing an extremely cheesy impersonation of William Shatner’s Captain Kirk throughout the show), I was somewhat let down last year’s host, Grant Imahara (of Mythbusters) didn’t return this year. Mignogna kept the costume contest moving along, once in a while adding humorous asides (there weren’t enough). In fact, some females in the audience thought his off-color jokes were inappropriate. I didn’t think they were offensive, but they could’ve been more playful (and plentiful). Clearly, audience interaction was not something he was experienced with. If he returns next year, hopefully he’ll improve.
photo courtesy Jason McMinn
One of my favorites of this year’s competition was the Marvel Steampunk Superheroes. All the main characters were there, including Captain America, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk. Some in the ZIMB crew rolled their eyes, since last year’s grand-prize winner was also a steampunk-version of a superhero. I don’t mind creativity, even if it borrows the same theme. For this reason, I absolutely LOVED Steampunk Tigger!
photo courtesy of Jason McMinn
There were a couple of great dragons represented:
photo courtesy of Jason McMinn
and
photo courtesy of Jason McMinn
Johnny Depp’s inspired Tonto was in full effect, from The Lone Ranger:
photo courtesy of Jason McMinn
and Big Mamma D’s Ursula enchanted Under the Sea:
photo courtesy of Jason McMinn
Continuing the Underwater Theme was Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo (which was robbed a top prize, IMO):
photo courtesy of Jason McMinn
and one of my all-time favorites, Big Daddy (w/ Little Sister) of Bioshock!
photo courtesy of Jason McMinn
There was an awesome costume created out of faux bones:
photo courtesy of Jason McMinn
An Out-Of-This-World Astronaut:
photo courtesy of Jason McMinn
A couple of extra-tall extraordinary creations enticed the crowd to dance:
photo courtesy of Jason McMinn
and one more:
photo courtesy of Jason McMinn
Interestingly, there was one entrant who broke the Cardinal Rule of the Dragon Con Masquerade (taken directly from the website): “DO NOT BORE THE AUDIENCE.” After taking way too long to set up his props and prep his Lupin III costume onstage, the audience mercifully cheered when a Star Wars Stormtrooper escorted the Lupin crew offstage.
Photo Courtesy of Jason McMinn
The overall winner of the Dragon Con 2013 Masquerade was the Peter Weller-based Robocop cyborg creation made entirely out of cardboard and glue. I was incredibly impressed! While it is incredibly tricky to win this competition, overall winners are equally engaging the crowd, creating great costumes and entertaining the judges. When contestants veer too much in one direction, the rest suffers. Regardless, I enjoyed yet another night of Dragon Con’s Masquerade! Enjoy the pictures! See ya, next year!