Comic-Con cosplay of urgency? These superheroes will save you

Even Black Panther may suffer from a malfunction of the cabinet.

King T 'Challa was not the king of vibranium costume, but Brandon Meister, a 24-year-old video editor who left Reno Nevada for Comic-Con San Diego ] In the past few hours, a broken zipper on the back of his left boot threatened to erase the calm of the mark and calculate the behavior of Black Panther.

"I was starting to get angry," Meister said.

Fortunately for Meister, there was Caitlin Brown. After a quick phone call, Brown runs and starts applying Gorilla Tape to his boot. Meister, who cut a striking figure in his suit, continues to pose with the convention attendees even as Brown squats behind him to complete his repair work.

"Thank you very much," he says, springing up

Like field doctors in a war zone, volunteers like Brown roam the halls and surrounding grounds or work in small booths nestled in military centers. congress, patching up torn uniforms or tangled wigs. People can call them or report them in person. And as the sophistication of the Grievous General's costume interpretations from Star Wars to Reinhardt's Overwatch increases, so does the need for potential reparations.

These "medical cosplay" constitute a small but unique ribbon of the cosplay community, which has been showing in effect at San Diego's Comic-Con this year. The event, which attracts more than 135,000 people to the geeks' paradise, is considered a cornerstone of popular culture known for attracting big stars and headlines on hit movies and television shows. to come up. But just as important for the event are the crowds of cosplayers who come to rub, mingle or temporarily embrace a new playful identity.

Cosplay repair specialists like Brown are here to make sure the experience goes a little smoother. And they are free.

"To see people happy and smiling and to come back and enjoy their convention is a payment for me," she said.

This can be a shock for foreigners. But the idea of ​​giving back is at the heart of the cosplay culture, which espouses a level of inclusion and support among strangers rarely seen elsewhere. This volunteer work represents one of the purest forms of devotion to the geek community.

"If the cosplay of someone is faulty, no one is enjoying this moment, so by making an effort to help him, you save the day and at the same time, spread a good cosplay karma. "said Joan Miller, a Ph.D. student at USC who wrote her master's thesis on cross-racial cosplay.

These acts of goodwill also go against the dominant impression of the fandom – that of outrage, subreddit flame wars and endless trolling. These issues are real, with several panels this week dedicated to discussing these issues. But in general, cosplayers do not care if you're dressed in Captain Picard or Obi-Wan Kenobi – as long as you make the effort to make that costume.

At Comic-Con, there is a real need for these volunteers. The event itself does not offer repair services, which are available at smaller inconveniences. According to David Glanzer, director of communications for Comic-Con, the convention does not have the necessary real estate, but she is considering the possibility of expanding her facilities.

"Unsung heroes"

Andrew Lance walks in the corridors of the San Diego Convention Center, but it's his chin that felt exposed.

Lance, 34, a San Francisco business consultant, was dressed as Dragonball Z Master Roshi, with branded sunglasses and a white beard and mustache.

But the band on his beard lost its rigidity and continued to fall. On the way to his sign, he spots Brown.

It's hard for her to miss her, even in the thicket of cosplayers. Known in the world of cosplayers as Sergeant Swift Stitch, Brown is dressed in a beige shirt and green military pants, with a backpack strap armed with different colors of yarn and a matching satchel containing her glue gun and scissors (she had a case for the glue gun, but things got complicated). Hairpins are everywhere. The more discreet military look contrasts with his green and teal hair and his nose ring.

On his olive-colored backpack was hung a flag that said: "Free cosplay repair", which eventually attracted Lance

"They are the unsung heroes of Comic-Con", he says after reapplying his beard.

Brown wears a military style outfit because she is part of the International Cosplay Corp., which is a group of cosplay repair specialists around the world who volunteer, though. At its peak, the group had 300 people in 17 countries, but numbers dropped to only about 20 members in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

After all, it's a potentially expensive and exhausting activity. Brown said that she bought a Fitbit to follow her footsteps this year.

As we walk together, random people come up and thank her. She distributes compliments to a frequent clip to all outstanding cosplayers. "You want to build them if you want them to continue doing it," she said.

For Brown, a 30-year-old customer service representative for a cable company originally from this city, it's here that her craft skills may be most useful. She has been a regular at the San Diego Comic-Con since 2003, and began offering cosplay repair services four years ago, and she now works four times a year.

She needed all her experience Con. A woman disguised as Mystic of the X-Men had contacted her about a massive tear in her suit. When Brown found her, she was pressed against a wall with a Comic-Con bag hiding her mid-section.

After a quick brew in the women's bathroom, Brown had to ask Google how to repair a latex cat suit (some glues can melt the rubber). In the end, she wove a piece of black electric tape the size of a palm to close the tear.

"She was in tears when I arrived, but she was smiling and hugging us when we were done," says Brown

The Wig Doctor

In the "The Experience" area opposite the Petco Park, a little girl walks to an unpretentious tent between more flashy and stronger booths dedicated to Razer and Nongshim Shin Black Ramen laptops. What attracted her was a wig perfectly designed to look like Elsa de Frozen.

"Do you want to try it?" Lizzie Duty asks with a smile.

The girl is shy and returns to her mother, who offers her a thank you and walks away.

Duty, a 28-year-old care coordinator for an insurance company, is known in some convention circles as Dr. Wig, having spent the last few years repairing wigs of wigs at various conventions, FanimeCon in San Jose at Anime Expo in Los Angeles.

While Duty is a local and long-time San Diego participant of this Comic-Con, this year marks the first time that she's "The Wig Doctor" – complete with a table set up with various wigs on the display. Because of his work at other cons, the organizers gave him a tent and let him set up a station at a lot near the convention center.

Waiting for potential "patients", Duty, who wears a white blouse and a pink wig with orange blossom, is working on unraveling a wig that a friend gave him. A boy recognizes the hair pattern and says that he looks like a character in his favorite video game. Duty allows the boy to try it and makes a big smile when he sees his reflection. She offers to let him keep it, but he eventually decline because it's a bit uncomfortable.

"My friend would not have paid attention," she says. "I lent him my beautiful wig of $ 80."

Duty made her start by chance. She entered the costume repair room of another convention and offered her help. With few resources, the show's employees put it to work immediately.

"It almost sparked that spark," she said. Duty earned his nickname about three years ago.

She often sees a lot of tangled cosplayer damage. She will take the wig and put it on its support. While she repairs the wig, she will offer tips on hair management.

"Wigs are a gray area," she said. "Everyone gets the costume together, but they throw the wig on their head and do not realize what to do with it."

It's really free?

Volunteers like Brown and Duty willing to do so for the sake of doing so represent one of the brightest aspects of fandom. The culture at these conventions has had a pragmatic vision of how you contribute.

"Fandom has long been a space where you brought what you did and what you did regardless of what you were in the outside world" Jenkins, professor of communications, journalism, and the arts cinematographic and educational at the USC.

And these are not just these volunteers.

"Everyone is really nice in the community of cosplayers, and if you ever cosplay and meet another cosplayer, you'll know what I mean," he said. said Johnny Chen, 36 years old. martial arts teacher from Pico Rivera, California

Logistically, it would be difficult to bill the service. After all, are you really going to ask for money for a ribbon band or a hairpin? More difficult repairs could potentially bring in money, but everyone I spoke to said that they preferred to do it for free.

"I adore being able to say," Yes, I can help you, "to people in distress and not having to charge them for money," said Brooke Williams, a 42-year-old lawyer became Salt Lake City.

But what do they really get out of it?

Duty says that she won an order for an outdoor wig work thanks to her reputation as a Wig Doctor. But more importantly, she said that the gratitude that she often gets helps her lead her confidence to continue in this area.

Even if she does not accept money, she will volunteer on a Venmo account if you feel particularly generous.

Brown also helps because she wants to encourage people to embrace the creativity that comes with cosplay. She also hopes that the art of sewing will remain alive. "It's a life skill that should not be lost," she said.

Brown, fortunately, did not need his sewing skills when it came to Black Panther boots. "You're great," Meister told Brown after the zipper was patched up.

This is not a bad compliment from the King of Wakanda, but everything is in a day's work for Sergeant Swift Stitch.

The story was published on July 22 at 5 o'clock in the morning.

Update July 23 at 5:00 PT: To add a background and commentary

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