Shannon Cottrell

Bender spotting at San Diego Comic-Con 2012

Dressing up as famed characters from across the pop culture landscape for events other than Halloween is nothing new. Certainly, people were doing it well before the term cosplay came into being. But, with every passing year, the image of the superfan dressed in detailed, often complicated costumes becomes more prevalent.

Right now, it's safe to say that the cosplayer is the face of the fan convention, even if there are plenty of people at these events who don't dress up at all (myself included). Over the past few years, I've covered a lot of cosplay for L.A. Weekly, from a samurai rendition of Darth Vader to a gender-bent version of the Justice League, from professional cosplayers like Yaya Han to a Firefly fan who chose Jayne's hat as her first costume.

Still some questions remain unanswered. How exactly do people get into cosplay? What do cosplayers see as their biggest successes and failures? More importantly, why cosplay? Since this Saturday is International Cosplay Day, I posed some of these questions on Twitter and Facebook. The responses vary, but the passion for dressing up as someone else is always the same.

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Gendy Alimurung

Kim Kardashian at the launch of her new Sears fashion line, Kardashian Kollection

Often, the best (i.e. worst) stuff you hear at red carpet events comes not from the red carpet but from that angry, roiling, elbow-jabbing, toe-smashing little slice of hell known as the reporters' pit.

Take the recent launch of the Kardashian Kollection at the Hamptons-themed The Colony nightclub in Hollywood. For those of you with better things to do than keep track of the manifold projects of reality TV stars, the Kardashian Kollection is sisters Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kendall, Kylie and mother Kris Kardashian's new "exclusive to Sears" fashion line.

Here is a small sampling of what you'd overhear. Welcome to the other side of the velvet rope.

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Disney Media

Costumed characters at Disney's D23 Expo -- but do they work for the company?

When it came to minimizing their presence at this summer's Comic-Con, the Walt Disney Company could have easily ripped a line from The Treasure of Sierra Madre as their new marketing m.o.: "Comic-Con? We don't need no stinkin' Comic-Con."

On Friday, Disney threw the doors open to its D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center -- the ultimate fan-apalooza featuring sneak peaks, panels, special appearances and exhibitions on the studio's upcoming projects, all next door to the Mickey Mouse Mecca -- Disneyland.

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photo via Hotshot333

Check out this Steampunk hand made by Hotshot333. Apart from it being a recipe for carpal tunnel syndrome, this thing is fantastic. It is a functional hand. It took him "probably about 30 hours of work," and some $50 in parts. The parts are from Home Depot.

He says, "I have to admit, I have a deep bias against using plastic for steampunk things: It looks like cheating. I have a problem though because leather is ideal for so many things, but I don't use any because I'm vegan."

What do you use it for?

As one commenter on Hotshot333's DeviantArt thread said, who couldn't use an extra hand every now and then?

Why is it that every time they need an edgy, bad-ass, anti-hero-type chick, they stick her in a skintight bodysuit and a bob cut? Presented here are a baker's dozen of pop-culture's greatest bob cut women. An homage, if you will, to the hairstyle preferred by little girls, dominatrixes and flappers.

1. Quorra in Tron

Olivia Wilde told Playboy that it took three hours to get out of her Tron costume, it was so tight. Aww, poor baby. She has kind of a big forehead, so the bangs work for her. Many comparisons are being drawn right now between Quorra and...

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Lina Lecaro

Revenge of the Bubble Punch babes.

When we think about the ultimate Sanrio fan, it's usually an adorable little Japanese girl or a punky, pink-haired grown-up Amercian girl, not a boy in broken glasses, suspenders and argyle socks. So we didn't quite get the "I Heart Nerds" theme of the party that brought hundreds to the Barker Hanger Saturday night, part of the full week of activities and events celebrating Sanrio's 50th anniversary under the name, "Small Gift."

It made sense, however, as soon as we walked into the event (under a giant blow-up rainbow) and saw - and awed at- Sanrio fandom in action. Nerding out is really the only way to describe it. From the detailed perfection of Hello Kitty, Keroppi and My Melody-inspired outfits to the patient and ceaselessly perky hordes who waited easily an hour or more in line for a chance to get the latest Sanrio merch in the pop shop (most chattering about what was limited edition, what was available elsewhere and what was brand new) to the wide-eyed enthusiasm seen near the various art installations, to the craft workshops which offered a chance to make one's own arty Kitty goodies, Sanrio junkies are a hardcore bunch.

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Check out more photos in CuriousJosh's slideshow "Labyrinth of Jareth @ Park Plaza."

Once a year, right before Comic-Con, a whimsical masquerade called Labyrinth of Jareth takes place over the course of two days in Los Angeles. You might recall reading about organizer Shawn Strider in our "L.A. People" issue earlier this year.

Josh "CuriousJosh" Reiss

This year, Labyrinth of Jareth took place at Park Plaza, a stately venue near MacArthur Park. As always, in order to enter the party, one must wear either a costume fitting with the faeries and goblins theme or a mask. Here are the top 5 masks from their Goblin Clockworks Night.

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View more photos in Josh "CuriousJosh" Reiss' "Malediction Society's Steampunk Ball" slideshow.

Sunday night, goth and industrial club Malediction Society celebrated its fifth anniversary with the annual Steampunk Ball. As we mingled between the men and women decked out with top hats and pocket watches, we spotted the gentleman below.

Josh "CuriousJosh" Reiss

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Throughout 2009, Ejen Chuang spent five months traveling to anime conventions across the U.S. The result of his labor is Cosplay in America, a slick photography book documenting the creativity within the cosplay community. Sunday night, Royal/T will be hosting a release party for the book.

Chuang also collected interviews with cosplayers during his travels, two of which you can watch on YouTube. The video above is of Jon, who portrays the title character of Studio Ghibli's Porco Rosso. We've seen Jon at Anime Expo, so it was interesting to hear the story behind his cosplay.

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Dim Horizon Studio

Steampunk Boba Fett by Outland Armour

Outland Armour is a multi-talented costume and production company in Atlanta. They travel to anime and science-fiction conventions across the country and frequently sit on steampunk and costuming panels. Check out more photos of their amazing steampunk Star Wars cosplay on Facebook.

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