For Cosplayer Bronte, she’s made fantasy a business.
Dressed up as ‘Captain Planet’ for this year’s Oz Comic-Con in Sydney, she says becoming her favourite fantasy characters is not just a hobby.
"It's just one of those things that you have a passion and think of why not, don't hold back," she explained.
Cosplay, or ‘costume play’, is a concept developed in Japan, which has since become a worldwide phenomenon, where you dress up as a fictional character, being, or object, and try and embody it anyway possible.
Georgia Hinton first got into comics and cosplay when she was 14, when her best friend Amber Phillips gave her a copy of graphic novel Watchmen.
Sci-fi comes to life at Oz Comic-Con Source: SBS
“I read it and was hooked straight away. I love it,” Georgia explains.
No surprises then, that both have come to this year’s convention as ‘The Comedian’ and ‘Ozymandias’.
What does surprise is how ingenious their costume designs are.
"Well the costume is just made, like foam mat, and then painted gold,” Amber said.
“Then I used purple fabric to finish off the dress."
“[To make the side armour] this is actually a mixing bowl. I sanded the struts off,” added Georgia.
Oz Comic-Con is where sci-fi, fantasy, and comic book characters come to life. It’s drawn in more than 100,000 people across the country this year alone.
Sci-fi comes to life at Oz Comic-Con. (SBS) Source: SBS
Many celebrities attend to sign autographs and pose for photos.
Such a combo are Sam Lloyd and Robert Maschio, who played the characters ‘Ted’ and ‘The Todd’ on hit US TV series ‘Scrubs’ for nine seasons.
Maschio, still dressed in green scrubs, remains in character.
"I'm so into it,” Maschio said.
“I'm literally wearing my cosplay outfit right now."
Lloyd agrees with this assessment.
"I would probably be here, out there, dressed as Aquaman, if I wasn't here [signing autographs]," he said.
Actor Stephen Hunter, famous for his role as dwarf Bombur in ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy, came to the event dressed as a Bee.
"My daughter's almost five, so it's the first time she's been to one of these. So she decided going to dress up as bees and I thought why not,” he said.
“That's the whole spirit of the thing."
The final leg of Oz Comic-Con signs off in Sydney on Sunday with the finals of the National Cosplay championships.
