The Ballsiest Costumes of NY Comic Con 2012!

Greeting, True Believers!

It's that time again, whenceby I declare my list of Ballsiest Costumes from NYCC 2012. I still plan on posting my Favorite costumes, but these are the cosplayers I deem to possess cajones comprised of solid brass. So without further lily gilding, I present my Illustrious Six:


The only black guy to dress as Spider-Man who went for Ultimate Spider-Man:

Photo credit Alex Erde

Listen, there are a lot of nerds at Comic Con. Many of them are also of African descent. It would be racially unjust to hold it against them when they want to dress as their favorite super heroes, especially since a vast majority of the best ones are Caucasian. Sure, there are a few Go-Tos: John Stewart (Green Lantern), Black Panther–there was actually a great King T'Challa, but he wasn't included on this list because it was too obvious by comparison. The trouble is it just looks wrong when you see black Batman, even if that was made a pre-52 canonical universe in Final Crisis. If I see you and know you're a guy in a costume instead of the character you're trying to perfectly emulate, you've done something wrong.

Except Miles Morales is the current Ultimate universe version of Spider-Man, and he's half black, have Latino. And he looks pretty similar to this guy above. I say Kudos for picking a character matching your physicality–not just in hue but in build–and wearing a quality costume with aplomb.


Bain Capital, Batman & Mitt Romney:

Holy crap. First off, it's a giant latex puppet costume. Secondly, it's ludicrously well-made. Thirdly, it's a giant political pun, in context for Comic Con, playing off the character's recent popularity in his movie appearance this year and his comic book roots. And he's pummeling Deadpool for fun, which is pretty great. (HI, MAIDPOOL! Didn't see you there until I looked at the picture. How was Con for you this year?) Also, rockin' Converse.


Gozer the Gozerian, Ghostbusters:

Photo credit Alex Erde

Listen, with all the nerds walking around with licensed proton packs, dressing like Bjork/Lady Gaga isn't the safest choice. Bravo. Now nobody think of anything.


Squirrel Girl, Marvel Comics:

Miss, you perfected this costume, which is surprising insofar as I'm a giant nerd and all I know of Squirrel Girl is her general appearance and that she is one of the most obscure characters in the Marvel universe. She was a Great Lakes Avenger. When that team disbanded, she became the nanny for Luke Cage's daughter. Yeah, that's about as relevant as Squirrel Girl gets.



Carl Grimes, The Walking Dead

This is a ballsy costume on the grounds that it is pretty perfectly done, and so I had to take this photo from a distance like some type of creepy pedophile, out of fear that approaching Carl too closely might result in my horrible, horrible death. Seriously, Carl, goddam it, why can't you just listen to your parents?



Actual Orco, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe:

 Two years ago, I gave a Ballsy nod to a guy dressed as the Final Fantasy Black Mage (I do not know if he, like Spider-Man, was African or just "black") simply because anyone dressing like this:

could easily be mistaken for Orco, and get his shit kicked in. Orco's a dangerous character to dress like. I'd rank it up there with Snarf, Jar-Jar Binks, and boxer shorts Osama bin Laden with a Playmobil Airport set.

That said, I am ecstatic to compliment this gentleman for nailing a character so well, and having the stones to nailing this character. This is the official Ballsiest Costume of New York Comic Con 2012. Bravo, Sir. You took on the competition, and you beat them all. Much as I imagine you were at some point shortly after this photo was taken beaten to death by those around you.

R.I.P. Orco

Oct. 14, 2012.