Editorial: Why Cosplay Matters
- Thread starter WldCard
- Start date
I think Cosplayers are awesome. The commitment and effort that they show when they make their costumes is amazing and I think it's great that they aren't afraid to embrace what they enjoy. People could learn a lot from Cosplayers.
From a business perspective, Cosplayers are almost like free booth babes. What's not to like? Exposure. Advertising. The cosplayer almost certainly knows the character better than any random hired help. And doesn't cost you a dime. Silly.
I have to admit a certain level of "understandning" i guess is the right word, to this train of thought. now for the record i'm a huge fan of cosplayers and they are definitley a net good to the industry and particularly for conventions. however, that said, i've always wondered about people's ability to make money off the characters and designs created by another person. sure you built that costume and it's definitely impressive but when does selling pictures of yourself in that costume infringe on the copyright of the artist selling pictures of the character he created. again i'm not saying they shouldn't or even that it's a bad thing, just sort of wondering out loud really. I mean lets say you're an artist who created a character for a game or comic. you go to a convention and nobody really knows who you are or is that excited to see you, meanwhile someone wearing the design you created has a gaggle of people oohing and ahhing and wanting photos. you can hardly blame people in this scenario for feeling a little put out and possibly envious. I don't agree with the sentiment but i can wrap my head around it. The important thing to remember though is most of the time cosplay is done out of love and we're all fans and being negative towards fans or just bringing negativity to the table really is not going to result in good things. There seems to be alot of negative attitudes towards and within cosplay at the moment what with several "famous" cosplayers declaring it to be "dead" whatever that means. I mean we saw how well fans responded to being told they were dead when some games sites tried it. even if you agree with the point or sentiment there's almost no way to say it without sounding like king high horse mcjackass handing down a decree to the lowly masses. Cosplay exists because nerds are ALLOWED to be nerdy and be as nerdy as they want. to paraphrase simon pegg "being a nerd means being able to love something as much as you want without apologizing for it." The truth is that cosplayers are fans it exists as an expression of love. I don't care how it goes down there is no way to take down cosplay without attacking people who love something like crazy. you're always going to be seen as shitting on your fans no matter how tactfully you say it.
Broderick is an idiot. As someone is who both a cosplayer AND someone who is a vendor at anime and comic conventions, cosplayers aren't killing our sales. If someone is coming to the convention solely to cosplay and had no intention of buying anything, we didn't lose a sale. We just didn't gain one. That cosplayer didn't keep a non-cosplayer from coming to us to buy something. If they didn't buy from you, it's not because they were distracted, they just never planned to buy from you in the first place.
This would be like a comic convention where DC and Marvel were sitting across from each other and Marvel was getting all of the business and the DC guy saying, "Man, if it wasn't for Marvel, we'd be selling all kinds of shit." The fact is, no you wouldn't. Marvel not existing doesn't make your product more interesting. The only thing that would happen is that less people would come to the convention. If the theoretical convention had 1000 Marvel fans and 250 DC fans and Marvel didn't exist, you wouldn't have 1250 DC fans at the con, you'd just have 250 DC fans.
As a closing statement, most of my sales come from cosplayers. Why? Because we have a decent amount of disposable income. We don't spend $400 on a costume because we're broke ass people with no buying power and to think otherwise is ludicrous.
This would be like a comic convention where DC and Marvel were sitting across from each other and Marvel was getting all of the business and the DC guy saying, "Man, if it wasn't for Marvel, we'd be selling all kinds of shit." The fact is, no you wouldn't. Marvel not existing doesn't make your product more interesting. The only thing that would happen is that less people would come to the convention. If the theoretical convention had 1000 Marvel fans and 250 DC fans and Marvel didn't exist, you wouldn't have 1250 DC fans at the con, you'd just have 250 DC fans.
As a closing statement, most of my sales come from cosplayers. Why? Because we have a decent amount of disposable income. We don't spend $400 on a costume because we're broke ass people with no buying power and to think otherwise is ludicrous.
I'm a cosplayer myself, and while I do think that "professional cosplayers" is a fairly stupid concept, the notion that cosplaying is hurting comic sales is ridiculous (though I've never been to a comic convention; all the conventions I've gone to are anime conventions). Also, not to sound like I'm trying to outdo her, but 40 hours on a cosplay? I once spent 40 hours on a single prop.
This is a very good point. I'd also say they're a net win, simply by being there and bringing attendance numbers up. The more people are at a convention (no matter their reason), the more attention that convention will get and the more successful it will be considered, thus making more people want to come. This should help guests like these artists, as some of those people are bound to be interested. That, and I would assume (could definitely be wrong) that the bigger the 'con, the more the guests get paid to attend...Micalas said:
Seriously. I also think this is the guy who subscribes to the "fake geek girl" school of thought. Even if they do exist pretty much a majority of cosplayers, especially the more famous ones, do not fall into that category. I mean Jessica Nigri or Yaya Han may have the body of a goddess or whatever but they also are just as big of fans of this stuff than any of us. I mean Jessica has a life sized Super Sonico statue and Yaya has a life size Iron Man statue in their rooms, which they've shown through videos and such. I'd kill for that stuff. They are spending just as much money if not more so than us and they love these characters. Heck you don't have to know the character to like the design. I don't know a damn thing about No Game No Life beyond the premise but I want some of those figures because they are beautiful and I like the character designs. Cosplayers can be in the same boat except they have the unfair advantage of actually being able to become the character.TallanKhan said:
I agree, people so willing to put time and money into looking like characters form comics, cartoons, video games, and movies are clearly hurting geekdom with their dedication and hardwork. If you want to go to a show, you need too come in a cheeto stained shirt you haven't washed in weeks and a neck beard. They are the true fans that promote the positive aspects of the culture. I can't even believe people would do anything like dress up like these fantastical looking characters. F'n loser if you ask me.[/sarcasm]
Cosplayers are a very visible and positive reflection of nerd culture.
Cosplayers are a very visible and positive reflection of nerd culture.
Cosplay is a derivative product of media. I'm sure Broderick (and other comic artists, writers and publishers) would much rather see that $450 dollars spent on the original media. Cosplayers (and anyone for that matter) are free to spend their money where they choose, but money spent at Jo-Ann's fabric stores doesn't support the comic book industry. Comic book companies are now making more money from their television and theatrical counter parts, which is still great for their publishers but leaves the vast majority of the working class of comic book production out in the cold.
I perceive cosplay and fanart as tertiary to the source material comics and their adapted media. I'm more interested in hearing from the artists and writers of stories than from people who are 3D fanart. I understand that they spend their hours and money on these outfits, but it's all just window dressing. I find it unfortunate that cosplay appreciation has superseded the appreciation for the original comic writers and authors at many conventions. I think that's where Broderick's resentment stems from, that people like him are discounted by many convention goers and organizers in favor of people imitating their art-form. The truth is that both he and cosplayers love and appreciate the work that comic books professionals do, but space in the limelight is limited and his career could depend upon how recognized he is and how much fans spend on the books he works on. He sees cosplayers as competition, and he's right.
In the end, I sympathize with his position, but in was inherently unwise to offend offend large swaths of the fanbase. It won't effect how I spend my money, but nobody is going to seek out his work as a result of his posts and many will scorn it.
I perceive cosplay and fanart as tertiary to the source material comics and their adapted media. I'm more interested in hearing from the artists and writers of stories than from people who are 3D fanart. I understand that they spend their hours and money on these outfits, but it's all just window dressing. I find it unfortunate that cosplay appreciation has superseded the appreciation for the original comic writers and authors at many conventions. I think that's where Broderick's resentment stems from, that people like him are discounted by many convention goers and organizers in favor of people imitating their art-form. The truth is that both he and cosplayers love and appreciate the work that comic books professionals do, but space in the limelight is limited and his career could depend upon how recognized he is and how much fans spend on the books he works on. He sees cosplayers as competition, and he's right.
In the end, I sympathize with his position, but in was inherently unwise to offend offend large swaths of the fanbase. It won't effect how I spend my money, but nobody is going to seek out his work as a result of his posts and many will scorn it.
The demographic that spends the most money on comics are those in households making $150,000+/year, typically with a degree in higher education. Cosplayers as a whole are not the highest-spending demographic. There's certainly some overlap, but it's very unlikely that many fall into this group, especially collector's in their teens and twenties.Nurb said:
http://www.ohio.edu/people/av205009/portfolio/portfolio/magazine/comicproject_draft2.pdf