Chicago ComicCon (Wizard World) 2011 Costume/Cosplay Report

Chicago ComicCon (Wizard World Chicago) has come and gone all too quickly once again!

Unfortunately I was not able to attend on Friday but I hit the convention floor bright and early on Saturday morning with my camera.  I have found that one of the best ways to report on cosplay is to join in the fun myself, so I suited up as Rogue from the X-Men on Saturday.  The first hour or two of the morning actually seemed rather slow on the cosplay front.  I found a few wandering in costume but the cosplay action didn’t seem to pick up until around noon.  The convention in general really seemed to  pick up around this time, and at times it was difficult to navigate the floor due to the crowd size.  There were several costumes I spotted from across the crowd but was never able to actually get through the sea of people to photograph them.  One costume in particular that I remember seeing but not getting a photograph of was the Red Queen from Tim Burton’s  Alice in Wonderland film.  It looked very well done and I regret not getting a closer look.

Sunday proved to be almost just as crowded as Saturday.  I decided to suit up as Mara Jade and ASM’s Phil suited up as Luke Skywalker.  Sunday seemed to be the day I saw the most unique costumes.  I saw a Smallville version of Clark Kent, which isn’t a very typical version.  Another unique standout was the classic Tron costume I encountered later in the day.

The coordinated group costumes are always crowd favorites.  I was lucky to stumble on a group of Disney cosplayers gathered together on Sunday.  The crowd around them was huge and there was a steady stream of children moving in to pose with them.  The 501st Legion’s Midwest Garrison and the Rebel Legion’s Nar Shaddaa Base coordinated a large group photo for their Star Wars costumers on Saturday.  The two Star Wars groups also had a booth on the convention floor where information on both clubs was available and members were on hand to answer questions.

I was personally pleasantly surprised by the number of X-Men costumes.  While X-Men characters are typically popular costumes at conventions, there seemed to be a greater number than usual this year.  You’ll see my mug in a few of the gallery photos, as I jumped in as Rogue to pose with several of these X-Men cosplayers.  I even ran into three other Rogues and these ladies all very graciously posed with me.  Also surprising was that I saw at least three Mystique costumes during the weekend.  I’m not sure why the sudden spike in X-Men costumes this year but it’s a trend I don’t mind seeing!

Another trend I noticed this year was the number of children in costumes.  At times it seemed that the majority of children in strollers were in a costume of some sort.  I saw everything from superheroes to princesses to animals.  This was very cool to see, and I imagine a great way for parents to include their children in the fun of the convention.  The level of detail in some of the children’s costumes was really impressive too.  I saw what appeared to be one family with three children, and all three were in Star Wars armor fit to their small sizes.  The armor looked to be custom cut and fitted, just like a set of adult armor.

Click here to visit our full gallery of costumes from Chicago ComicCon 2011!

Until next year – hope to see you there!