So I watched the finale of Heroes of Cosplay, and while I talked about it not long after the first episode aired, I figured I should give it another go-round now that it's finished.
And boy do I have some thoughts.
Now I was fairly harsh last time I talked about the show - primarily in how I find Yaya Han fairly elitist and exceptionally unnatural on camera (although she is, to her credit, an excellent cosplayer). There's also the standard reality show criticism for how staged the show feels, and how I disliked the emphasis on cash prizes.
To explain how out of place the "cash prizes" angle is, you have to understand that most of the cash handed out on this series was subsidized by Heroes of Cosplay's production staff. These were not events that normally gave out large cash prizes, and it's a 100% false construction of the series. In fact, a lot of these cons weren't heavy cosplay events, but instead selected because they were willing to cooperate with the television program.
This is why half the events featured in the program did not feature prejudging, a standard practice in any serious cosplay competition. Hell, from all reports the second "Group Cosplay" contest in the series finale at Kansas City Planet Comicon was created specifically for the television program.
There are other events in the show that bugged me tremendously too - in one episode, several members of the cast are sitting around (in a very "natural" scene) when one of our "heroes" says that people should only cosplay to their body type. This is, of course, bull malarky and snobbery - and almost everyone seems to agree with her... well, everyone except one - Chloe Dykstra - who is the only one who says it shouldn't matter. Yaya Han follows that up by calling Chloe naive.
Chloe is apparently the only one who "gets" it though.
There's also a controversial moment in the series finale when, backstage, there's a confrontation between a group of "Heroes" (Jessica Merizan, Holly Conrad and Becky Young) and a local Doctor Who group. Now I read about this confrontation long before the episode ever aired, so I was primed to be on the side of the Doctor Whovians... but I don't know anymore. You can read the Whovian reaction, but one of the things that seemed weird to me was the criticism of the "Heroes" for being out of towners. That sincerely bugs me.
The closest con to where I live that I've gone to in the last year was a forty-five minute drive away. I cross timezones for cons, and that's just what it's like. You know what convention organizers call out of towners? Attendees.
Was it unfair that some groups had to repeat their skits repeatedly for the cameras? Yes. Was it unfair how Heroes of Cosplay took over events? Maybe - but you should blame the event organizers though for acquiescing on that though. Was it bad though that people not from the local area participated? No. Not at all.
To the credit of the "Heroes" though, Jessica Merizan did tweet out the following:
In the end what Heroes of Cosplay did was poorly represent the convention scene while following around some talented cosplayers. It's not the worst thing in the world, but I'm happy it's over.
And I really hope it doesn't get renewed.
Update: Just ran across this bit on HoC and Anime Matsuri -- well worth the read.
- Traegorn
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So earlier this week I put up the final page of The Chronicles of Crosarth's tenth chapter. This, of course, means it's time for those pages to come out in print.
The first thing to do was put out the fifth two chapter book. It's available online for $9.99 for those of you who have been buying the trade paperback editions. But Chapter Ten was also the final chapter of Crosarth's first volume -- which means it's time for a larger collection.
That's right, it's time to release The Chronicles of Crosarth Complete First Volume to the public. And when I say larger, I mean larger in every way -- this collection of all ten chapters measures 7" x 10", making the art look better than ever. Frankly, it's just plain neat - and if you've been waiting to buy Crosarth books, this is the version to get.
It's available now for $49.99, and you should pick it up.
- Traegorn
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 MELS at the Starlite |  Lake Shore Drive In |
So those of you who read my blog regularly are fully aware that I have a love of going to see movies at drive in theaters. Normally Crysta and I head up to The Lake Shore Drive-In up in Monticello, IN. It's a pretty awesome place and we have a pretty good time there. When I tell you that during the summer we go there a lot, you need to understand we go there a lot. Like almost every weekend.
Needless to say, we're big fans of Lake Shore Drive In.
Sadly though they closed for the season after Labor Day weekend, which meant we can't go back until the spring. Looking for something to do on a Saturday night then, Crysta noticed that MELS at the Starlite Drive-In just outside Thorntown was still open.
We'd never been down to MELS (MEL'S? Mel's? Whatever) even though it's pretty close to us. Honestly, it's about the same drive to MELS as it is to Lake Shore for us (we live pretty much smack dab in the middle), and the only reason we tried Lake Shore first was because we stumbled across it before we'd learned about MELS.
So, since Lake Shore was closed, off to MELS we went on Saturday.
MELS is, honestly, a little more basic than what we're used to, but maybe we're just spoiled by Lake Shore. The grounds were well kept, but the old polls seemed to point any direction except straight up. Concessions were decent, and I have no complaints there. The owners were behind the counter at the concession stand, and they were... well, at best I'd say they were polite.
(I get hyper critical of customer service, so please understand that was a generally favorable review.)
The movie started a little later than we're used to, but it's because MELS is still using a non-digital projector (which isn't as bright). They're currently trying to raise money for a digital projector, but they haven't been successful yet. That's unfortunate, as next year Digital will be required to show anything first run - putting the future of this drive-in (and many others) in jeopardy.
Overall we had a pretty good time, and I'd recommend the place to anyone nearby. That said, it just wasn't quite up to Lake Shore's snuff - and since all things are equal travelwise for us, that's likely where we'll keep our business.
Plus, Lake Shore has really good blue cotton candy...
...oh yeah, and it's my birthday today. Huzzah.
- Traegorn
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I will always be thankful for long weekends, even if they mess with my internal schedule. Saturday was our normal summer routine, spend the day relaxing and then head up to the Lake Shore Drive In in Monticello for a double feature. Sadly it was the last weekend for the season, so we won't be able to go there again until the spring -- but it was a good night.
Sunday Crysta and I went out to the local zoo because... well... it was nice out and I wanted to actually go outside during the day for once. After we went and saw "The World's End" as a matinee (so I could be home on time to record the newest episode of Nerd & Tie).
I'll probably type up some thoughts on World's End later, but for now I'll just say it was an excellent film -- arguably the best out of the Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy.
Monday was spent doing absolutely nothing beyond sitting around and watching things on Netflix. I'm slowly but surely getting Crysta to watch Supernatural, and we made some solid progress.
This may all seem boring to the rest of you, but trust me -- this was my ideal weekend. So... I guess I'm just sort of boring myself?
- Traegorn
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So last night I got home from Geek.kon and I'm still a bit exhausted. I had a really great time, and everyone who stopped by my table is an awesome person. The people who bought stuff from me are even more awesome, but you should feel comfortable with yourself if you're only partially awesome still.
That said, if you decide you want to buy some of my books even now, you can find them at the UnCONventional and Crosarth websites respectively (and - as always - Amazon.com).
I shared a table at Geek.kon with the talented and overall awesome Gen Prock, and if you're interested in her hand made pillows, you can find them at Gen's Etsy store. Pictured above in this post is the prototype version of a Admiral Hayworth pillow she's making for me. I'll be selling them at cons (as will she) and they're super awesome.
It's a pillow with tentacles... so it's kind of awesome by default.
It was a fantastic time, but I didn't get to see as many people as I wanted to, I ate way more Denny's than I should, and I didn't get enough sleep. It's good to be home in some ways, but like the end of any con I'm sad its over.
Well, onto Daisho Con in November I guess (and maybe something small inbetween).
- Traegorn
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So I've said it several times before, but I'll say it again -- this weekend you can find me at Geek.kon this weekend. The con is is being held at the Marriott Madison West just outside Madison in Middleton, WI. Honestly, the hotel is less than a block out of Madison, but it is kind of dishonestly named.
One day a very bored, petty person will file a lawsuit probably.
Anyway, I'll be in the artist alley, hocking my books and being an overall nuisance to the poor bastards sitting around me. If you're there, please do stop on by and say hello -- and buy stuff.
You should totally buy stuff.
I haven't been to a con since the spring - my swing by WausaubiCon doesn't really count - so I've been anticipating this for a bit. It should be a pretty good time, and is an opportunity to hang out with people I don't often get to see.
So yeah - stop by the table and stuff. It'll be awesome.
- Traegorn
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Last night I finally sat down and watched the first episode of "Heroes of Cosplay," a new reality show airing on Syfy. While I haven't actively done my own costuming stuff for almost a decade, as a person who has been hosting a coplay contest for quite some time (and is a former cosplay judge) I have a lot of opinions on this piece of "unscripted" programming.
To start off, I put unscripted in quotes because... well... this has to be the least natural reality show I've ever seen. Maybe it's because participants were selected for their costuming abilities and not their ability to perform for the cameras (which is the usual method for "follow people around" reality shows), but yeah... it had a whiff of narm about it.
In fact, much of the program feels exceptionally staged. Maybe it's because (unlike most reality shows) this is a world I live in. We've hit my personal uncanny valley, and I know when I'm not looking at real life. Any moment where the participants are being "social" with each other feels... well... it just isn't real.
Well, that and Yaya Han is so unnatural on camera it kind of hurts.
And before I complain any further, I do want to say, the cosplayers themselves? From what I've seen, they're pretty damned good. I have no criticism of their actual abilities to create costumes. I wasn't familiar with most of them before this show, but the one thing Syfy did right was highlighting some excellent cosplayers.
But even with good cosplayers, I don't think this show in any way gets close to showing much of the real cosplay scene. For one, there's a huge emphasis on "cash prizes" in the opening. While cash prizes do exist at larger shows, the vast majority of cosplay contests held around the country... well... don't have them.
Cosplay is done, for the most part, by people doing this for fun. Do most people find it fun to hunt down just the right fabric, accidentally stab themselves whilst sewing, and then search frantically for the pattern they swear they saw just five minutes ago? No. Well... most cosplayers don't find that bit fun either -- but still! This is a hobby done for the joy of it, not for cash.
Also, where the hell was the pre-judging? For those unfamiliar with cosplay contests, any cosplay contest worth its spit doesn't have the judges first seeing a costume when the cosplayer walks across the stage. Prior to the contest, the cosplayer will sign up for a time slot where their costume can be looked at by the judges. This gives the judges the opportunity to see the costume close up and ask construction questions. This is where accuracy and craftsmanship scores really come from, while performance scores come from the actual contest event.
The way "Heroes of Cosplay" presented the event though, I'm fairly certain none of this happened... and based on other things I've read, I'm not surprised.
Honestly, all things considered, the show is a terrible representation of the cosplay scene and awkward as all get out to watch. It's only going to be a six episodes season, so let's hope that the show just quietly dies after they air.
...better yet, let's hope they don't all air.
- Traegorn
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 So Geek.kon is just about two weeks away, and for once... I am completely ready.
And it's kind of blowing my mind right now.
Seriously, I have all of my inventory, all of my promotional materials, and all of my display stuff. It's all here, and it's all nice and proper (with no printing errors). Really though, it's all just blowing my mind.
See, when I chart out my convention travels, I usually plan for things to go wrong. I mean, the number of times something has been delivered late or something got misprinted has taught me to be cautious in my approach. But everything shipped on time, and I managed to get all my stuff done. Really, all I have left to do is print up an updated price list (to reflect the fourth Crosarth book being added to the list) and toss it all in the wheeled suitcase.
Of course, I have to unpack that wheeled suitcase from when I went on vacation into the Wisconsin Northwoods a few weeks ago still, so I guess that's at least one more task I need to get done.
I'm super excited about Geek.kon this year. I'll be sharing a table with the exceptionally talented Gen Prock, who makes some awesome handmade pillows and art prints. You should check out her etsy store. It's neat.
Sharing the space means I'll actually be able to step away from the table every once and a while. Of course, I'll probably still be spending most of my time in the Artist Alley while I'm there - but hey, a guy can dream.
I'll probably end up talking about the convention again as it grows closer, but I'm kind of hyped up about it right now. If you're in the Madison area August 23rd through 25th you should stop on by.
And, y'know, buy comics from me.
- Traegorn
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Last night Pher Sturz, Nick Bergenske and I recorded and launched the first episode of our new podcast Nerd & Tie. We're really excited about this production, and I think the three of us make a pretty solid team.
Our first episode discusses the newly announced 12th Doctor, the future of both Marvel and DC on the big screen, podcast sensation "Welcome to Night Vale," the webseries version of "My Immortal," and finally just why Pacific Rim is better than everything else. We're looking to do a new installment every couple of weeks too, so yeah. You should listen.
In future episodes we'll be talking about the TV line up this fall, the midwest regional con scene, and pretty much everything else under the sun. Really, nothing is off the table as long as the topic is nerdy, geeky or geeky-nerdy.
If that last one is even a word.
So check out the show, and let us know what you think! We'd love to hear from you guys too, and there's a contact form on our website you can submit things to.
So yeah. Nerd & Tie. It's a thing.
- Traegorn
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