Cosplaying isn’t easy, but it sure is fun.
It’s a challenge to keep a costume on all day long and be comfortable enough to walk miles upon miles within the San Diego Convention Center, the surrounding hotels and the historic Gaslamp Quarter for the annual Comic-Con International.
Now in its 50th year, Comic-Con brought out over 130,000 comic book, film, television and pop culture fans to its annual convention and a large portion of those in attendance participate in some form of cosplay. The spectrum varies greatly from the casual cosplayer to the fully decked out guests that look like they’re ready to jump right into the high-definition version of a superhero blockbuster.
For this reporter, who is attending Comic-Con for the very first time, I decided to see what it was like to play dress up for just one day and spent exactly 12 hours at the convention done up like a Comic-Con zombie. Now, I’m no stranger to dressing as a zombie. I’ve been to numerous horror conventions and am typically some type of zombie for Halloween each year. However, I only did minimal make-up: fake blood, some dark brown, black and plum eye shadow and a shredded up Batman T-shirt did the trick.
Breakfast: Brains and “The Walking Dead”
The first stop was Petco Park for the official “The Walking Dead” horde photo. Hundreds came dressed up and hung out with cast members from the show and were instructed to “walk like a zombie” in the grassy outfield. Though it was only 10 a.m., it was hot inside the stadium and there was no shade.
Those that had splurged for prosthetic pieces and used a tacky glue to apply them, found their parts suddenly slipping off of their faces because of the sweat. Zombie problems, am I right? The blood was fake, but the sweat was real. However, the more messed up a “zombie look” gets, the more frightening it can become.
Lunch: Ribs, the extra meaty kind
After getting a selfie with Cooper Andrews who plays Jerry on “The Walking Dead,” I staggered my way over to the convention center. I turned a few heads on the street and a couple of people took some photos of me on their cell phones, but tried to pretend that wasn’t what they were doing. This happened a lot during the day, actually. I only had two people, who were also dressed as zombies, actually ask to take a photo with me while walking the convention floor. When I went into the press room to crank out some work, a young woman gasped and then immediately realized where she was, offering a quick “Oh yeah, we’re at Comic-Con,” she said with a laugh.
Humidity let up by day four of the convention, but the wind picked up as its situated right along the ocean. Though the breeze felt good and helped eliminate that sweating problem from earlier, my hair kept getting stuck in the gooey blood I had strategically placed on my left cheek and right side of my forehead. I kept pulling strands from my “wounds” and smearing the blood all over my face. Again, this wasn’t exactly problematic since somehow it just made me look more disheveled and dead.
Took a selfie with Jerry (@smugorange) from @WalkingDead_AMC today during the official horde photo at Petco Park during #comicon2019 pic.twitter.com/kYKHoDTWzS
— kelliskye (@kelliskye) July 21, 2019
Dinner: To go, please
By sunset, I was hustling through The Gaslamp to get to Horton Plaza Park for the 13th and final San Diego ZombieWalk. A few dozen zombies of all ages were selected to meet up and drag their bodies single file or two-by-two down Fifth Street and into the heart of The Gaslamp.
The street was packed. It was like Main Street at Disneyland in the dead of summer: curb-to-curb with people who were taking a break from the convention and those who didn’t score tickets but still wanted in on the action. We shuffled our feet, twisted our bodies, snarled and growled our way down the sidewalks as hundreds of people took cell phone videos and photos, goading us to play it up for their Instagram following. I finally understand why musicians hate when fans have their phones up during the show. The bright flash is in your face and it’s awkward, but it’s part of it. So you play that part and shuffle on.
12 hours as a zombie today at #comicon2019 and I am dead tired. pic.twitter.com/gj0fu0kaTA
— kelliskye (@kelliskye) July 21, 2019
Appropriately ending at “The Walking Dead” DeadQuarters activation across from the convention center, all of the zombies took a group photo and hung out for random selfies with curious onlookers. For some it was the end of an annual Comic-Con tradition, but the promoters said that after 13 years they just needed a break.
I’m leaving my first Comic-Con with a new appreciation for those that choose to cosplay and also I’m just dead tired.
READ MORE about SDCC 2019:
- Photo galleries: Cosplay | Masquerade | Scenes from Comic-Con | Her Universe Fashion Show | Preview night
- Recaps: Day 2 | Day 1 | 5 memorable moments from opening day |Preview night and the Running of the Nerds
- Only at Comic-Con: Meet Fluke Skywalker | Tom Cruise lookalike at the “Top Gun” bar | Wheelchair cosplay | The dancing monster | The meaning of life at SDCC | Where’s Waldo? | The Weird Al of Comic-Con
- Fashion: Cosplay fixes | Her Universe Fashion Show winners | SoCal Her Universe designers | Interview with Her Universe’s Ashley Eckstein | The Hero Within clothing line | What cosplay weapons are allowed | The 23 swag backpacks
- Inside SDCC: Donald Trump comic book | The CIA and surveillance | Bruce Campbell and “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” | Pirates, demons and romance | George Takei and “The Terror” | “Fear the Walking Dead” | Christian comic books | The $1.1 million comic book | Mensa members predict the future | The future of college esports | Marvel Phase 4 |
- Super fans: “Supernatural” Hall H food run | Orlando Jones is Comic-Con’s No. 1 fan | “Steven Universe” | “Dragon Ball Z” world record | Wayward Cocktails “Supernatural” party
- “The Walking Dead”: I joined “The Walking Dead” zombies | “The Walking Dead” bourbon | Cast surprises fans at Petco Park |
- Things to do: No badge needed for these activities | Comic-Con museum in Balboa Park | Where to drink and party
- History: The 12-year-old who co-founded Comic-Con | 50 facts about Comic-Con’s 50 years
- The big issues: Service animals are superheroes | Pop culture and mental health | Cosplay, panels reflect diversity | Security measures
