Geek.Kon 2008: Photos from Cosplay Contest
What I learned at Geek.Kon? My generation of Geekdom is heading out to pasture, but that's fine, we are leaving it in good hands. It is similar to the way the Geek generation of Trekkers saw themselves marginalized by a generation of Jedi. The Jedi, who appear to be no longer geek cool, were pretty much out of the picture completely during Geek.Kon 2008. Not a single Star Wars themed character could be found in the maze-like Vilas Hall. In the world of anime as I know it Akira is long gone, Mobile Suit Gundam is simply a historical reference point, and even Son Goku has been replaced by Naruto Uzumaki. But I'm okay with that. I still have Joss Whedon's army of Slayers and Browncoats. The Joker is alive and well and even Hellboy, a comic book I cherished more than a decade ago and never imagined persevering long enough to be translated to the silver screen (thank you Guillermo del Toro), was present and accounted for. Most importantly, Vilas Hall packed with a new generation of empowered geeks who aren't afraid to embrace the culture that defines them. Pretty awesome, and I have to admit, I'm a little jealous. The most I had growing up was a four hour drive to Philadelphia's Comic Con and that event was no where near the scale of what comparable events are today. So it goes and all things shall pass.
Congratulations to Geek.Kon on a second successful year and if anyone can help me out with who the below characters are, I'd be much obliged. Click on 'em to view larger.
Akira, Gundam, and DBZ
Akira, Gundam, and DBZ aren't dead; it was just too small a con to see them. :) That being said, I listed who I could.
1. The cast of Soul Eater
2. Chi from Chobits
3. ??? and Misa from Death note
4. Nightmare (Player 2) from Soul Calibur 2
5. Yuna from Final Fantasy X
6. Kurosaki Isshin from Bleach
7. ???
8. Chi and Freya from Chobits
9. The cast of Kingdom Hearts 2
10. Gardener ninja
11. ???
12. ???, Officer Jenny, and May from Pokemon
13. Chi and Freya from Chobits
14. Seto and Mokuba Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh!, Vincent Valentine from Final Fantasy VII, and Yuna from Final Fantasy X
15. ???
16. ???
17. Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon, Supergirl from Superman, and Kurosaki Isshin from Bleach
18. An L army from Death Note
19. Jill Valentine from Resident Evil and a Princess Peach version of Snake from Smash Bros.
Much obliged!
Thank you.
Akira
I'd just like to note that I was for a time planing on going to the con as Tetsuo from Akira but I was running out of time and couldn't find boots that would work well. Instead I was the steampunk guy so it worked out in the end. ;)
I was at the con as
I was at the con as Haseo(.Hack//G.U.)
The ??? with Officer Jenny and friends is a gym leader from the Orange League if I remember right. The ??? with Misa (Death Note) was supposed to be cosplaying a random fangirl I believe. I remember the chick with the wrench saying who she was supposed to be on stage... can't remember for the life of me though, sorry!
The 3rd girl in my group (I
The 3rd girl in my group (I was officer jenny) is Lorelei (one of the Elite 4).
The one above Super Girl and
The one above Super Girl and Tuxedo Mask is cosplaying DIE from the Japanese rock band Dir en Grey (specifically from their song Myaku).
Headed out to pasture?
Considering I celebrated my 44th birthday at GeekKon, I really don't think we're headed out to pasture. If so, I'll go kicking and screaming, grabbing all my anime and manga and hoping I can at least get my Miniskirt Army trench coat out with me before being forced out of the fun.
Actually, I think it's more that earlier generations, either with or without their own kids (I have a 15 year old who's not into anime; my boyfriend is the one who took me to my first con) are just beginning to discover that the "only" convention isn't GenCon anymore, especially for Wisconsinites. Geek.Kon is in its second year; DaishoCon is just starting its first year with its convention held in November.
Minneapolis/St. Paul aren't out of reach either--My boyfriend (older than I) and I are staff members for Anime Detour, yet another convention that features panels and activities for anime fans, gamers and other types of fandom as our attendees request, and a place we find a range of ages represented both on staff and during the convention.
I've found that older fans tend to begin a new search for more things to interest them by picking up where we've left off. For instance, I first got interested in anime by watching things like Cowboy Bebop and Trigun on Adult Swim (a programming block on Cartoon Network) and have found myself progressing to trying to find myself copies of things like ShinChan and Nerima Daikon Brothers, while looking forward to Ouran High Host Club coming out because there's a BUNCH of my favorite voice actors...
Well, you get the point--I think we're only heading out to pasture if we wish it; if we don't, there's a lot of ways to find new hunting grounds, many more than there used to be and many of them new to older fans. We're far from the dominant age group at any event like Geek.Kon, but that doesn't mean we have to pull out our knitting and leave it to the kids.
Personally, I knit while I'm watching anime...
other geeks and cons in the area
Daisho and the Twin Cities do offer other con options. There is also No Brand Con in Eau Claire in the spring, going on its 8th year. More anime focused but I saw a handful of Star Wars cosplays the previous years. A friend of mine is considering cosplaying Kimba the White Lion; old school enough for you? ;)
The girl with the scythe in the soul eater group
Hey, just thought I might add I saw storm troopers on the first day. . .I am the girl that was Maka in the first picture. Oh and most of the people in my group went the second day as characters from G Gundam. Trust me when I say old series never die. . . They just get bigger appreciation after a short hiatus.
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