Posts by A.C. Rodgers

Janana from Papa Louie

Janana is one of Papa Louie’s most loyal customers. And, as her name implies, she’s just bananas about, well bananas. But that’s not all Janana likes. She is wild about toppers on her orders. Even more than toppers, though, she is crazy about music. Ever since getting a job at the local record place in high school, Janana has been big in the local music scene. Big enough that she’s now the agent for Scarlett and the Shakers!

Janana has to main looks. They are very similar which makes it easy to switch between the two if you want to. The biggest difference is the color of her coveralls and the addition of a black checkered sweater over her blue coveralls.

Striped coveralls are hard to come across so your best bet is a little bit of DIY. White coveralls and fabric paint make it easy to whip up the exact look you need. With the purple coveralls you will need to tie your black checkered sweater around your waist whereas it can be worn with the blue coveralls. With  both looks you’ll want to wear a yellow shirt under your coveralls, white sneakers with black toes and a yellow laces, a black choker, and square glasses. Both looks also require a blonde wig styled back in a ponytail.

A black belt is visible in the second look though it’s likely worn with both looks and just covered up in the purple outfit. Janana’s legs are also hard to see so we can’t be sure but this is a good looks to wear black leggings with if you want something covering your legs.

Ice Climbers

Popo and Nana are a brother and sister that first appeared in the self-titled NES game Ice Climbers. Since then they’ve been largely out of use except for an appearance as playable characters in Super Smash Bros. And, according to rumor, a possible new Switch game.

The siblings dress alike, though Popo prefers blue and Nana prefers pink. Both wear parkas with matching pants and boots. They also carry large wooden mallets to help them in their adventures.

You can of course wear a parka for your costume. But since most conventions are indoors – and all that walking gets warm – you can recreate the look with a long hooded. No matter which you choose, however, you will need to add fake fur trim around the hood, hem, and sleeves.

In addition to your preferred top you will need leggings that match the color of your parka as well as a matching pair of boots and a mallet. Of course you wouldn’t wear leggings to actually climb a mountain. But for the sake of comfort while cosplaying, they’re your best bet here!

Destiny from Sandman

Destiny from Sandman

Like his siblings (collectively known as The Endless) Destiny’s name is also what he is. He is Destiny. Or the personification thereof at least. He is the calmest of his siblings and often plays host when the group has to gather for any reason.

Putting together a Destiny costume can be a little tricky as his cloak is depicted in shades of grey, brown, and even purple. As the nature of destiny changes, so does Destiny’s appearance. For this cosplay we’re choosing a brown cloak to match the image above. Invisible soles let you safely achieve a barefoot look while white body paint gives you an inhuman Endless look. A thick leather bound book with a chain leading out from it is the final and only accessory for this cosplay.

Will Simpson from Jessica Jones

Will Simpson (played by Wil Traval) is an antagonist-turned-protagonist over the first two seasons of Jessica Jones. In the show he is a cop with the NYPD who is first brainwashed by Kilgrave and then recruited by a secret government project to test pills that cause supersoldier-like abilities with a nasty set of side effects.

This storyline is adapted from the Marvel Comics character Frank Simpson also known as Nuke. He is depicted as a foil to Captain America to such a degree that the two go up against each other more than once. The second time is in Captain America #14 (2013) when Cap defeats Nuke while uttering the poignant truth, “Patriotism taken too far is fanaticism”.

Portraying this contrast in the Netflix show is a little harder than it is with the comics since Cap never makes an appearance in any Netflix run. The show runners did manage it, however, though some clever costuming. In fact Will Simpson’s most memorable costume is almost identical to that worn by Steve Rogers while on the run in Captain America: Civil War. The big difference comes down to the behaviors they display and the pills Simpson takes.

Aside from the pills the cosplay for Simpson is very easy. A dark grey baseball cap, light grey shirt, and basic jeans all pair well with aviator sunglasses, a brown leather jacket, a brown leather belt, and brown leather shoes. If you do choose to take something along that resembles Simpson’s supersoldier pills, please do not use real medication. Mike and Ikes candy look close enough and come in all the same colors (plus a few extra you get to eat whenever you want!)

Seiko Shinohara from Corpse Party

Seiko Shinohara from Corpse Party

Seiko Shinohara is your average sweet – if silly – school girl. It doesn’t save her from the darkening. But it does help her save the girl she loves from meeting the same heartbreaking fate. She is voiced by Miki Honda and Satomi Arai in the video games, and played by Youko Kita in the live-action movie, all of whom capture the sweet, sad nature of Seiko’s character.

For this cosplay I opted to go with Seiko’s appearance while alive. Unless you are going to a horror convention or an adults-only convention, it is probably best to opt for this version as Seiko’s appearance after her murder can be very upsetting for children and other convention attendees.

Seiko wears a pretty typical school uniform: White undershirt with a blue line across the chest (that you will have to paint on), tan v-neck pullover sweater, blue pleated skirt, and white shoes. Her uniform collar is blue with a yellow tie that she decorates with a brooch. She also has long brown hair which she wears with bangs and loops behind her ears. The style doesn’t exist on premade wigs so you will have to style the wig by hand.

As a final touch, pin your convention badge at your waist where Seiko wears her nametag!

Hourman from DC Comics

Hourman

Created by Bernard Bally and Ken Fitch, Hourman first appeared in 1940. He quickly became a beloved character in what would be known as the Golden Age of comics. Originally the mantle was worn by Rex Tyler who gained his powers for one hour at a time through the use of Miraclo.

Rick Tyler – the bearer of the Hourman name since 2011 – has a different look than the one pictured above. But who doesn’t love a good Golden Age costume?!

To start you’ll need a yellow hooded cape. Hourman’s includes a mask that covers his face but that’s a bit hard to find. You can closely recreate the look with a black face mask that blends with the shadows inside the hood of your cape. You’ll also want an hourglass pendant that you either glue to your cape or fashion into a necklace of some kind.

Under that you’ll want yellow compression pants over which you wear a black long-sleeves singlet. Wrap a red belt around your waist like the one pictured above (though you’ll have to trim the pictured belt quite a bit once you have it sized properly). Finish off the look with some red boots painted with black stripes and you’re ready to go!

Handsome Jack from Borderlands 2

Handsome Jack from Borderlands 2

Handsome Jack (voiced by Dameon Clarke) is one of the antagonists in Gearbox Software’s hit franchise BorderlandsHe is charasmatic, engaging, and thoroughly evil. Of course everyone loves a good villain and Handsome Jack is no exception. Of course it helps that he is modeled after two other fan favorite characters: Jack Harkness from Doctor Who and Mal from Firefly. Neither man would get along with Handsome Jack, unless of course we’re talking about their style.

There are two keys to getting Handsome Jack’s look: His mask and his layers.

You can buy a premade mask on Etsy. Or, if you want something more pliable, you can use face paint to recreate the look of his mask.

His layers are a little bit easier. Start with a long-sleeve yellow shirt and add a long white collared overshirt on top. Then put on a brown leather vest and finally a short blue coat. Once all that is in place you can finish off the clothes with black jeans and a brown belt with a large buckle, brown sneakers, and a large digital watch. The finishing touch, a brown wig, will have you set to hatch your own schemes in no time.

Leni Loud from The Loud House

Leni Loud from The Loud House

Leni Loud (voice by Liliana Mumy) is the second oldest child of the titular Loud family on Nickelodeon’s The Loud House. She is a stereotypical ‘dumb blonde’ in some ways. But her kind heart and unique skill set make up for it.

She usually wears her long blonde hair down and favors the color mint green. Her taste for fashion means that she changes her costume fairly often as well. But her most common look is a short dress, flip flops, and round white sunglasses like those worn in the ’60s.

Hisoka Morow from Hunter x Hunter

Hisoka Morow from Hunter x Hunter

Hisoka may take his fashion inspiration from jesters but that doesn’t mean he’s here to play. He only spends his time on those strong enough to challenge him. Anything less is just beneath him.

It’s a little hard to pin down a specific look for Hisoka. He’s had more than a couple of looks that include changes in the way he layers his clothes as well as the coloring. But the cosplay written up here is completely Hisoka. Anything less would be a waste of time. And Hisoka wouldn’t stand for it!

There is a fair amount of DIY with this cosplay, at least in terms of painting and cutting. You’ll need to use yellow fabric paint around the arms of the crop top and decorate it with a heart a a diamond using purple fabric paint. Once that has dried you can cut the arms off the turtleneck so that it is completely hidden by the cuffs of the crop top. You’ll need to do some DIY with your wig as well and add in the purple sides using hair chalk.

With those done you just need white harem pants, gray leg wraps, and black boots. After that all you need is to paint on the heart a tear drop Hisoka has on his face and you’re ready to go!

Satan and 2020 from Match.Com

Satan and 2020 from Match.com

2020 has been a rough year. One that hasn’t given people many reasons to smile. But thanks to Ryan Reynolds and Match.com we have at least one: an all too timely commercial of Satan and 2020 linking up on match’s dating app.

2020 – whose icon is a picture of a murder hornet and played by Natalie Roy – matches with an entirely too bored-looking Satan played by Aaron Reed. And of course as soon as they get together all, well, hell breaks loose. 2020 steals all the toilet paper out of a public restroom, the couple breaks into both a gym (where the probably didn’t wipe down the machines) and a movie theater (where 2020 openly records the movie on her phone). They take a selfie in front of a literal dumpster fire and then watch the world end under the romantic flaming light of an apocalyptic meteor shower.

It’s pure chaos. And it is pure 2020.

This commercial gives us a great couple’s costume for 2021 – provided things improve before then. And it makes for a great way to take a darkly humorous approach to dealing with the stress of the year.

Satan’s look is really similar to Tim Curry’s Satan in the 1985 movie Legend. To recreate the look yourself you’ll want to start with some curved horns and red body paint. Black body paint makes for great accents and you’ll want black lipstick as well. That will cover your body’s upper half though can add a red bodysuit if you want more coverage than red body paint.

For the lower body you’ll want some fake fur pants and a broad leather belt that you decorate with thin chains. Matching black leather bracers on your wrists are another great accessory. And finally you’ll want those signature goat feet!

Dressing up as 2020 is a little bit easier. You start with a blonde wig with really heavy streaks. The style changes a few times during the commercial but heaving most of it down with two thin pig tails on the top is a good option. Once that’s styled you’ll need a jacket of fake red fur, a red top, red burgundy pants, and then a pair of red pleather boots. You can even bring along some toilet paper from your latest haul!

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