Carbon Costume

Robert McDowell is a sarcastic superhero that goes by the name Zenith. He appeared regularly in the sci-fi comic 2000 AD. He first appeared in 1987 and began to fade from the scene in 1992. But he still has plenty of fans and his creator – Grant Morrison – has become a popular writer for both DC and Marvel!

Given his active years, Zenith’s look is very distinctly late-80s and early-90s. He wears yellow pants and black mid-calf boots. The exact style varies from year to year but the colors remain the same. He also wears a black t-shirt with a yellow lightning bolt Z painted on it. His jacket – the final piece of his costume – varies from issue to issue. Sometimes it is a blue jacket with padded shoulders and black stripes. Other times it’s a blue and white Letterman’s jacket. And occasionally he wears a black bike cop jacket from the ’50s with studs in the shoulders. With all this change, though, two things stay the same: His styled black hair and the black mask around his eyes.

Most people know him as Sandman but this immortal being’s name is actually Dream. Brother to death and bane of Satan’s existence, he is one of many immortals that drift in and out of the world of humans. Like his siblings, Dream’s appearance changes depending on the era and where in the world he finds himself. This gives cosplayers a lot of options, though there are a few things that remain constant no matter when or where Dream finds himself.

Dream’s clothes are always in shades of black and white. And, more often than not, his black hair is in wild disarray. When he’s not around humans he favors a pair of black pants, black boots, and a long flowing sweater or robe left open over his bare chest.

Even when Dream dresses to suit a particular time period he’s not always accurate. When you’re timeless, the fine details of mortal fashion probably don’t matter all that much. In the case of the Victorian era – or in many modern subcultures – the printed coat and pants paired with a white ruffled shirt and black boots is classic Dream.

Whichever look you choose, you’ll need a black wig styled in a bit of a fly-away style and a contour kit to mimic Dream’s shadowed and sharp look.