Pre-con interview: Moderately Okay Cosplay

Continuing our cosplayer spotlights leading up to Tampa Bay Comic Con, today we have a brief interview with John of Moderately Okay Cosplay. Don't trust the name; his cosplays are fun and fantastic...especially if you're a League of Legends fan!

Photography by Chasis Photos

C: What was the first time you encountered cosplay, and what did you think of it at the time (versus how you think about it now)?

Photography by N/A Studio

J: The first time I encountered cosplay was in late 2012.  There was a character from League of Legends that I wanted to dress up as, but Halloween was about 10 months or so away.

So a friend of mine at the time said, "Hey, why don't you make this costume and we'll go to a convention?"

And I'm like, "Oh, like an anime convention?"  And, you know, I had never been to one before so I didn't really know what to expect, but I made my cosplay, and it was so terrible because I had no idea what I was doing.  And we got to the convention, which was a few weeks after and EVERYONE was stopping me for pictures so I was really ecstatic about it, it was definitely a really good first experience.

At the time I thought it was cool that I could dress up as anything I wanted to at any point of the year and not just have it reserved for Halloween, but now I think of cosplay more as paying homage to the characters I love and actually getting to become them.  I guess both are pretty good reasons to cosplay though!

C: How would you explain the convention experience to someone who has never been? What are your favorite parts, the parts you avoid, etc.?

Photography by Ace T. Cosplay & Photography

J: That's a hard question.  But I think the one thing to remember is that there's something there for
everyone.  You want to learn about anime/TV shows/comic books/etc?  There are panels for that.

You want to buy a bunch of cool stuff?  Conventions usually have awesome dealer rooms.

You want to cosplay for your first time?  Awesome, do it.

I think my favorite part about cons is that, for the most part, there's very little judgment.  Everyone is super open and welcoming and meeting new people is a breeze because everyone is there for the same thing, you know?

I guess the part I avoid coincides with that, and that's the people who try to start drama.  It happens in any circle, so it's not like a shock that it happens, but there are a lot of people who have egos over playing dress up, which, when you put it in writing, looks just as silly as the concept of it is.  But, like I said, I try to avoid it and just have a good time.  Life's too short!


C: What are your current "dream" cosplays, and do you have any plans to tackle them soon? Why or why not?

J: My current dream cosplays would have to be Fierce Deity Link from Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Gambit from Marvel's X-Men, and Red Hood/Jason Todd from DC Comics' Red Hood and the Outlaws.

I am currently in the process of making Fierce Deity Link and Red Hood, and I will be making Gambit sometime in the future.  And, you know, all three are relatively simple cosplays on paper.  They aren't full armor or any massive sewing or prop-making, but I think, at least for me, they're dream cosplays because they're my favorite characters, not because of how complicated they are.

So, they're my dreams because I want to do them justice, like, do the characters justice.  I want to fully embody that character, not just be like "Eh, yeah I guess I tried on this, but I'm not happy with it."

I will actually be wearing Fierce Deity Link for my first time ever on Saturday of Tampa Bay Comic-Con!  So I'm pretty excited for that.

Photography by Papanotzzi

Thanks, John!

Find Moderately Okay on Facebook, and keep an eye open for him at TBCC!