Annotated 22-8
One area where Phil’s disenchantment probably leapt ahead of mine was cosplay. I remember doing a show with him where he got visibly and vocally irritated with cosplayers running around and yelling much like the costumed attendee in panel 3. Unpredictable loud noises close to your ear will not improve your mood on the best sales day.
Although the real cosplay problems from our end of the table were practical issues and personal embarrassment. Most people wearing Bionicle suits or skintight leotards aren’t compromising their look by carrying wallets or purses, so trying to sell anything to them was a lost cause, and sometimes they were all that was in our field of vision.
And the most eye-catching costumes of the female variety required additional vigilance from us both. I don’t mean to shame anyone here, certainly not someone who’d been waiting all year to display their cosplay talents, show their fitness, and/or overcome any body-image issues. But the boredom that settles in around hour three of a typical con day could at times lead our eyes to wander– and I’m not always great at eye contact anyway, so I’m pretty sure mine looked like they were wandering more than they were. I don’t mean to portray us as drooling idiots either– we took respectful interaction with fans very seriously– but if you’ve got a conscience, it doesn’t take much to feel like you’ve turned into a lech. “We’re going to hell,” Phil said to me calmly as four Mistys of indeterminate age passed our table.
Local comic shop was doing great and expanded out a new store. Naruto was gaining steam in US popularity. Day one grand opening was a cosplay event. So many from Indeterminate to ‘yep you are now on a watch list’ cosplayers in extremely indecent clothes… Old school comic collector group stopped in took a look around and noped out within 5 seconds.
The cultists talk a big game about panracial unity, but they seem as sexist as every other culture. I don’t recall ever seeing any female cultists, and Ulak here mentions “brothers” but never sisters.
Yeah, they’re arguably worse when it comes to sexism. We’ve seen female adventurers and politicians somewhat discriminated against but at least generally tolerated, but where are the female Cultists? They might be there and just going by “brother,” like Frigg in Chapter 2, but that still doesn’t explain their exclusion. I know Phil was purposeful about it, but that’s one area of Cultist culture we never got around to exploring. Might have come from some boys’-club beliefs at the top: “You can’t truly worship death if your body produces life!”
Ha! Worth noting, though, that Gastonia’s inner circle was nearly devoid of women as well.
Was the term “incels” a thing yet when this was written?
At the same time it’s not unreasonable in this particular universe. “Let’s wreck the whole game and destroy everyone’s good time” griefing, in my experience, is largely a 12-year-old-boy phenomenon. Though the age might be physical or mental.
Although, at the same time, lots of those people choose female avatars just because they think it makes them special… So in some respects it’s odd that the cultists aren’t majority female. But maybe Arkerra just attracts a certain kind of griefer.
I really thought the subject from the alt text was “Furries”. I’ve never heard of anyone been so annoyed by cosplays. I’ve never been to a con, but I always thought cosplays fall in one of two place, either the incredible well put together that just amazes, or the kind that is just embarrassing to witness. And even then that doesn’t really reach irritating.
A random yelling, running weirdo to me is entirely separate from the other. An entire discussion in itself, I think.
By the way what the heck’s on that dude’s bag on the right edge of the third panel? I know Waltrip doesn’t draw ranom squiggles so it’s probably something. A bat? A squirrel?
To tell you the truth, B… I don’t know what that is. Been a while. Looks like a bat wing there to me. Let’s go with that.
I pictured the “fandom” as LGBTQ+. I’m still so used to hiding it that I’m sometimes uncomfortable to see people celebrate it openly. I’ve definitely gotten better about that though, and it’s because people are brave enough to challenge the stigma.
And that internal struggle has given me a “Good for them” attitude towards extravagant people of all types, fans in particular. It’s nice to see people celebrate. I hope they internalize it better than I do.
I always assumed that was a Chichimec cosplay.
I, meanwhile, took the alt-text as an unsubtle indication that there was no particular fandom they were parodying.
I am glad to know that Ashok will never see his cat again.
His line in panel 2 is a really great line, though.
So I’d like to know something that I don’t believe has been addressed either in-comic or out, but is nonetheless of critical importance:
*What happpened to Ashok’s cat?!*
It escaped when Ashok’s home was broke in by his worried military teammates, went through a few rescue families, and eventually ended up as the familiar of a self-styled gnome sorcerer.
Who was actually more of an alchemist than a magician. So from time to time he would mix chemical stuff which will produce a very awful smell, and there is the occasional explosion, but apart from this… That beats being in the house of a dead cultist.
That’s my story and I stick to it.
So, now we’ll never know if this cat is dead or alive; or if it’s in a quantum state of potential.
Cosplay is one of those weird social stomping grounds. Its whole thing is “look at me!” but there is definitely a good way to look at a cos-player, and a bad one. Exactly when the line has been crossed is so difficult to find that I don’t disparage people who would rather not deal with it at all. I mean there are only so many people in skin tight, brightly coloured, often revealing, clothing you can look at before you have to acknowledge the majority of the thing is sexualized and it is literally about being attractive to the eye. For good or ill that is just a mainstay of the sub-culture.
And understandably that makes many uncomfortable. What’s funny is that it can make the person dressed like Power Girl uncomfortable too. It’s a weird hobby in that way. I think in general people should just look, then move on, and we should all accept that looking does not equal touching and that desiring does not mean engaging and give ourselves a break. Sexuality is only an issue when consent lines are crossed, by appearing in public they’re giving you permission to look (though nothing else) and cos-players are desiring to be looked at, they didn’t put all that work in for nothing.
But I get the anxiety on both sides, how often in other aspects of your life are you confronted with a fit man in a skin tight onesie covered in spider web patterns flexing and showing of the backside he spent the past year sculpting into comic book worthy perfection? Your answer will likely indicate your comfort level with that situation lol.