When Elk talks about her teenage self, she paints a picture of a shy girl and an award-winning artist. She used to be anxious and wanted to be seen a certain way. “Now I host panels and competitions,” says the woman behind Elk Cosplay. (Both participants are using their cosplay names for this story.)
Elk often attends the Cincinnati Comic Expo, which this year will be October 18–20 at the Sharonville Convention Center. It has seen its costume contest grow to more than 190 people and is increasing each year, says Matt Bredestege, who’s been involved with the expo since it started in 2010.
Elk’s first cosplay event was at the 2017 Cincinnati Comic Expo. There, she dressed as Toph Beifong, a character from Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. She purchased Toph’s outfit, but she made the wig. “The entire weekend, people were so excited to see it and were wanting my picture and were talking to me about it.”
Photograph by Devyn Glista
Elk Cosplay
- The leather for each drum was shaped using traditional indigenous techniques passed down by Elk’s family.
- Elk carves her wigs out of wig foam and seals them with “gallons” of hairspray, then hot-glues the hair into place.
- In Elk’s cosplay of Zohakuten from Demon Slayer, the horns are sculpted out of clay and attached directly to the face.
Akakioga, of Akakioga Cosplay, struggled to figure out how long she spends on each costume. Recently, she dressed as Katara, from the live-action version of The Last Airbender. Akakioga hand-painted each wave on the neckline, upper arms, and bottom hem of the tunic, which took about 20 hours. She faced a similar time commitment when she decided to cosplay Orisa from Overwatch inspired by the Dora Milaje from Black Panther. She taught herself to hand-stitch the beadwork, two or three beads at a time.
Akakioga first got into cosplay as a child. She was always interested in anime and video games, and one birthday, her mother took her to the Anime Expo in Anaheim. “My 12-year-old brain just exploded. I had no idea this was a thing. I begged my mom to buy me a costume at the convention onsite. ”
Today, Akakioga is a professional cosplayer. Also like Elk, she once hated to have people look at her, but now is happy to be in the spotlight. “When I started, I could count the number of Black females on one hand who were doing what I was trying to do,” Akakioga says. “It was hard feeling like you weren’t being represented. You felt like you didn’t belong in the space. I love seeing how diverse the community has become versus what it was when I first started.”
Photograph by Devyn Glista
Akakioga Cosplay
- Akakioga’s husband 3D printed the spear to assemble in multiple pieces, allowing for ease of travel.
- All of the armor is made with EVA foam, helping the costume stay light.
- Akakioga hand-sewed each bead row-by-row, which took nearly 80 hours to complete.
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