Comic Book Fans Combine Fantasy Costumes, Role Playing

Several decades ago, fans of comic books and science fiction and fantasy genres in the United States started dressing up as characters from their favorite books and movies to attend gatherings. After the practice caught fire in Japan and came back to the United States, along with the anime and manga craze of the 1990s, it came to be known as cosplay, a mashup of costume and role play. The colorful cosplayer outfits have now become a major attraction at events such as Comicpalooza, a multiformat pop culture convention held this past weekend in Houston.

Underneath their makeup, cosplayers are ordinary people, who, now and then, get to be extraordinary.

“You get into the costumes, you get into a new character. You get to be somebody else for a day,” said Rachel, a cosplayer.

Cosplayers sometimes buy costumes and masks, but most of them create their own outfits and often compete in contests at events such as Comicpalooza, a convention that showcases genres including comic books, science fiction and fantasy, as well as gaming.

“They get to really show off different types of craftsmanship and there is a lot of pride in that and a lot of professionalism for some of them,” said John Simons, a founder of Comicpalooza.

While many cosplayers may seem like extroverts who enjoy showing off in public, quite a few are introverts who are more comfortable with a mask or makeup covering their face.

One self-proclaimed introvert is Jim, who came to Comicpalooza from San Antonio, Texas.

“It helps me socialize and it has really helped me a lot,” he said.

Jim said he often recommends it to young people he meets who may suffer from shyness.

“Because they might be introverted just like I was. So, [I am] kind of helping them come out and talk and socialize,” said Jim.

For most cosplayers, the real thrill is just getting into costume.

“It is really exciting to step outside of your life and be someone new,” said Rachel.

There are cosplay events all over the world now and an international competition is held every year at the World Cosplay Summit in Japan.

从几十年前起，美国的漫画书、科幻小说以及奇幻类书籍的粉丝们就开始着装打扮成他们最喜爱的书或电影中的角色去参加聚会。这种做法在日本风靡后回到美国，一同带来的还有90年代的日本动画和漫画狂热，变成了人们熟知的角色扮演，一种化妆戏装与角色游戏的结合。彩色鲜艳的角色扮演装备已经成为很多活动的主要吸引力，例如上个周末在休斯顿举行的多种形式的流行文化大会－动漫展Comicpalooza。

在他们的妆容之下，角色扮演者(cosplayer)都是普通人，他们只是有时候变得不同寻常。

角色扮演者瑞秋说：“你穿上那些服装，你就进入了一个新的角色。那一天你有机会成为别人。”

有时候角色扮演者们购买服装和面具，但他们大多数人自己制作装备，还经常在动漫展这类活动中参加比赛，例如Comicpalooza，这是一个展示包括动漫书、科幻小说、奇幻书籍，还有游戏等不同类别的大会。

Comicpalooza创办人约翰·西蒙斯说：“他们真的得以展示不同类型的技艺，那里面包含了他们很多的自豪感，还有一些人的专业才干。”

尽管很多角色扮演者看起来似乎都是外向性格，很享受在公开场合进行展示，还是有不少人是内向的，面具或是将脸盖上的妆容让他们更安心。

吉姆是其中一个自称内向性格的人，他从德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥市来到动漫展。

他说：“这帮助我社交，真的帮助我很多。”

吉姆说他经常向他遇到的可能正忍受害羞之苦的年轻人推荐这个活动。

他说：“因为他们可能和我一样内向。所以，我在帮助他们走出来，与人交谈、社交。”

角色扮演帮助这名主角找到了美人，不过对大多数玩家来说，只要穿上戏服就很刺激了。

瑞秋说：“走出你的生活，成为一个新人，真的很令人兴奋。”

现在全世界都有角色扮演活动，每年在日本的世界角色扮演峰会上都会举行一场国际大赛。