King's Kosplay

I had no idea what cosplay was until some friends introduced me to the concept back in 2009. We were all heading to that year's (now defunct) Polaris convention -- only my second, after briefly attending 2007's Fan Expo.

Having no idea what to go as, and little time to prepare (we'd only decided to go at the last minute), one of my friends lent me a spare 10th Doctor cosplay she had lying around. The whole thing consisted of Value Village-esque finds: Second-hand striped shirt & vest, tie, pants and shoes. Oh, and the 10th's Sonic Screwdriver, of course.

Not me, but a reasonable facsimile

As none of us drove, we all took the TTC and VIVA transit up to the hotel that was hosting Polaris. Taking the subway & bus dressed as my second-favourite Doctor was strangely liberating. And the modest amount of attention I got as people recognized my cosplay was, well let's be honest, it was freaking awesome.

From that day on, I was hooked on cosplaying. Unfortunately, life has a nasty habit of getting in the way of my having fun, and my cosplay future was put on the back burner until early last year after meeting Jen of All Trades. For various reasons, I was looking to commission a Batman By Gaslight cosplay. As Jen and I are separated by a border and a handful of states, we commiserated via emails and tweets over a 2-3 month period. At the end of it all, I came away with a pretty nifty Steampunk Dark Knight cape & cowl.

Not me, nor a reasonable facsimile

Once again, through many factors (of which I won't get into here), I was unable to utilize my newly-minted cosplay. I was, however, able to use part of Jen's work to fashion myself a rather impressive Steampunk Harry Dresden cosplay for a small Hallowe'en gathering at my house last October.

Me, as Harry Dresden. No facsimile required

But, that wasn't enough for me. I wanted to see if I could tackle every aspect of a single cosplay project. And so, I began working out the logistics of turning my Knerd King persona into a full-fledged costume. I decided it would all hinge on how well I could revamp my old wooden practice sword into the mighty Geexcalibur -- Sword of the Knerd King. After a couple of starts, I think I've finally found my groove.

Geexcalibur, so far

Through paper maché, silver spray paint (for blade, cross guard & pommel) and black hockey tape for the grip, I think I'll be able to forge something most cosplayers will be impressed with.

I'll keep you all up to date on my progress, of course. I'm not sure how long the entire process will take, as there are at least three other components to complete (the Knerd Paladin Helmet, shoulder armour and chest piece). But, I am looking forward to the challenge of bringing the Knerd King to life.