LSCC write up

I've not done very well at writing up a review of the day.  I can't really be arsed to write a full review, so what will follow are a few short thoughts and some pictures.

I got this lot signed:

Which is:
Superman/Batman: Vengeance, signed by Ed McGuiness and Dexter Vines.  I'd been queuing for about 45 minutes and they were about to got for a signing so I'm very glad they took an extra 30 seconds for me.  Standing for that long when pregnant and when you need a wee is not fun... I took this along as it's the story with lots of Supergirls.
Supergirl 26, signed by Yildray Cinar.  I told him I liked his sexy Lobo.
Supergirl: Bizarrogirl, signed by Nei Ruffino.
Supergirl 9, signed by Mahmud Asrar.
Red Lanterns 28, signed by Alessandro Vitti.  I told him I was one of the complainants when I first heard about RL Kara, but this issue completely changed my mind and I actually really enjoyed the arc.
World's Finest annual 1, signed by Paul Levitz.
Superman: Silver Banshee issue 1, signed by Joyce Chin.  She said these issues were a lot of fun to do.
Princeless Pirate Princess 1, signed by Jeremy Whitley, Rosy Higgins and Ted Brandt. It was good to finally meet them face to face, although I fear I may have been a bit awkward at them.  I convinced my friend to buy copies of the books.

I wanted to get Supergirl 38 signed by Emanuela Luppacino but she was only signing at pre-agreed sessions, and I didn't have time to see her.

I bought this pile of comics, a couple of which I may already have, but what the hey:

Me and my friend went dressed as Supergirl and we found the Daily Planet:

And my most favourite thing of the whole day...
Ian Churchill was there selling lots of stuff, including sketches and pencilled pages from his time on Supergirl.  He had a page of his concept sketches from that run... so I bought it:

I am beyond thrilled with this.  I love seeing these ideas he sketched out. I love the dynamism of the poses and the (mostly) cheerfulness radiating out of Kara, particularly in those two poses on the bottom left.  I adore the sketches of her in flight.  I like that there's not much on her face apart from mouth and eyebrows  The body language gives us enough of her mood.  The only things I don't like are the comments about super pmt and getting a Kryptonian pregnant.  I'm not having a political strop about it, it's just those ideas aren't to my taste.  They are interesting when you think in terms of where the story was at the time, so I'm quite happy to have them on there.

I now need to figure out what to do with this.  It's just larger than A4 size so finding a ready made frame will be an arse.  But just having it on a shelf seems like a shame.  I'll have to have a think.

This cost me £50 and I have no idea whether that's reasonable or not.  I decided to pay it because I had the cash in my wallet, and I really really liked it.  So much so I was giggly for the next 45 minutes, and I ran up to Daniel Clifford who writes these great comics and squealed at him about it.  I'm quite reserved and I've only met Daniel at cons so this should give you an idea of my excitement.

Making a Linda Danvers Supergirl costume - the black hems

As I said in an earlier post, I was under the impression that the black hems on this costume were called piping:

First lesson: they aren't.  As far as I know they are just called hems.

So, how did I do it?  The material was about one and a half metres in length, and about 30 cm in width, I think.  I bought whatever the minimum was.  As it has lycra in it it quite curly and efforts to iron it weren't successful.

We measured the circumference of one of the arms of the t-shirt and then cut the black material to the same length.  If you can, cut a longer length (by 5 or 6 centimetres) than what you think you need.

We laid the material out on the table and somehow managed to fold over the straightest edge by half a centimetre, then folded it over again.  We pinned it and sewed it, a la this:

So long as you sew close to the edge of your folded over bit (and not next to the hem_ you will catch both folded over layers when you sew.

When you're sewing it (and I'm assuming you are using a sewing machine) use black thread on both the bobbin and the needle and be as steady as you can.  If you go fast then slow it mucks up the tension and the needle kind of jumps around the fabric and can make it bunch up.  Not good.  It also pays to keep the edge of the folded bit as straight as you can - my machine has little lines on the silver bit you place the fabric on, which helps.  I imagine most machines have this.

Next, we measured how deep we wanted the black bit to be.  My t-shirt had capped sleeves which I thought would be really difficult to sew as there isn't much space on the bit under the armpit.  My friend pointed out we could use the black material to lengthen the arms.  A-ha!  This is why I needed help,,,

We decided 4cm would be a good length for the black hems.  We measured 4 cm from the bottom of our sewn hem (above picture), folded the material over and then pinned it to the outside of the t-shirt, so that the hemmed bit we'd done above had the folded over bit on the inside.  From the bottom of the hem to where we'd pinned it was 4 cms.  Like this:

The next bit is tricky to explain.  We'd pinned the black material on the tee so that the pins were on the inside of the black material.  We then flipped the material up so the bit that would be visible was inside out and we sewed on the inside of the material, against the t-shirt hem line.  When you've gone all the way around you flip the black material back over so that the edges meet, and you sew them together so that the meeting material is on the inside.  Then you turn the t-shirt (or just the sleeve) inside out and chop off the excess material.

If you're like me that last part will only make sense when you begin to do it.

One sleeve worked fine like this, but I ran out of my pre-hemmed material on the other one.  I was by myself by this point and couldn't quite manage to hem a new length of material by myself again, so I opted to sew on what my friend has helped me do, then sew in a patch.  The patch ended up being quite messy, partly because I hadn't put the first one quite straight.

I had trouble using the machine to sew the edges of each part together so ended up hand sewing them together.  If you look closely it's a mess, but as the patch is only under the armpit it's not really noticeable.  You cna also see where I failed to sew against the hemline... don't do that.

Lessons learned here are that tension matters even more when you are sewing one type of fabric onto another.

Next we did the hem on the bottom of the t-shirt.  We weren't interested in lengthening this so we measured 9 cm height of material and pinned it so that 4 cm were visible on the outside of the t-shirt, and about 1cm was folded over, so you didn't have a raw edge on display.  Et voila: 

 Then we pinned it and sewed it, trying to make sure we got the hem on the outside, and the black material on the other side.  It's fine to have a raw edge on the inside as no one will see that.  We hadn't cut the material quite the right length for his, so like the sleeves, there's a patch.  I managed to do this a lot more neatly than the sleeve, thankfully.

One thing you do want to be careful of us not bunching up the top you are sewing onto, because if you have to unpick it it is likely that you will leave little holes like this:

I think they'll close up in time but it's better to not do them in the first place.

The finished product:

It looked neater on.

Next post - making the S shield.  Twice.

Making a Linda Danvers Supergirl costume - why Linda?

In case you aren't familiar this is her:

She is my blogspot avatar.  She is not Kryptonian, she is an earth girl who was merged with the then Supergirl, also not Kryptonian.  The series was written by Peter David with art by various people.  The two images above are pencilled by Ed Benes.  I reviewed the book these panels came from on New readers...start here! a few years ago.

I adore this costume.  Always have done and have always wanted to make it, but was concerned about wearing a crop top.  So this year I figured why not make it maternity style.  In the final trade (Many Happy Returns) Linda does get pregnant, and she has a daughter, and then due to universe shenanigans loses her daughter in the process of saving the universe.

When I first read the story I never got it.  I didn't understand Linda's emotions, I didn't understand the big deal and I knew that the finale was out of my grasp.  I know now that is because I didn't have the experience or maturity to get it. Obviously I now do.  When I re-read this run in full over last summer I got it, in full.  It was a comfort to see Linda's raw grief laid out in front of me like that, and it is one of the strongest and most relatable portrayals I have seen.  The creative team - Peter David, Ed Benes, Alex Lei (inks), Brad Anderson (colours) and Comicraft (letters) created something very personal and very affecting and I am very grateful to have it and to be able to read it.

Anyway, due to my love of Linda's costume, the fact that I think we have something in common, the fact that it seemed a do-able costume to pull together (and I sure as hell didn't want to wear my Aquaman one again - repeating last year in it's entirety does not feel right), I opted for bringing together this outfit for London Super Comic Con 2015.  Here's what it looked like:

I am really pleased with it!
I bought the gloves, skirt and boots off ebay. I am also wearing a blue alice band but you can't really see it in the picture.  The white t-shirt I already owned but I put the black bands on the sleeves and hem, and I made the shield.  I had help with the sewing and I had to do the shield twice.  I will explain in a later post about how I did the black bands and the shield, but for now I will admire my handiwork.  I'm very proud.

The skirt is a maternity skirt - I'm amazed I could find a blue lycra one, let alone in the right shade of blue.  Most maternity skirts are flowy and knee length, rather dowdy,  I hate maternity clothes.  Whereas this one was pretty darn perfect.  I had to pull it up so the top of it sat next to my bra, but that worked out fine because the white t-shirt is rather see through otherwise.

The gloves are elbow length ones that are folded over to be wrist length.  I should really have sewn them up so they were at the right length, but I didn't think of that until I was at the con.  I may shorten them when I wear the costume again.

I was wearing very see through maternity tights from Marks and Spencer - they're bloody great!  They are the only pair of mat tights I've found that don't fall down!  I love them.

The red boots aren't exactly right but I had these from my Supergirl and Wonder Woman outfits from Thought Bubble last year and didn't want to buy another pair.

I didn't make a cape because I feel silly in them.  In my next post I shall talk about how to do the t-shirt.  It will be from the point of view of someone who has never done this sort of thing before..

LSCC 2014: Cosplay

As promised, here are all the cosplay photos I got:

 

 

 

 

And then there was me.

No wonder no one wanted to take my picture. Sigh.  I'll never be one of the cool kids.

Here are links to other people's photo albums:

401 Photography - on facebook.
Holloh - on flickr.
Poisoned Pirate - on Sta.sh.
A Mystique - on twitter.

LSCC 2014 report

I went to London Super Comic Con yesterday and had a fine old time.  LSCC is great to attend - it's really well organised and it's got a really nice feel to it.  Unlike MCM, it's completely focused on comics - no games, no anime, no films, just comics.  Both cons are held at the Excel Centre in London yet MCM felt like a massive, soulless warehouse and LSCC feels friendly.

This likely to be my last con for a quite a long while, as a fresh baby is going to put a dampener on our social life for a while.  So I wanted to make this count.  So I dressed up as this Aquaman:

On me, this translates into this:

(I didn't get any full length shots at the con so I took these photos Sunday morning at home).

With this glove:

Why Aquaman? Because I adore the character.
Why this costume?  Because I genuinely love it.  I think it's a really cool version and I thought I could get it comic-accurate.
Why the blue glove? Because the hook I spray painted gold turned out bloody awful so I decided the glove would do for the waterbearer version.
Why no appropriate wig?  Because the wig made me feel stupid....

Hmm, I'm not quite the same as the comic version am I!  Sod it, I love the costume and I'm really pleased I wore it.  I wish I could be less self deprecating but I feel the need to get in jibes at myself before anyone else does.  It's taking me quite a lot of courage to post these photos.

I didn't make the leggings or top - I commissioned it from Too Many Heroes (facebook link) and I think they did a fine job.  Anyway, I'll do a post on the costume and the process for putting it together (including costs) soon.

I arrived at the con venue, changed into the outfit and felt terrified.  It's really quite revealing you know?  Also, I was convinced I looked fat rather than months pregnant.  Looking at photos, I can tell I'm quite clearly pregnant but I didn't have that at the time. I felt so self-conscious.  But perhaps I'll write more about that in another post.  Once I put on the knitted beard I started feeling less stupid, probably because I felt it was more obvious that I was having fun with it and not taking myself too seriously.

The queue went down really quickly (LSCC is super well organised) and I headed to Peter David's table, where I saw another Aquaman, who looked far more in character and faer better turned out than I was.  So we gave each other a smile and later on a friend took this photo of us:

I had earlier seen a Mera who was graceful and elegant and dressed in a lovely flowing green gown.  Clearly I felt far too ungainly, short and inelegant to ask for a photo with her, which I am not regretting. Arrgghhh.

Anyway, at Peter David's table.  He recognised me from when I told him on twitter I would be the 6 months pregnant Aquaman, and his wife took a couple of photos of me. :D  I did apologise for looking a bit foolish, but he brushed that off and seemed to liked the costume.  He said he'd seen lots of Aquamen over the years, but never a pregnant one, so I've got that going for me.  He signed my comics.

These are all the books I got signed that day.  The Green Arrow book is signed by Mike Grell, not Peter David!

I got to tell David these books all mean a lot to me and I was especially pleased with the Supergirl and Young Justice sign language issues he did.  He was really friendly and I'm glad I saw him in-costume.  He had his daughter with him as they were selling copies of a book they'd co written, I really should have bought it.

After this I met some friends, one of whom was dressed as incognito Black Widow, and we saw this really cool pair:

Then I queued to see Gary Frank and he also signed my Supergirl trade.  He liked my beard.  I expressed my disappointment that I couldn't grow a real beard.  Most people seemed to think my fake beard was the best thing I was wearing.  It was pretty cool, but also damn hot.  I hadn't quite realised that all wool is hot.

Then I went to the science of superheros panel but despite being in the third row, had trouble hearing the presentation.  It can get really damn echoey in these places!  So I tweeted this photo of myself and then left.

I'm really not helping my concerns over looking fat as opposed to pregnant am I?!

Then I met my friends again and we went for lunch.  I got a green thai veg curry from the noodle bar in the Excel centre - it looked ranked but tasted fine.

Once back into the hall we went and met Andy Clift, the guy behind Bertie Bear (whom we interviewed on Radio Bamf here).  I got into a discussion with him and another guy about DC's movies - specifically, Man of Steel and Green Lantern and whether they were any good or not.  Opinions varied!  I bought this print from him which will go in the nursery:

The more I looked at it the more I liked it so I bought it.  I'm really pleased with it.

We also visited the Art Heroes table and I caught up with Daniel Clifford again.  I last saw him at Thought Bubble, he's a lovely guy, doing really really good comics work.  I've written reviews of two of his creations over at New readers...start here!.  Halcyon and Tenderfoot is an all ages comic and Sugar Glider is for teens and adults.  Both are excellent and far, far better than most of the crap that comes out of the big 2.

I went into the Jonathan Ross/Ian Churchill panel and it was great fun.  Ross is really hyper - he talked nine to the dozen and barely stopped for breath.  They had good things to say though - talking about their new comic The revenge, comics they like now, comics they've loved in the past and superhero films.  I left halfway through because I experiences a sudden urge to use the toilet (thank you baby).

Last person I visited was Mike Grell.  I asked him to sign my Longbow Hunters trade and we had a little chat, mostly about my beard.  Told you everyone liked the beard.  I told him how much I valued his GA work, as well as saying (again) how sad I am I can't grow  real beard.  He said I carried the beard well.  t was fun, with the beard, I feel like I've made quite a few people smile.

After I left Grell I went to a massage are and paid £10 for a 10 minute back, neck, head massage.  It was well worth it and really loosened me up.  My right side has been a mess lately - it's rock solid. Ugh.  Anyway, the masseuse was great.

Throughout the day I also bought some comics:

The top left one and the Avengers one were in the goody bag you got as you arrived.  I'm certain I own one of the Resurrection Man comics already, but I couldn't remember which, so I bought both.  They were only 50p each.

I nearly bought this Billy Tucci print:

The reason I didn't buy it was partly due to the price (it was only £20 but I was down to my last 20 quid by this point) but also to concern over whether the boyfriend would like it or not.  As I guessed, he doesn't like it (he finds the Japanese wave theme overplayed) so it's a good thing I didn't get it.

I drooled over these Canvas Warriors shoes:

These are all hand painted and the lady on the stall assured me that the paint won't rub off, crack, or otherwise be ruined.  The paint if guarenteed for the lifetime of the shoe.  When they start at £130 for an adult pair and £70 for a baby's pair, you want the design to last.

I bought this Pocky-alike snack:

I met @FacetiousBeard, a twitter friend.  He was fun!

It was a really good day.  I took quite a lot of costume photos and I'll post those shortly.