Comic-Con Today: Sunday

Comic-Con@Home 2021 Masquerade Results

Judges' Choice: "Snow White," an original imagining of the character after she has become Queen and living her Happily Ever After. A highly embellished historical design crafted by Mandy Pursley / Be The Spark Cosplay.

Best Original Design: "Goodbye Beach City," a beautiful homage to Steven Universe. Any way she turns herself, there’s a detailed story sewn into her dress! From Moria Magre/MinesOfMoriaCosplays 

Best Workmanship: "Carlotta, from Phantom of the Opera," a highly detailed and colorful re-creation of Carlotta's Hannibal dress of the Broadway show, crafted by Canadian Devon Baker / Komickrazi Studios.

Most Beautiful: "Lady Loki in Armor." a striking original interpretation of the character in resplendent battle armor and an impressive weapon too, designed and crafted by VivSai.

The above winners will receive beautiful custom-created Comic-Con Masquerade trophy medallions, plus free attendee badges to San Diego Comic-Con International in 2022. 

The judges also awarded three Honorable Mentions. Even though they scored slightly lower than the top choices, the judges felt the following entries still deserved recognition for their achievement.

Honorable Mention: "Gonk (gonk guh gonk gonk gonk)" a fun, screen-accurate Star Wars GNK power droid, with moving gadgets too, constructed by Kaiweevil. In addition, Gonk (gonk guh gonk gonk gonk) won the following award:

• The David C. Copley Award for Most Innovative Costume: $500 in Amazon cards from UCLA’s Copley Center for the Study of Costume Design

Honorable Mention: "Varian Wrynn," World of Warcraft's King of Stormwind and High King of the Alliance in amazingly constructed armor, from international South Korean cosplayer Sin_Moon. 

Honorable Mention: "Edgar Markov," an armored character from the terror-rife gothic plane of Innistrad in the Magic the Gathering game universe, brought to you by Kensadi / Kensadi Cosplay.

Check out all of the Masquerade entries at Comic-Con@Home Tumblr page.

Comic-Con@Home gives a big "Thank You" to the contestants for all their work and talent; to the guest judges Jennifer May Nickel, Dr. Deborah Nadoolman Landis PhD, Garnet Filo, Allan Lavigne and Gigi Bannister for their time and expertise; to Phil and Kaja Foglio for being our Masters of Ceremonies; to Frank and Son Collectible Show, the UCLA David C. Copley Center for the Study of Costume Design, and the Costume Designers Guild Local 892 for their generous support of the event; and to our convention friends and family both near and far for joining us online—until we meet again.

SuperVolunteer Challenge and Volunteer Stories

Volunteers are the lifeblood of Comic-Con. We could not do Comic-Con without them. The spirit of giving runs deep in our volunteers. With the virtual Comic-Con@Home shows in 2020 and 2021, there were not as many opportunities as we had volunteers. Many responded by donating their time to other nonprofit organizations. Some of their stories are featured on the Toucan Blog in the SuperVolunteer Challenge series. In addition, some of our volunteers have collaborated on a Volunteer Stories video, giving insider tips and fun facts and sharing what they’re looking forward to most about returning to in-person shows.

Congratulations to The Laughing Ogre

Comic-Con extends hearty congratulations to Chris Lloyd of The Laughing Ogre, Columbus, Ohio, winner of the 2021 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award. 

In addition, Comic-Con acknowledges the other finalists:

• The Comic Bug – Jun Goeku, Manhattan Beach, CA
• Kingpin Books – Mário Freitas, Lisbon, Portugal
• Rogue City Comics – Steve and Jami Ronda, Medford, OR
• Zeppelin Comics – Natasha and Dan Curtis, Benicia, CA

Thanks are due to Facilitator of the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award, Joe Ferrara, Owner of Atlantis Fantasyworld, Santa Cruz, CA (recipient of 1996 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award) and this year’s Judges:

• Henry Barajas, Latinx author and comic book professional. He is writer of La Voz de M.A.Y.O. Tata Rambo and Helm Greycastle and Director of Operations and direct market outreach coordinator, Top Cow Productions.
• Ryan Benjamin, a professional artist for 27 years with Marvel, DC, Image, and many other entertainment companies. He is also a self-published artist of a variety of books including the Eisner-nominated comic, Brothers Bond.
• Kyle Kreamer, Diamond Comic Distributors, Manager in the Retailer Services Department.
• Sergio López, Owner Nostromo Cómics, Seville, Spain, 2020 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award winner.

Jeff Smith, Author and illustrator of the best-selling Bone and RASL and TUKI graphic novels.