"Well, I have a dream too, but it's about singing and dancing and making people happy. It's the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with. And I found a whole group of friends who have the same dream. And that makes us sort of like a family."
For those who haven’t seen The Muppet Movie (shocking as it is, such people do exist), Kermit The Frog says this line to the film’s villain at the dramatic climax of the movie. He’s speaking about the collection of oddballs he’s befriended over the course of the movie. But the speech is also Jim Henson’s way of expressing how he felt about the creative people he surrounded himself with in his own work, using his most popular character as a mouthpiece.
That speech always stuck with me because it’s reminded me of the special bonds I’ve shared with other creative people who share a common craft. Actors. Artists. Writers. Costumers. Even computer programmers and game designers all share this creative impulse. And we’re bonded together by the love of our art in a way that goes deeper than friendship. The only word I can think that truly describes this feeling is familial. I know that comparison may upset some people and I apologize for that. But for those who have never been particularly close to their blood relations - all the outcasts and outsiders who have never had that sense of belonging to something greater or that sense of connection to other people - I think the feeling of being part of a community of fans comes closest to capturing that sensation. At the very least, I’ve seen several displays of the sort of affection usually associated with families at conventions. Heck, I’ve even been a part of a few of them, on both ends of the exchange.
Case In Point: Several years ago, a group of friends I play role-playing games with embarked on a mad plan - to go to Dragon Con on a few weeks’ notice. Those of you who know of Dragon Con realize why I describe this as a mad plan. Still, they did it. And the entire brood was soon on the road. Everyone except me - the one person who couldn’t get time off from work on so short a notice.
I wasn’t devastated but I was a little depressed. The big attraction that year was an autograph signing by most of the cast of Firefly. The trip of a life-time and I missed out on it. But when they returned they had a present for me - an autographed picture of Alan Tudyk. Because in the weird alchemy of our group - which had once been likened to the crew of Serenity - it had been determined that I was Wash. Whether it’s because I’m the techie smartass or have a love of warrior women I’m not sure. But I’m not arguing the point either - the point being that they had spent four hours waiting in line to get me something since I couldn’t go with them.
It’s a gesture that left them without time to score any autographs from themselves. I didn’t forget that. And I promised I’d get everyone in the group then an autographed picture of their respective crew members in return. This year, I finally made good on that promise for everyone.
My friend Jeremy, whom I befriended while waiting in line at one Comic Con event, had similar arrangements with several of his friends and his roommate for that DCC weekend. We spent the vast majority of Friday and Saturday wandering from one line to the next getting various bits of swag, loot and booty autographed. The rest of the time was devoted towards taking pictures and posing for pictures.
I can’t think of any word that better describes our relationship than brotherly, simply because only brothers indulge in the same manner of good-natured ribbing that we do. I take a picture of him posing with a My Little Pony figure. He snaps pictures of me proposing to Princess Batman.
This may not sound like much, but having some place to kick up your feet, relax with fellow hobbyists or leave your belongings without worry means a lot in the middle of a long day at the convention. And it is also a fine example of the way that members of a fandom look out for one another and try to help each other out. I’ve saved my best story from the weekend for last. I think it shows not only how cosplayers treat one another like family but also the funny way that synchronicity works. Like Dr. Peter Venkman once said, “For whatever reasons...call it... fate, call it luck, call it karma, I believe everything happens for a reason.” Because I think this story is too magical to be written off as mere coincidence.
While wandering the dealer’s room on Friday night, I happened across a particularly ornate sword at one of the shops that sold display weapons. It had a wolf’s head carved into the hilt. Knowing a few people whose favorite animal is a wolf (myself included - my nickname years before I became widely known as Starman was “Wolf”) I took a picture and posted it on Facebook, joking that they would have to fight over who would possess such a magnificent blade.
I thought no more about it until I got a message on Saturday. It was one of the aforementioned friends, asking how much the sword was. I found out and told him. He told me the sword in question was a replica of Jon Snow’s sword Longclaw, from the TV show Game of Thrones.
He asked if I would pick it up with a promise to be paid back the next day. I said I didn’t have the cash on me then but that I could try and get the sword tomorrow. I was telling the truth about not having the cash but the bargain hunter in me couldn’t resist popping on-line once I got home and doing a quick search to see if I could find a better deal. I couldn’t. In fact, the sword seemed to be going for thousands of dollars on ebay rather than the dozens it was selling for at the con.
Later that Sunday, I was in the Cosplay Hideaway talking with another cosplayer I had met at a different convention several months earlier. She had, to put it mildly, perhaps the worst week in her life. In fact, she had barely made it to the convention.
All weekend long I had seen people who barely knew her - and then only through her work as a cosplayer - stopping by to say hello and ask how she was doing. Making sure she was okay. Asking if there was anything they could do to help. Small gestures, yes, but sorely needed at a time when this woman was doubting that there were any decent people left in the world.
By chance, I told her the story about how I posted a picture of this wolf sword on-line and wound up helping out a friend who was working on a Jon Snow cosplay without meaning to do so. She got quiet all of a sudden and asked me if I knew just how rare that sword was. I had an idea given how much it sold for on-line now but I confessed I didn’t know the precise number of swords made or just how rare they were. It turned out that she had been looking for that particular sword for quite some time herself. And that was when I remembered something from when I bought the first sword - it was one of two of that model the dealer had. Which meant there might still be one left.
We made for the dealer’s room with all speed. The sword was still on display, as glorious as when I first saw it. Her excitement over the hunt quickly turned to sadness, as she realized she couldn’t afford it. Not then. Not now.
So I bought it for her.
Why? Partly it was sympathy - I know what it is to have fate throw you a bad hand at the worst possible time. And I know what it is like to chase a collectible only to have it denied to you. Mostly, I did it because it was within my power to make her feel a little better. To remind her that there were people - a whole group of strangers who became old friends you just met - who cared about her and her happiness. And that whatever bad things happened that week did nothing to change that fact.
That’s my story. What are yours?
| Matt ''Starman'' Morrison is an American graphic literature critic, web comic writer and essayist. He is also, occasionally, a wizard, a superhero and a Time Lord. When he isn’t being the World’s Finest Teen Librarian, Mr. Morrison writes for the pop culture news site KABOOOOOM! & No Flying No Tights. Morrison also has a personal website - My Geeky Geeky Ways - where he writes about all of his nerdy interests and maintains an episode guide for the television series Arrow. |
 |
Click to tweet! 60+ Totally Valid Reasons to Cosplay.
