A number of years ago, William Shatner, the captain of the Enterprise (aka James Tiberius Kirk), appeared on a television comedy and faced Starfleet-costumed fans of his series at a convention and told them to get a life.
He later backed off on his rant, but the “get a life” statement has long been applied to the obsessed fans of any television show, movie or computer game who try to dress up like a character, speak in a created language or role play.
But the people who appeared at the April 17 Steel City Con in Monroeville and walked the aisles of vendors and displays were anything but obsessed fans (although a few might have been there). Instead, they were people out to have a good time and extend the joys found in dressing up. According to Alex Yatsko of Bloomfield, who dressed up as a character from “Monsters Inc.,” “ It’s a great time. We had a bunch of friends and we chose the movie and then each of us dressed up as one of the characters.”
One group of friends from Erie came as Batman villains. Maia Bryant of Penn Hills chose Calypso from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” But, she says, she has been doing this for over 10 years, choosing different characters each time, “just for fun.”
Some do love a particular series, hoping that it will continue, such as Josh Simon of Brackenridge, who, as an amateur, creates prosthetic makeup, and came dressed as Dr. Zoidberg from “Futurama,” a series that has been canceled a number of times. “I always have faith that it will be back.”
Josh Simon, from Brackenridge, tries to block the door to the costume contest at Steel City Con while made up as Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama, Aprl 17, 2016. Simon is an amateur maker of prosthetics.Kayla Ebersole, from Japan, who at 18 is attending school in Monesson, decked herself out with contact lenses to portray Hell Girl, a Japanese anime character at Steel City Con, April 17, 2016.Cosplayers Jamie Apgar, as the Joker and his partner Amanda Mofitt, as Harley Quinn from Batman make their way through the aisles at Steel City Con at the Monroeville Convention Center, April 17, 2016.Hope Swain, from Bellevue,center, walks with her husband Eric Auth (right) through the Monroeville Convention Center dressed as Togekiss, from Pokemon, April 17, 2016.From Pirates of the Caribbean come Bill Coleman, left, from Brackenridge as Captain Jack Sparrow, and Maia Bryant, from Penn Hills, as Calypso, at the Steel City Con at Monroeville Convention Center, April 17, 2016.Dylan Tkach, 22, from Latrobe, came to Steel City Con dressed as Alucard, an anime character, April 17, 2016.Shine, left, from Pittsburgh, is Pancake and Carrie is Tzuki as they walk through the crowds at Steel City Con, held at the Monroeville Convention Center, April 17, 20156. The three-day extravaganza sold out on its second day and reached the maximum number of people allowed in the building.Michael Caudill, from Mars, PA, walks through the Monroeville Convention Center dressed as Kaneki, a Toyko ghoul, April 17, 2016.Jesse Olszewski from Erie came to Steel City Con with his friends, all of whom dressed as characters from “Batman,” April 17, 2016. Jesse is dressed as “Two Face.”One popular item seen carried by a number of people at Steel City Con at the Monroeville Convention Center, April 17, 2016, was the Captain America shield. It is worn here by Will Etheridge, a junior at Duquesne University.
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