BIG APPLE CON REPORT #2 (OF 2)
Following are more observations from the Big Apple Con held last weekend in Manhattan:
Fan conventions are like very strange parades, and this one was no different.
A gentleman in a wizard costume complete with pointed hat and unconvincing wig and beard who calls himself Blackwolf strolled about, charms jingling from his staff, delivering pronouncements in the diction and grammar of a dime-store Laurence Olivier. I've seen this cat before, in the same getup. (I always figured he was dressed as a specific character from, I dunno, "Lord of the Rings" or some other book about people with pointed ears. My nephew, Ian, told me Blackwolf was wearing a non-specific wizard costume.) Blackwolf admitted he didn't do well at Big Apple Con's costume contest that afternoon. I said it's because that was no costume he was wearing: "C'mon, Blackwolf, you wear that (expletive) every day!"
Then there was Captain Zorikh, who I call "Kung Fu Captain Marvel Dude." This cat dresses like Robin Hood; has appeared in plays showcasing his swordfighting and martial arts skills; and is totally obsessed with the old Fawcett superhero Captain Marvel. (His dream book, "Captain Marvel Culture," wil explain how everything in our popular culture since the debut of Captain Marvel in 1940 somehow sprang forth FROM Captain Marvel.) This guy is, to put it mildly, an original. I hope Captain Zorikh will forgive me, but the film "Napoleon Dynamite" kind of reminded me of him.
Then there were the young ladies in teasing outfits. I saw more mock-Catholic-school-uniform miniskirts; more knee-high, heeled, black boots; more fishnet stockings; more strategically placed tattooes; and, oddly, more devil horns being worn by girls at this one event than at any other. There must've been some sort of -- no pun intended -- convention in town.
Fan conventions are like very strange parades, and this one was no different.
A gentleman in a wizard costume complete with pointed hat and unconvincing wig and beard who calls himself Blackwolf strolled about, charms jingling from his staff, delivering pronouncements in the diction and grammar of a dime-store Laurence Olivier. I've seen this cat before, in the same getup. (I always figured he was dressed as a specific character from, I dunno, "Lord of the Rings" or some other book about people with pointed ears. My nephew, Ian, told me Blackwolf was wearing a non-specific wizard costume.) Blackwolf admitted he didn't do well at Big Apple Con's costume contest that afternoon. I said it's because that was no costume he was wearing: "C'mon, Blackwolf, you wear that (expletive) every day!"
Then there was Captain Zorikh, who I call "Kung Fu Captain Marvel Dude." This cat dresses like Robin Hood; has appeared in plays showcasing his swordfighting and martial arts skills; and is totally obsessed with the old Fawcett superhero Captain Marvel. (His dream book, "Captain Marvel Culture," wil explain how everything in our popular culture since the debut of Captain Marvel in 1940 somehow sprang forth FROM Captain Marvel.) This guy is, to put it mildly, an original. I hope Captain Zorikh will forgive me, but the film "Napoleon Dynamite" kind of reminded me of him.
Then there were the young ladies in teasing outfits. I saw more mock-Catholic-school-uniform miniskirts; more knee-high, heeled, black boots; more fishnet stockings; more strategically placed tattooes; and, oddly, more devil horns being worn by girls at this one event than at any other. There must've been some sort of -- no pun intended -- convention in town.
posted by Mark Voger at 3:07 PM
2 Comments:
Voger
That Blackwolf character features prominently in a Triumph the Insult Comic Dog bit from the Conan O'Brien Show. Triumph was hassling the folks waiting on line for the last Star Wars movie (many of them dressed "in character") and Blackwolf wandered into the fray and made a fool of himself.
Thanks for the plug foe my book, Mark (of which more info can be found at http://www.captainmarvelculture.com), but I should also like to mention that everything in American history and culture before 1940 led up to the original Captain Marvel as well. ;)
And I have been seeing Blackwolf often, including at the Ft. Tryon Park Medieval Fest and the Central Park performances of William Shakespeare's Haunted House.
Captain Zorikh
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