Could I ask, are these photos taken by the people at Comic-Con? I've never been there, so typically any of the costuming I see from Comic-Con is from other people's stuff. I also usually don't bring my camera to the local cons, so I don't really have much photos from them either.

So if they are not first hand photos, they may have been taken by someone rather into girls rather than into costumes. You get that a lot.

Now if they were first hand photos, then I understand your frustration.

Yeah, these are photos from the con - but apparently not all of them are taken by the guys posting them, and some are from past years.

It has become a free for all excuse to post nearly nikkid pix of chicks in costumes from cons.

Someone else chimed in to say that some of the costumes are whorish and that showing self-respect is sexy too. He's been jumped on and told his morals are from the 1400's.

The thread I posted asking for just good costumes is falling off the front page of threads.

It is what it is... I am, however, being inspired by the few costumes that are being posted which are just really well done.

I think I worded my question poorly, though you did answer it. I meant are the people posting and the photographers one in the same. With that in mind the stuff about first and second hand photos make sense.

One of the issues with the non-revealing costumes is, well, not too many female characters wear such. There's a few, but the ratio is heavily in favor of the sexy types.

It is unfortunate that those seem to take priority over well made costumes, but that's just how it works. Nerds who aren't getting any tend to oogle over what they ain't getting.

Someone brought up that a lot of the girls are not full time costumers, but paid booth babes to sell product, I wouldn't doubt that some are girls who just like to be looked at rather than really dedicated costumers.

Sex sells... and even the guys who know they're attraction chemicals are being used to separate them from their money, don't care. The girls get paid, the boys feel good, the vendors make money selling cheap toys and comics for big bucks. win-win-win?

Personally, I think something more valuable than cheap thrills and money is lost in these kinds of exchanges.

The good costumes thread has all but died. Maybe it'll pick up when more people get home and download their photos.

That's a pity about the costumers and all that. I've never really understood why guys would go so nuts over a scantily clad girl. It might be interesting for a bit, but logically:

1. What is the chance a fellow in the crowd is actually going to get the chance to "hit that?"

2. If the girls was giving out free feels (or even charge a little for them because a lot of guys would pay), why indulge? You don't know where all those before you have been.

Really though, I've considered that level of attention getting to be signs of a mental disorder, meaning the "Caution Tape" kind not costuming itself. The meat show has always struck me as demeaning not only for the one on display but also the animalistic crowd.

Perhaps the serious costuming isn't fairing so well because it is beyond the ken of most people? They might be able to relate to, or at least laugh at, the poorly done costumes, but the really skillful ones?

I didn't even consider the booth babe issue. All the cons on my schedule are small enough that no one hires booth babes. Comic-con, on the other hand, is large enough that people do indeed bring them. Those totally skew the costume wearing demographic.

G4TV has a show called "Confessions of a Booth Babe" but I've never watched it.

The sad thing, Thane, is this is supposed to be a board ABOUT props and costuming. So if anyone gets the skill required to build a good, accurate costume it should be these guys.

This is why I think it is such a loss for them and not a win (besides cheap thrills) because they are only hurting themselves and their hobby by not giving more attention to those who do the hard work.

And I can tell you what, if any of them cries because their $2000 scratch built iron man armor costume that they sacrificed their career and marriage to obsess over for 2 years loses in a bar contest to a chick wearing a postage stamp thong and thimbles, I'm not going to be handing out tissues.