Wonder Woman : thatdjspider / Photo: Photos-NXSEJEN: Tell us what Wonder Woman means to you personal

Wonder Woman : thatdjspider / Photo: Photos-NXSEJEN: Tell us what Wonder Woman means to you personally and how has she affected you throughout your life?THATDJSPIDER: Next to SuperGrover, she was probably my first hero. I can remember spinning for hours in the backyard,hoping I could spin out of my clothes into a Wonder Woman costume, just like Lynda Carter. It also sparked an early love of Greek mythology. Beyond that, she embodies so much of what I try to emulate in my day-to-day life - to be strong, independent, and start with love and peace before fighting.EJEN: Going through your costumes, it is very apparent your roots lay deep in comic books, talk about how you were first introduced to them and what are some of the major books in your lifeTHATDJSPIDER: I’ve always been a big reader, and my dad was an artist. In grade school, when most kids were checking out jump-ropes from the recess monitor, I was deep in a box of tattered comics. (I clearly remember reading a coverless issue of “The Death of Gwen Stacy”). It combines art and story, and I was hooked from the get-go. When our local newsstand started carrying comics, that’s where all my allowance money went. Dazzler and Amethyst were early favorites along with Wonder Woman, as well as the Warlord and other sword-and-sorcery tales.EJEN: How did you discover cosplay and what was the experience like when cosplayed for the first time?THATDJSPIDER: I always made costumes for Halloween, but it wasn’t until I went to my first convention that I realized that I could dress up like my favorite heroes and I wouldn’t have to spend 20 minutes explaining Ali Blaire’s powers or what telekinesis was. After that first trip to Dragon Con in 2003, I was hooked! I went back the following year with my first true cosplays: the original Dazzler and Jem from Jem and the Holograms. Every year I pushed myself more and more with my sewing and crafting skills, and more complex builds. I didn’t actually tackle a Wonder Woman costume until 2011, when I did Artemis as Wonder Woman…I was too scared I won’t do her justice!EJEN: Walk us through these. In order from first to the latest. Tell us why this particular outfit, what was the response from the convention and any fond memories related to the outfit?Photo: Patrick SunWonder Woman (1995) - This one also happened in 2011…again, I was skirting around doing a fully traditional Wonder Woman, so while Artemis wore the eagle and star spangled panties in 1995, Diana wore what I affectionately call the “escape from a C&C Music Factory video” - a very bondage-y bra and bike short combo with a jacket.(I’ll be honest…if it’s a questionably outfit from the 80s or 90s, I’ve probably got it on my wishlist!)  I made just about everything from scratch, and I ended up liking the boots so much that they ended up in my regular wardrobe! The response was a lot of rolling-of-eyes and laughter, because it’s pretty awful by today’s standards, but Heroes Con is filled with comic creators and they all recognized it and I ended up meeting a number of artists that I still consider friends today.Wonder Woman (Cathy Lee Crosby) - Most of my cosplays have always leaned more on the obscure/lesser known side. Once I was committed to building out more of Princess Diana’s costumes, I added the original Cathy Lee Crosby pilot outfit to the roster. I try to bring a silly, surprise outfit to Dragon Con for Thursday night shenanigans and this debuted in 2013. It’s made of ponte de roma with appliqued stars, and is ridiculously comfy!  Again, for those who recognized the 1974 throwback, they were thrilled.Wonder Woman (Bullets & Bracelets) - My friend @KallisteCosplay and I are often mistaken for each other, both being tall redheads. We’re both Wonder Woman fans as well, and wanted something easy and comfortable to wear for the first day of HeroesCon in Charlotte. In 2015, we decided it would be fun to recreate the Amazons from the Bullets and Bracelets episodeWonder Woman, and it was everything we hoped it would be! Again, almost everything was courced on Amazon or pulled from my closet. One of the great things about wearing something a little less familiar is that you find more fans like yourself - those who knew it were delighted!Wonder Woman (pirate) - I really wanted to wear something new to our local Renaissance Festival. I have a SpiderWoman-inspired gown based on some fan-art I’d come across. I started going through DeviantArt and through Wonder Woman’s history of costumes and finally created my Pirate version. Just about everything was found on Amazon. The corset detail is based loosely on a Vicorian version, and the boots were sourced on eBay and then painted with Angelus paints.  The diadem was commissioned from a friend and is based on the Adam Hughes art “The Real Power of the DC Universe”. She’s been a staple of my fall weekends at the Faire since 2015.Photo by petzillaWonder Woman (dive suit) - This one came about when I ordered a zentai suit in the wrong color. It sat in a box for a year or so until I was going through a folder of cosplay ideas (I have hundreds of ideas stashed!) when it occurred to me I could use it after all! Using leftover bits from my fabric sash, I added the rest of the details and the Dive Suit was born! It debuted at Charlotte MinCon in 2016. (Fans of the TV show will also recognize it was the motorcycle outfit)https://linktr.ee/thatdjspider -- source link

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