Cosplaying Community

Last weekend I decided to visit the Vienna Comiccon and it was probably my best trip this year so far. I've been wanting to take part in such an event for multiple years now, but thanks to Covid-19 these plans fell into a deep murky water. When a colleague mentioned to me that the event was happening this year I was quite excited to say the least. The first part of my preparation was to find a character to cosplay as.

Since this was the first time I would throw myself into an outfit in order to imitate a character I wanted to do something simple. Well, until I stumbled over my old love for Star Wars. "Anakin it is" I thought to myself and started shopping for the individual parts. Around two months later in the middle of September my costume was ready and the days until the festival became fewer and fewer.

On the 1st of October the time has finally arrived when my friends and I would travel there via train connections. When we arrived in Vienna, more specifically at our Airbnb, I changed into my outfit and let me tell you it felt good. The weather outside was not too perfect in all honesty, but the cosplay kept me surprisingly warm.

When we got to the event itself I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people waiting in line to get inside of the convention. Luckily the waiting only took around thirty minutes and the moment we got in people started taking pictures with me. I was quite surprised by this but also happy since I took it in a way that people seemingly liked my cosplay. Naturally I also had to ask my fellow cosplayers for pictures and everyone was so nice it was honestly unbelievable. To top it all I was invited to join a group of Star Wars cosplayers that are active in all of Europe which made me even happier.

What was going on at the comiccon itself? Well first of all there were many professional Cosplayers that seemed to be masters of their craft. It left a deep impression on me and I want to put as much effort into my next one as many of them did. Onwards to the display tables - So many cool things were exhibited there, among them lots of giant Lego models, film props, action figures and so many other things I could not list even if I wanted to. From authors, comic artists to actors, everyone was gathered there to create a really friendly atmosphere. The shops also had a gigantic variety all across the board. From cosplay weapons, figurines, books, manga, plushies, body pillows (yes I am laughing aswell) and many more. Logically I had to buy as much stuff as possible. Foodwise everything was amazing too, the stalls were filled with fried chicken, potato chips, waffles and so on.

We spent around six hours on day one and around four on day two. For all those that were not particularly interested in the comics also had the chance to test new video- or boardgames that haven't released yet.

It was all I had wished for and more, very recommendable for everyone who is interested in comics, games, anime or pop culture in general. I will also participate this coming year because it simply became one of my favourite events to visit. If you have any suggestions about similar events or maybe even about future cosplays, let me know down in the comments. Other than that I wish all of you an epic day and I hope my little journal entry was somewhat interesting.