The 2017 Comicon convention season may be over, but there’s still time to celebrate those amazingly talented geeks who make comic conventions entertaining and visually stunning. That’s right, I’m talking about cosplayers! Most of time, media attention focuses on only male cosplayers, particularly those of the “hero” persuasion. The Women Vs. Cosplay project seeks to balance that out by shifting the focus to talented female cosplayers of many skill levels.

Cosplay, which stands for “Costume Play”, is the act of dressing up as a favorite comic book, video game or pop culture character at conventions or other geeky events. With the popularity of conventions and geek culture in general, cosplay has become a prominent way for many geeks to express their fandom. Skilled cosplayers gain media recognition for their talented work, allowing some professional prop-makers and cosplayers to build careers out of their hobbies.

The brainchild of local artist Anabel Martinez, Women vs. Cosplay is an annual cosplay calendar that celebrates the diverse and talented women of the cosplay community. Women vs. Cosplay launched in 2014 with a Kickstarter for their 2014 18-month Gaming Calendar, which features men in video game cosplays. The format evolved into a 365 page-a-day style calendar that spotlights a different cosplay lady every day! This allows for inclusion of more cosplayers than their previous month-to-month calendars.

Women vs. Cosplay has grown in popularity and the scramble is on to be included in next year’s calendar. Recruitment for the 2018 page-a-day style calendar continues until June 30 (or until all 300+ spots are filled).

Bookmans appreciates all those who cosplay. We covered #28DaysOfBlackCosplay because geeking out is for everyone. Diversity matters in cosplay as much as in books and movies and life. We welcome cosplayers in our stores, even when there is no special event occurring. Let’s face it, cosplayers make any outing an event. We hope to see you boldly representing your fandom this convention season and throughout the year!

For more information about the Women vs. Cosplay calendar and recruitment requirements visit Womenvscosplay.com or on their Face Book Page.