How many at San Diego Comic-Con dress up? A cosplayer census has yet to be taken, but estimates range from 5 percent to 20 percent.
If the median — 12.5 percent — were accurate, the number of badged con-goers would top 16,000. (Of course, people in costumes — but without badges — crowd the Gaslamp as well.)
Recently on Reddit, one reply was: “I usually go to two cons, WonderCon and SDCC, and SDCC is maybe 5 percent cosplayers, and Wondercon is maybe 10 percent cosplayers. If anything, I’d say that bigger cons have [fewer] cosplayers on average.”
More certain is how the word cosplay came into play.
It’s been called portmanteau of the English terms costume and play — kosupure in Japanese — coined by Nobuyuki Takahashi of Studio Hard at the 1984 World Science Fiction Convention in Los Angeles.
No matter their number, San Diego’s cosplayers are among the best in this galaxy. Here are some early favorites.
The best of the rest from Friday:
Michale Shupe is Carl Fredricksen from “Up.” Photo by Chris Stone
Todd Schmidt of San Diego is a Anubis guard from Stargate. Photo by Chris Stone
Liam Nelson is Velajuel of Howl FX. Photo by Chris Stone
Towela Nyirenda of Seattle dresses as a flame princess of “Adventure Time.” Photo by Chris Stone
Edy Morales is a human robot statue on Fifth Avenue near Comic-Con. Photo by Chris Stone
Dan Langley of Tulsa, Oklahoma is Kratos, God of War. Photo by Chris Stone
Bill Jahnel of San Diego is Ursula of the Little Mermaid. Photo by Chris Stone
Lynn Ringard is a character from the Little Mermaid. Photo by Chris Stone
Alisa Rhead of Idaho is Mystique from X-Men. Photo by Chris Stone
Valerie Snow of San Diego is Mystique from X-Men. Photo by Chris Stone
Cosplayers entertain the crowds on Fifth Avenue near Comic-Con. Photo by Chris Stone
Cosplayers entertain the crowds on Fifth Avenue near Comic-Con. Photo by Chris Stone
Jonathan Morales of Colorado is Venom. Photo by Chris Stone
Jordan Quinzon of Upland is the Joker. Photo by Chris Stone
Fae Black of San Diego as Poison Ivy poses with a happy admirer. Photo by Chris Stone
Jason Aulicino of San Francisco as Lord Zedd. Photo by Chris Stone
Greg Galarpe attracted many hungry Comic-Con attendees, but sadly had no food. Photo by Chris Stone
Steven Bustamonte is a direwolf from Game of Thrones. Photo by Chris Stone
Spidermen Chase Zarate (left) and Josh Florez team up to keep the convention center area safe. Photo by Chris Stone
Bill Jahnel of San Diego is Ursula of the Little Mermaid. Photo by Chris Stone
Paul Forest as Mr. Spock and Daniel Golden as Capt. Kirk greet people on Fifth Avenue near Comic-Con. Photo by Chris Stone
A man poses with a Pee Tape on Fifth Avenue near Comic-Con. Photo by Chris Stone
Catherine M. Fisher is Lady Starchild aka Kiss’ Paul Stanley. Photo by Chris Stone
Alburto Hurtado of San Diego is Sea Pony. Photo by Chris Stone
Paige Wiest portrays a character from Monster Hunter. Photo by Chris Stone
Felipe Martinez is Predator. Photo by Chris Stone
Jon Eiswerth of Los Angeles plays Arthur to Jason Reed’s Tick. Photo by Chris Stone
Tara Azarian of Valencia is Steampunk Tinkerbell. Photo by Chris Stone
Catrina Simmons of Manchester, England is Hela, Goddess of Death. Photo by Chris Stone
Angel Mendoza, “the Patriot” got many requests for a photo. Photo by Chris Stone
Lise Byer is Gracie Law from Big Trouble in Little China. Photo by Chris Stone
Scott Smith is Two-Face from Batman. Photo by Chris Stone
Marlyne Hurtado is Poison Ivy at Comic-Con on Saturday. Photo by Chris Stone
Comic and movie fans of all ages enjoy Comic-Con. Photo by Chris Stone
Devan Blake is Ghost Rider on Fifth Avenue near Comic-Con. Photo by Chris Stone
Nicholas Prior is Pay Day at Comic-Con. Photo by Chris Stone
Ari Jusuf is the character Mercy at Comic-Con. Photo by Chris Stone
Bobby Martin of Milwaukee (@thefoundryworx) is Raider Rabbit with colorful egg grenades. Photo by Chris Stone
Ryan Stringer portrays the original Deadpool at Comic-Con. Photo by Chris Stone
Andrew Stringer is Colossus of Deadpool at Comic-Con on Saturday. Photo by Chris Stone
Matt Erhart as Superman with his trusty companion, Sampson, on Fifth Avenue near Comic -Con. Photo by Chris Stone