We’re a pretty nerdy bunch here at Women Write About Comics, and most of us wear our geek hearts on our sleeves year-round. But if there is any time of year when our enthusiasm cup runneth over, it is Halloween. Here is a collection of some of our proudest geek moments from Halloween long (and recently) passed.
Megan B: During my short-lived bleach blonde phase in 2008, there were a few tempting options for Halloween costumes, but dressing up as David Bowie from Labyrinth was too good to pass up. The most frequent comments I received that year were suggestions that I add more “stuffing.”
Ramona: This is from Halloween when I was age three. The story goes that I loved Popples and insisted on wearing a Popple costume, but when it was time to trick-or-treat I got mad that everyone was calling me cute and I threw a fit that I was NOT CUTE AT ALL. You can’t tell with the mask on, but I was staring daggers at everyone. But underneath the act I was totally thrilled with everyones’ reactions. Little known fact: Popples were first introduced to TV through a Shelley Duvall special.
Annie: I dressed up as Silent Bob for Halloween in 1998, when I was 21. A good friend of mine was Jay. My fake beard was terrible, but a few people actually thought I was a guy. I enjoyed not talking to anyone and communicating entirely through exaggerated facial expressions. We went to a Halloween party at some nightclub in those costumes. The best thing that happened was when a guy started chatting up my friend in the Jay costume, then suddenly turned and apologized to me and insisted that he wasn’t actually flirting with my girlfriend, he just really liked her costume. He was 100% shocked that I wasn’t a man. I guess he didn’t notice my dainty, girly hands! And he was probably a little tipsy. Anyway, that was the day I found out firsthand how some guys view women as either their potential territory, or the territory of another man. It was a truly educational experience.
Kelly: Poison Ivy, Halloween 2011. She’s one of my favorite Bat-villains, mostly because her power seems the most goddess-like, what with her ability to make giant vines erupt from the ground and commune with plants and the Earth. Her costume is also fairly easy to assemble, provided you start early and spend a fair amount of time on eBay.
Kelly: Another one from Halloween, 2010! I’m Lucy from Jekyll and Hyde, and my boyfriend (now husband) is Jack the Stripper. He was going to be Hyde/Jack the Ripper, but we couldn’t get the knife done in time. A pair of boxers and a few minutes with a gold pen solved the problem. The writing at the bottom of the boxers says “Meatspin” and “Hey Baby”, and on the back it says “What What”, as in the Samwell song. And yes, he decorated the boxers himself.
Alex: I have been a zombie twice, the first time from Resident Evil, the second from Dead Rising, and I like to think I improved the costume over the years. I wore the second costume to work and someone thought I had been in a car accident. I think they must have forgotten their glasses at home. I think everyone is sort of required to be a zombie at some point, but it’s only nerdy if you know I had specific video games in mind when I made them. So, the nerdiest in each real-obvious-nerd category:
- Frank Beard from ZZ Top: Nerdiest music costume. My roommates were the other band members.
- The Prince from Katamari: Originally I made this for South Florida Supercon, but then I wore it to a Halloween party. Nerdiest cosplay Halloween costume.
- Narcissus: I carried around a photo of myself, my belt was made of mirrors, and my arm tattoo was a heart with “Me” written on it. My roommates were Oedipus and Achilles. Nerdiest I-Went-To-A-Philosophy-School costume.
- Reepicheep from Chronicles of Narnia: Nerdiest children’s book costume.
- Marceline the Vampire Queen: Nerdiest cartoon costume.
- Commander Shepard: Nerdiest Video Game Costume.
- “The Patriarchy”: Nerdiest feminism costume. My arm says “No Fat Chx,” because the patriarchy has bad facial hair and a hatred of fat women.
