Culture

Look! Up near the sky boxes! It's a Raven! It's a Viking!

No, it's all those things and more -- because at Wizard World Saint Louis, fans got to meet professional cosplayer, Super Kayce!

During the mayhem that constitutes a media convention like Wizard World, I was able to meet up with Kayce for a few moments to ask her about her art. The exchange has been recorded for posterity and presented for the readers (in this case, viewers) of Critical Blast.

One of the real pleasures of attending a convention is to take in all the cosplay -- the good and, yes, the bad. And among the most impressive cosplayers this year at Wizard World St. Louis had to have been Ashe Lynne, who spent Friday saluting the fans as a stunning Captain Marvel.

We caught up with Ashe on Saturday, when she had transformed herself into X-Man Jean Grey in her White Phoenix of the Crown aspect.

Offline, we spoke more about her Disney experiences, so if I'm ever in a parade, I know exactly how to get the wave correct. ("Wipe the window. Get the spot.")

Wizard World St. Louis was the weekend place to be to find fan art, celebrity signatures, fantasy weaponry, iconic vehicles, and sundry other geeky goodies. But it didn't put the slightest strain on your wallet to enjoy the free show that was brought to the Dome at America's Center by the attendees who took advantage of the event to show off their talents at transmogrification, bringing to life some of our favorite comic book, animation, video game and television characters. It's all part of the phenomenon known as cosplay -- a portmanteau word of 'costume' and 'play' -- and it's serious business for a lot of the attendees. This isn't a pair of red shorts and a bathtowel tied around your neck and calling yourself "Superman." Utilizing body paint, plaster casting, rubber molding, rivets, stitchery, and every other manufacturing method available, cosplayers pull out all the stops to make their characters look as off-the-page and out-of-the-screen as possible.

Spring is here, which means it’s that time of year again--the time when newness and life spring forth. For those so inclined it means baseball, but for those of us more eclectic types in the Saint Louis area it means one thing above all: It is time for the now apparently annual Wizard World Convention at the America’s Center.

There's a movement happening. It's not explained what it is, what it stands for, or what it's all about, but it's a movement nonetheless, and it attracts the attentions of bored and frustrated young creatives who leave behind their work to join the passing parade.

These creatives include a blonde-wigged Kendall Jenner doing a modeling shoot when she's beckoned to join the throng. She doffs the wig, joins the march, and finds they've thoughtfully provided an ice-bucket full of Pepsi. She takes one and joyously dances to the front of the movement where she steps past the perimeter of the crowd where a line of policemen stand for no apparent reason other than to be a counterpoint to whatever the march was about.

When participating in the fandom of cosplay -- particularly when you're participating in it from the vantage of a spectator -- it's easy to get caught up in the intricate props, the ostentatious costuming, the unreal weaponry and accoutrements.

But cosplay can include far more subtle aspects. Not every worthwhile character out there requires all the baggage that serves as their calling card; not every anime girl is defined by her accessories and not every superhero boy is defined by the size of his sword.

As subtle as a spring rain comes our April Bombshell, Momma Kawaii, a cosplayer who can do as much with just her eyes as many do with a whole garage full of flexible foam and reams of fabric. Whether portraying Yui from DIABOLIK LOVERS (left) or Noodle from GORILLAZ (below), Momma Kawaii is the definition of "less is more."

(image: "Brownian Bitcoin Piles" by fdecomite (CC BY 2.0))

Very little is known about the bitcoin creator or creators, except for the name Satoshi Nakamoto. But no-one knows if this is a person or group name. This lack of information has sparked a lot of interest in the bitcoin origins and the personality or personalities behind this digitally encrypted currency. Some people believe the name is a pseudonym as it can be translated to “thinking clearly inside foundation”, which adds further to the mystery of who is Satoshi Nakamoto?

My Two-Bits: Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death

We are about a month out from Doctor Who Season 10 (APRIL 15th)!  This season is the last season for star Peter Capaldi and showrunner Steven Moffat. But what some people may not know is that Moffat got his start with Doctor Who way back in 1999.  As part of Comic Relief, BBC had put together a very funny Doctor Who parody written by Moffat and starring Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor, Julia Sawalha as his companion, Jonathan Pryce (as the Master), and Richard E. Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, and Joanna Lumley as later incarnations of the Doctor.

My Two-Bits: My Love of Stephen Colbert

A few weeks ago, my daughter asked me the question, “If you could spend the day with anyone, who would it be?”  I started to talk about family and all that, and she said, “I mean famous person.” And without hesitation, I answered “Stephen Colbert.”  Colbert is a source of endless fascination and entertainment for me.  

Has Kal found Hal? If you enjoy a good conspiracy then we've got a juicy one for you!

File this one under EXTREME SPECULATION but given the clues, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Henry Cavill being spotted in a gym with Nathan Fillion could mean more than just a random encounter. On February 28th, Henry Cavill posted a couple of interesting pictures to his Instagram account:

His dog, 'Kal', staring out the window with an interesting caption:

In 2014, Ferguson, Missouri went from being a nondescript suburb of St. Louis to ground zero in the debate of racism. Two and a half year's later, director Jason Pollock shows that those wounds are still struggling to heal.

Critical Blast has already weighed in a few times on these events, having already opined on the events as they happened, and have spoken with Ferguson residents (like rapper Justin B. Williams). STRANGER FRUIT, however, has us chiming in again on what one would have thought was a settled issue.

It seems no matter what convention you attend, there's always a joker running around. No, literally, a Joker! Sometimes more than one.

But few can carry it off with the panache of our March Bombshell, Michael Bruener! Not only does he have the perfect bone structure for the lanky clown prince of crime, his tailoring skills deliver a tuxedo that you just can't pick up off the rack or a costume shop.

We were also impressed with Michael's John Constantine, someone who doesn't get a lot of cosplay attention. So as the winds of March bring in a blustery Spring, we hope you'll take a moment to enjoy Michael's unique cosplay and follow him on Instragram.

Not a hoax! Not a dream! Not an imaginary story! Yes, we're unveiling here and now the winner of our first ever Critical Blast Bombshell of the Year!

The Critical Blast Bombshell of the Month was an idea we had in an editorial brainstorming session that involved no alcohol. Starting back in July, we said we wanted to devote attention to some of the great cosplayers out there -- but we were going to be a little different about it. We weren't going for cheesecake (although we understand that you can't dress up like a fantasy character without running up against that), but for <i>people</i>, regardless of gender or body type. If you want that, there are too many other places on the Internet you can go to get it.

Today’s teens have it tough. There, I said it. Lots of times, kids hear “Well, when I was your age,” or “You think it’s bad these days.” As parents, we often lament that today’s kids are either lazy, or misdirected, or they are getting into all sorts of shenanigans that we could not have even dreamed of. And we are kind of right. Let’s look at some statistics, shall we?

1. Drugabuse.gov says that almost 5% of 12^th graders have used Ecstasy, also referred to as MDMA or Molly.

2. According to dosomething.org, 50% of high school seniors do not think it’s harmful to try crack or cocaine once or twice, and 40% believe it’s not harmful to use heroin once or twice.

February is a month that may be short on days, but it's big on heart (it does have Valentine's Day in it, after all!) And in addition to the holiday of love, we at Critical Blast want to make the month big on cosplay as well, and we can't think of a better way to do that than with the extremely talented and dedicated Lady Zero.

Drawing inspiration from video games like FINAL FANTASY, Lady Zero brings us her versions of Zero from DRAKENGARD 3 (seen left, photograph by Lexa One Photagraphie) and Kaine from NieR (below, photograph by Narcisse), this Canadian-based Poliish cosplayer puts her whole heart into her work, and it definitely shows in the results!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Unless you've been living under a rock, or buried in some deep corner of the world, you know that with Donald Trump now officially President of the United States, there comes a lot of controversy. Many actors in Hollywood have spoken out against our new President. Melissa Benoist, star of The CW's SUPERGIRL, has joined the fray.

Today, the day after President Trump's inauguration, a "Women's March on Washington" movement was planned to raise awareness of several remarks he's made that are derogatory towards women. Melissa Benoist plays a character on television that empowers the feminine spirit. Shown wearing a "Feminist" sweatshirt, her picture just started circulating around the internet holding a sign that reads:

My Two Bits: The Movies of the 2016

It’s January.  Which means it’s time for that time-honored tradition of internet columnists spending the next several weeks re-hashing 2016.  I had actually intended for this to be my last column of 2016, but it got pushed back, so instead, I will join the navel gazers.  Promise next week I will move on talk about the exciting world of the future: 2017.

The year 2016 is officially behind us. And while many of us regard that sentiment with a wipe of the forehead and a heartfelt, "Phew!" there were also a lot of good things to come out of the year. And this is where we recognize those things.

This year, Critical Blast is offering voting opportunities on ten categories, expanding on last year's awards. In addition to best movie, television show, film actor, etc. we have also added a voting category for our cosplay feature added this year, allowing our readers to vote for the first ever Critical Blast Bombshell of 2016!

The nominations were settled on by the Critical Blast editorial staff, but we realize that we don't know everything about our readers. So every category (with the exception of the Bombshell category), readers have the opportunity to suggest an "Other" option, so there's no reason to let your opinion go unheard.

New York may have dropped thet ball, but not us here at Critical Blast. It's a national holiday, but we're still set to continue bringing out cosplayers who deserve to have a light shined on their creativity and hard work.