Posted 09/02/08 at 01:00:00 PM by Norman Chan

This past weekend, legion of sweaty nerds – 60,000 strong – invaded the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle to celebrate video games, table top gaming, and nerdcore at the fifth annual Penny-Arcade Expo. Maximum PC was on site for all three days of the event to witness (and take part in) the spectacle and immerse ourselves in unabashed mass geek-out. And just as we did with Comic-Con, we’ve brought back a massive photo gallery of the 128 standout cosplayers from the convention, comprised mostly of video game and anime characters. And if you were that dude adorned in armor made entirely of Magic: The Gathering cards, you’re our hero.

Read More

Comments 

3

TAGS 

gaming, convention, cosplay, pax, pax 2008, penny-arcade, penny-arcade expo, boothbabes

Posted 07/28/08 at 11:00:00 AM by Norman Chan

It was a herculean task. Team Maximum PC at this year’s Comic-Con International consisted of only two people, and there was no way we could attend every packed panel at the event. So instead of bringing you movie and television panel reports you’ve probably already read on SlashFilm or AintitCoolNews, we wanted to be your eyes on the show floor. And that meant showing you what stood out most in the 500,000sq ft space of the main exhibit hall: the cosplayers. Our quest to document as many unabashed costumed geeks as we could find yielding 400 photographs of comic-book, anime, fantasy, science fiction, and film characters. We saw dozens of jokers and batmen, numerous video game-inspired outfits, and even steampunk-era Ghostbusters. The impressive level of creativity and enthusiasm that we saw in these cosplayers was an awesome reminder of why we love geek culture. We hope you can appreciate it as well. 

Click through for, yes, all four hundred photos -- each in thumbnail and full-rez formats. Can you name all of the characters?

Read More

Comments 

30

TAGS 

photos, Comic-Con, Photo Gallery, geek, feature, popular culture, comic-con 08, cosplay, san diego comic-con, costumes

Posted 07/26/08 at 02:15:00 AM by Norman Chan

Here’s something I noticed today while snapping up photos hundreds of cosplayers: they each have a unique pose prepared when other attendees or photojournalists ask to take their picture. It’s actually quite entertaining to watch, really. A dressed-up costumer will just be walking by, casually chatting away with their friends, and then they’ll suddenly execute a unique pose and mug for the camera if they anticipate a shutter click. I’d like to imagine that these cosplayers practice modeling their poses in front of a mirror before stepping foot in public.

But on to the kick-ass sights I saw today. Warner Brothers held a large panel to promote the upcoming Watchmen movie; director Zack Snyder brought the entire starring cast to answer questions from fans and show off never-before-seen footage. The cast really looked and sounded like they loved the material and immersed themselves into their roles. Confirmed: Patrick Wilson’s Nite Owl will indeed be balding, fat, and impotent when he’s out of costume. Matthew Goode, who plays Ozymandias, also pointed out that he played the character with the idea that Veidt was the son of Nazis.

Click the jump to see more awesome costumes, and to find out who I bumped into on the show floor today.

Read More

Comments 

7

TAGS 

photos, Comic-Con, geek, feature, popular culture, comic-con 08, cosplay, san diego comic-con, watchmen, celebrities

Posted 07/25/08 at 02:37:04 AM by Norman Chan

Who knew geeking out could be so tiring. The first full day of Comic-Con is over, and our legs are already worn out. But before we collapse in fatigue, we wanted to share with your some more awesome sights from the show floor. We spotted hundreds of cosplayers (don't worry, we'll be posting photos of them ALL after the event), B and C-grade celebrities (Captain Sisko from Deep Space Nine!), and even some surprise announcements from the movie presentations (Tron 2 is in the works, starring Jeff Bridges). Some quick impressions of the Max Payne footage shown today at the 20th Century Fox panel: the movie looks like it's taking the story seriously, and bullet-time shots are definitely different from what you've seen in the Matrix or John Woo films. The film apparently utilizes a camera that can shoot at 1000 frames per second -- one scene we saw slowed the firing of a single shot down to over half a minute. Another big surprise from that panel: Hugh Jackman made an unannounced appearance to show off the first footage from the Gavid Hood directed Wolverine movie. Gambit and Deadpool are confirmed to appear. Awesome!

These ladies can barely contain their excitement for Ghostbusters. Click through the jump for more geek-out photos. 

Read More

Comments 

5

TAGS 

photos, Comic-Con, geek, feature, ghostbusters, popular culture, comic-con 08, cosplay, san diego comic-con, celebrities

Posted 07/24/08 at 12:45:15 PM by Norman Chan

So much geeking out to do, with so little time to do it. We’re just about to head back to the San Diego Convention Center to join the 100,000 pop culture fans who’re ready to storm into the show floor.  But before we head out to attend today’s festivities (which include a Max Payne movie presentation and Science Fiction discussion panel), we wanted to share with you our favorite snapshots from yesterday’s Preview Night. Families in cosplay, movie props, toys, and geek babes – wish you were here to see it all!

Click through the jump for the rest of the pics!

Read More

Comments 

4

TAGS 

photos, Comic-Con, geek, feature, Batman, popular culture, comic-con 08, cosplay, san diego comic-con, watchmen