Q

How cosplay became a global phenomenon

Writer Lauren Orsini walks us through what it's like to take part in Comic-Con, one of the biggest pop culture conventions in the world.
Cosplay characters dressed as Mr. Spock and Captain Kirk from Star Trek along 5th Ave., across from the San Diego Convention Center during Comic Con International in San Diego, California on Thursday, July 20, 2017. (Getty Images)

Originally published July 18, 2018

One of the biggest pop culture conventions in the world, Comic-Con, opens tomorrow in San Diego. One of its trademarks is the elaborate costumes that fans wear when they go, called cosplay. Lauren Orsini is a journalist and cosplayer herself, who even wrote a book, Cosplay: The Fantasy World of Role Play. In this edition of the q origin story, she walks us through what it's like to take part in this global phenomenon.

Produced by Frank Palmer