Planet Comicon 2013, in conjunction with Elite Comics, will play host to three different costume contests. Here are the details:
Saturday, April 6th
YOUTH COSTUME CONTEST (Ages 15 and under) – STARTING AT 2 PM
Prizes for participation will be awarded.
ADULT COSTUME CONTEST – STARTING AT 6 PM
Categories – Comic Book Heroes, Anime, and Video Games
Planet Comicon championship belts will be awarded to the top male and female in each category.
1st Place (Best in Show) – $1000 CASH MONEY
2nd Place (Best in Show) – $500 CASH MONEY
3rd Place (Best in Show) – $300 CASH MONEY
Sunday, April 7th
ADULT COSTUME CONTEST – STARTING AT 4 PM
Categories – Comic Book Villains, Fantasy, and Movies
Planet Comicon championship belts will be awarded to the top male and female in each category.
Afterward, a special Heroes vs. Villains category will be presented, where teams will be allowed to participate in a skit/mock battle. We encourage that this be set to music. (Please bring your own CD.)
Though it has yet to be determined how it will be allotted, up to $3000 in CASH MONEY will be presented to Sunday’s winners.
More information on the adult costume contest categories can be found here. Registration information can be found here.
NO STORE BOUGHT COSTUMES.
We will also be hosting a reality show film crew, creating a new program for the Syfy network. They will be filming on both Saturday and Sunday. The following is the official press release.
This year Planet Comicon will be taking part in an upcoming Syfy network series, produced by the reality television production powerhouse, 51 Minds Entertainment, an Endemol Company. The series will give viewers an inside look into the creative world of some of the best cosplayers in the country, and will document our cosplay competition, and the convention itself. Planet Comicon is proud to welcome Syfy and 51 Minds Entertainment in this unique opportunity to shine a spotlight on the world wide phenomena known as Cosplay.
In connection with the foregoing, please be advised that 51 Minds Entertainment and its affiliated entities, employees, agents, producers and contractors will be filming scenes and background material in and around the Planet Comicon convention, related to the TV production “Cos World.” By entering certain areas of the Planet Comicon convention, you may appear, and you agree to appear, in this or another production, in any and all media now known or later devised, worldwide, in perpetuity, including in advertisements and promotions. Please do not enter such areas if you do not wish to appear. We are sorry for any inconvenience, and thank you for your cooperation.
We hope you’re as excited as we are to play host to what promises to be an amazing show. If you didn’t have proper incentive to show off your creativity before, then you’ve got no excuses now. We’re counting on you to show the Syfy network and the world just what Kansas City is capable of. Good luck to you!
If you have questions regarding the costume contests, please post them below.
How and when do we register for the youth costume contest?
We’ll have info up on that shortly, Jeff.
What about Science Fiction?? Especially Si-Fi that isn’t a movie (like Doctor Who)?
More info is coming, Emily.
Okay, thanks!
Will there be somewhere for TV shows like Sherlock to fit in?
We’re going to revisit the categories and hopefully clarify things a little. Bear with us.
Any updates on categories and contest times please? Thanks!
The times for the costume contests are listed under the EVENTS tab. The categories will have additional details forthcoming.
It looks like the kids costume contest is scheduled for 6pm. Is that correct? 6pm?
The youth costume contest will take place on Saturday afternoon. The first of two ADULT costume contests for the weekend will happen at 6 PM on Saturday. We’ll get a time up for the youth costume contest. Odds are, it will be happening in the main hall.
Do we need to register online for the adult costume contest? If so, how?
Registration for the costume contests will happen at the event on each day. We’ll have additional details on this shortly.
There isn’t an entry fee, is there at registration? Nobody has mentioned it, so I’m assuming there isn’t…
No registration fees. That would be uncool. I’ll have specifics on registration up soon.
Okie-Dokes, thanks, Justin!
I would love to cosplay as my Half Elven Paladin from D&D Is this allowed here and would it fall under Fantasy?
You are welcome to cosplay as anything you wish. It’s up to you to decide which category fits, and then you’ll be asked to justify it to the judges.
I am so unbelievably excited! Thank you! The Saturday and Sunday are technically all part of the same costume contest correct? Saturday isn’t anymore relevant then Sunday right?
They’ll be run as two separate contests, with winners each day.
Oh okay, will the Syfy crews be filming at both or most likely just Saturday? Gotta plan out my costumes well
Both days. Two episodes.
That is super exciting! Thank you guys soooo very much for putting this on! Its going to be AMAZING! And thank you for being patient and providing the information
Does store bought also include having to commission someone to make it for you?
No. We’re just looking to avoid costumes that came out of a box. Nothing that got picked up at the Halloween store.
If our costume is obviously from a movie, are we supposed to justify that like heroes and villains are supposed to justify themselves on stage? Are we still expected to say something onstage? If so… What?
Be prepared to answer questions from the judges. They may ask how your costume fits into one of the three categories for that day.
Is there the possibility of a small group(being of only two people) could be presented together? I see no rules or acknowledgements toward it, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
There will be a group event after the main contest on Sunday. Otherwise, it will be solo entries.
Have you decided where Doctor Who costumes will fit in your categories? You don’t have a Science Fiction category. Are you going to eliminate “Comic Book” and just have “Heroes” and “Villains” for your Saturday and Sunday entries?
Here’s a link that might help you.
My costume may include a gun, but I’ve noticed that fake guns either look ridiculously bizarre, or wind up looking terribly realistic. Just wanted to know the organizer’s thoughts when it comes to that, and if the convention has any restrictions when it comes to prop firearms.
It must be a prop. Anyone carrying real firearms will be escorted off the premises. That’s our policy.
I don’t see anywhere on the site where the rules are fully written out, besides justify your category and no store bought costumes. Is there a set written out, and if not are there restrictions on costumes that won at bigger conventions or previously at this one?
Here’s a link. No restrictions on previous winners, though you’ll still need to make the cut.
Thanks.
You say the top male and female will be awarded in each category. How are you handling crossplayers? Will we be judged as our physical gender, or the gender of the character we are portraying? (As in, I don’t play “Female” Jack Harkness, I play Jack Harkness.)
To the best of my knowledge, awards will be presented on the gender of the cosplayer, not the character.
Will there be manga or anime?
Not a lot, no.
Can we bring pets??
No.
My daughter had a fun time in the youth costume contest. However, she was let down because this site says that “Prizes for participation will be awarded”. There were no participation prizes. Also, she’s 13 and wondered why she was in the same competition with toddlers. We think that letting audience applause decide the winners skewed the judging toward the cuteness of the kids rather than the creativity of the costumes.
All-in-all we had a great time. Thanks for another fun comicon!
Will there be pics posted somewhere from the contest(s)? Or are those the property of Syfy and we will need to wait until they release them?
There should be lots of pictures up now, Greg, from both the contest and the floor.