Kit Quinn On Comikaze, Catwoman and Cosplay!

Kit Quinn was 2010 Comic Impact’s Cosplay Girl of the Year and has been featured in many comic book-themed and cosplay websites. Most likely you have seen her cosplay as Dr. Mrs. Monarch or as the gender-bending version of Superman (called Superma’am). Kit Quinn is this year’s host to the costume contest at Comikaze Expo and made some time to answer some questions about this exciting opportunity.

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How does it feel to host the cosplay contest at Comikaze Expo?

It feels great! Last year I was honored to be asked to be one of the judges and this year I’m tickled they want me back as a host! And to make it more fun, they’ve asked me to bring on my best friend Tallest Silver to co-host with me! Getting to host is definitely the sweet deal in a costume contest, I get to have all the fun seeing the costumes with none of the pressure to pick a winner!

What cosplays are you planning to do there this year? Were there any challenges in putting your outfit together?

The costumes I’ll be wearing this year are still a little up in the air. Silv and I are bouncing some fun ideas around, but as of right now we believe we’ll be wearing Wonder Woman and Power Girl. We’ll see what we end up pulling out for the other day. It will probably depend on what our friends want to wear! We’ve been talking about everything from a goofy sex swapped Game of Thrones to Silv and I wearing each other’s costumes, to doing something classic from our closets!

Are there any tips you can share for newbies who are planning to be a part of this cosplay contest?

Bring your passion! Passion always counts towards your total score in my book. We aren’t all master crafts people, but we can put our all into our costumes. Even if technically you’re not perfect, if you bring your love of the character and show us what you did to the best of your abilities, that will make the contests a lot of fun!

How important would you say is the acting portion in cosplay contests? How well should someone know their character?

I would say it’s very important! This is a COSPLAY contest, not a costume contest, not a technique contest, it’s COSPLAY! That means your passion, enthusiasm, and love of the character count! Everyone loves to see their favorite characters running around and being themselves. I know for me when I get to act as my character I have way more fun, so feel free to cut loose and enjoy yourself!

Besides cosplaying, what events or items do you look forward to in a comic book convention?

Artist Alley is my favorite part of any con, which is truly becoming a problem for my wall space. I love seeing the new and beautiful interpretations of the characters I love. I also love supporting upcoming artists. I always pick up a couple prints at every show I attend. It’s important to support the community and the fact that I get cute pictures out of it is just a bonus!

Being that you are a fan of Catwoman, how do you feel how she has been portrayed lately in the New 52 and in The Dark Knight Rises?

Weeellllllll, it’s odd, when Catwoman first came out in the new 52 we were all up in arms, and I’m not saying it was unjustified, but I just can’t stop picking up that book! I’ve dropped quite a few single issues since the start of the new 52, but Catwoman is one of the few that’s still holding on. I’m not sure if it’s me ignoring the over-sexuality because I’m enjoying her story, or if it’s not there anymore, but I just find her as a woman appealing. She is a very strong female, who goes too far with everything she does, I’m enjoying her in the new 52! As far as the Dark Knight goes….wellllll I have plenty of opinions on that film, but we’ll just stick to Catwoman. Anne Hathaway had her voice but not her body. Her physicality wasn’t there for me, she just doesn’t look how Catwoman looks to me, but her vocal tone was there! If I closed my eyes, she did a passable job as Catwoman. I’ve only been able to see the movie once, I’d need to see it again to give a better review, but she was lacking a strong confidence. The whole movie she seemed so close to being the very strong, independent, high risk taking, smart woman Catwoman is, but just wasn’t quite there. Of course, since I couldn’t see her as Catwoman that could be clouding my ability to accept her with those qualities.

What would you say is the hardest part of being part of the cosplay culture?

The hardest part is definitely the negativity that is growing as the community grows. We’ve all got opinions and sometimes we like to let those more nasty opinions fly before really stopping and thinking how that might affect the person you’re talking about.

You have so much experience about costume making, is there any costume you have made in the past that you wish you can redo?

Of course! Every costume I do is always a work in progress; there are very few costumes I put in the box at the end of a con and say “Yup, that’s perfect, no upgrades for next time!” I would love to remake my Arkham Asylum Harley Quinn boots, but I also like having the feeling in the tips of my fingers, so I’ll probably never do that. And my Lady Sif I just made, I’d like to remake that armor using a different technique. Every costume I have has at least one small part that I would like to upgrade, but sometimes you need to just step back and say “No, it’s good, that ‘upgrade’ is something only you would notice, so save your tears and move on to the next costume.”

What is the next cosplay or costume project you plan to work on next?

Well, at the moment I’m knee deep in prep for DragonCon. I’ll have a new big costume I’ll be revealing at DragonCon during the parade that I’m super excited for. And I think I can talk about the group we’re planning for NYCC, my friends and I will be doing a Spider People group! I’ll be working on Jessica Drew Spider Woman. I am quite excited, we’re going to have an epic group of spider people to run around Manhattan in for Spidey’s 50th anniversary.

Any last words to those attending Comikaze next month?

Get excited, this is going to be the con to make-up for the less than stellar time many of us had at that other con. Comikaze is going to be way bigger than last year with a lot of things you’ve never seen at a con before. I’m excited to be a part of it.