When Elizabeth Miroshnichenko from Kyiv shops for costume materials at building materials stores, it’s her interactions with store assistants that amuse her the most, she says.
“They ask me what I need this much of polyvinyl chloride for, and I tell them I need to make an (imitation of) armored bra,” Miroshnichenko told the Kyiv Post. “It’s so much fun to watch their reaction.”
Miroshnichenko, an 18-year-old student and designer, is a pop culture fan. She’s also a cosplayer — someone who dresses in costume to play the part of favorite comic-book characters. And one of her top places to debut her handmade costumes is at Kyiv’s annual Comic Con festival.
Kyiv Comic Con was started in 2015 by a group of friends who were enthusiastic about movies, books, videos and board games, and who wanted a platform where they could meet with people who shared their hobbies.
“Any festival mirrors those who create it,” the co-founder of Kyiv Comic Con Alexander Shaghoury told the Kyiv Post.
The founding friends were inspired by the original Comic Con festival, which has been held in San Diego, California since 1970, and now has analogues all over the world.
At its debut, Kyiv Comic Con gathered around 9,500 visitors. This year, on May 19–20, the organizers expect up to 12,000 attendees.
“Kyiv Comic Con turned out to be in very high demand,” Shaghoury said.
Over the two days, the festival will hold presentations of comic books, movie premieres, lectures, workshops, fan meetings, contests and its key event — cosplay show.
A cosplay show is a runway walk in which participants can present any kind of performance they want, in order to show off their character.
A cosplay show participant dressed as Harley Quinn from DC superhero film “Suicide Squad” poses for a photograph at the popular culture festival Kyiv Comic Con held on May 6-7, 2017 (Kyiv Comic Con).
Shaghoury says that this year 200 participants registered to compete in four categories, playing characters from video games, comics and fiction, films and cartoons and anime and manga.
“Many Ukrainian cosplayers have made their debut at Kyiv Comic Con,” he said.
The Kyiv Post has talked to some of the most celebrated Ukrainian cosplayers and the festival’s regulars.
Maria Telizhenko
Age: 23
Occupation: teacher, actress
Cosplayed characters: Harley Quinn from DC superhero film “Suicide Squad,” Major from manga series “Ghost in the Shell”
Maria Telizhenko’s life is full of contrasts. On one day, she teaches English at language schools. On the other, she cosplays a badass superhero holding a bat in her hand.
Telizhenko has performed at cosplay shows every year since the Kyiv Comic Con was launched.
As one of her hobbies is acting — Telizhenko performs at the English-speaking ProEnglish Theater — she picks cosplay characters with personalities that interest her.
“Harley (Quinn) is sassy and impudent. I am nothing like that and I wanted to come out of the shell,” she told the Kyiv Post.
Telizhenko tailors her costumes by herself. But, she says, tailoring skills are not always enough, as some comics’ characters have detailed outfits accompanied by weapons and armor.
“Those who think that cosplaying is very easy are wrong. It takes a lot of energy,” she said.
Maria Telizhenko dressed as Chandra Nalaar form the card game “Magic The Gathering” poses for a photograph at popular culture festival Kyiv Comic Con in 2015. (Kyiv Comic Con)
She says that before creating a costume she re-watches movies with the character she chose to cosplay and gathers all possible visual information of what an outfit looks like from different angles and in different body positions.
Next step is a visit to fabric or building materials stores.
“Sometimes instead of a regular fabric there’s a piece of styrofoam and linoleum hanging on you,” she jokes.
Although Telizhenko hasn’t won any cosplay awards at Kyiv Comic Con yet, she says that her best prize is her husband, whom she happened to meet at the festival.
They have met at Kyiv Comic Con in 2016. The next year they attended the festival as a couple. This year, they will come as a husband and a wife.
“(Kyiv Comic Con) is a family event for us,” she said.
Volodymyr Zhuravlov
Age: 28
Occupation: software engineer
Cosplayed characters: Khal Drogo from TV series “The Game of Thrones,” Groot from superhero film “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Volodymyr Zhuravlov has been a fan of pop culture since early childhood. That was also the time he started creating costumes of characters he liked.
“It was a parallel world. I could escape reality. I had a wild fantasy,” he told the Kyiv Post.
He said he had always followed news about the Comic Con festivals abroad and was happy to find out that Ukraine would have its own. Since then, he hasn’t missed a single Kyiv Comic Con and has won three prizes for cosplaying.
Zhuravlov says he loves the festival for its “positive community.” Attendants keep in touch during the year and help each other.
Last week, he says, the community found out there was a woman among them who couldn’t come to this year’s festival because she didn’t have money.
“A group took initiative, gathered money, bought her a ticket, found accommodation and promised to provide meals,” he said.
Volodymyr Zhuravlov dressed as Uther the Lightbringer from the “World of Warcraft” video game poses for a photograph at Kyiv Comic Con in 2016. (Pasha Shamets)
Today Zhuravlov has a list of almost 40 characters that he wants to cosplay.
At this year’s Kyiv Comic Con, he will appear as two of them — as Morgoth from J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium and as Deathwing from the “World of Warcraft” video game.
The costumes he makes are usually massive and elaborate. He especially enjoys making armor. However, he says he participates in cosplay shows not only for his own enjoyment.
“I want to show the newcomers how to do it. I want to develop this culture,” he said.
Elizabeth Miroshnichenko
Age: 18
Occupation: artist, designer
Cosplayed characters: Hit-Girl from superhero film “Kick-Ass,” Sylvanas Windrunner from video game “World of Warcraft”
Elizabeth Miroshnichenko’s love for cosplaying started with a Halloween party three years ago when she dressed as The Hatter from fantasy film “Alice in Wonderland.”
“There was a lack of magic in my childhood,” she told the Kyiv Post.
Miroshnichenko visited her first Kyiv Comic Con, in 2016, as an observer — just to watch and learn.
The next year, however, she beat some of the experienced participants of the cosplay show, winning second place for her costume of Hit-Girl from superhero film “Kick-Ass.”
She says she sometimes picks characters that look like her, and sometimes goes with the ones that “fall into her heart.”
Elizabeth Miroshnichenko dressed as Hit-Girl from superhero film “Kick-Ass” poses for a photograph at the Kyiv Comic Con festival in 2017. (Courtesy)
Miroshnichenko tailors her costumes by herself. She buys materials in local shops, or orders them from abroad. She says that a complicated costume with weapons and armor can cost over Hr 10,000 ($385).
“Sometimes I wonder what I spend my money for, but it’s still worth it.”
Miroshnichenko’s most elaborate costume is the one she will be wearing for this year’s festival: Chronormu from “World of Warcraft.” The costume took her four months to make. It has light-emitting diodes attached and is accompanied by a staff weapon with moving parts.
She says she loves Kyiv Comic Con for its friendly atmosphere and diverse festival program.
“(Kyiv) Comic Con is engraved on my heart — it’s my favorite festival.”
Kyiv Comic Con. Ukrainian House (2 Khreshchatyk St.) May 19–20. 12–10 p. m. One day — Hr 299, two-day pass — Hr 399
