VODKA O’CLOCK 1529
JOE COLTON TALKS ABOUT
G.I. JOE AND COSPLAY
“THE GIRLS OF THE FINESTâ€
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FANDOMS
JOE COLTON is a cosplayer that spans a lot of different fandoms including STAR TREK, G.I. JOE, JUDGE DREDD, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE and other sci-fi/fantasy brands. Our conversation delves into where our fandom limits are in terms of STAR WARS, which characters we hate, and which outfits of Princess Leia we like.
In this episode we mention some places to get help with manufacturing and crafting parts of the cosplay choices you might want to look into. One such resource is Gotham City R&D who is AmberUnmasked contributor Gareth.
A lot of Joe’s costume crafting is broken up into sewing versus crafting. She said her boyfriend is generally the one to make props and she sews the outfits. Pit Viper Studios, she says, makes the best G.I. JOE armor.
JoeCon is for the G.I. JOE fans and the convention changes location every year. I asked Joe if she ever attends cons in street clothes rather than cosplay; she said she did once and it was so bizarre for her and her friends.
CHARITY PROJECTS WITH COSPLAY
The Finest is currently running a campaign on IndieGoGo for another Girls of the Finest calendar which will benefit the USO. Last year’s calendar proceeds went to Wounded Warrior. Since a lot of the members of The Finest troupe are connected to the military or first responders, they want to support charities related to those actions.
The goal for this year’s calendar is $8,500 with fixed funded which means that they have to meet that goal to get any of the money.
The Girls of the Finest calendars are not pinup calendars with sexy images. The characters are more action and personality oriented. They also try not to repeat a character too much. This year’s project will also include male characters.
The models themselves are bearing the responsibility of getting professional photos, not all of which are donated skills and time by the photographers they choose to work with.
ANOTHER STRONG WOMEN DISCUSSION!
G.I. JOE is a particular franchise that has numerous interesting female characters who are independent thinkers, brave, and possess completely different skills.
I took the opportunity to ask Joe about sexiness, sexuality, parody, and pinup and where these things do or do not fit into the cosplay troupe, The Finest.
The conversation also includes fan diversity with skin color, age, gender, height, shape, and abilities. The Finest does try to adhere to as much canon as possible, but when it comes to the fans, they aren’t expected to look like what you see in the comics, cartoons, and movies. The costumes themselves are as accurate a possible.
“We only judge on the costume not… There’s no judgment in what you choose in your life.†~ Joe Colton
Joe chooses which characters to cosplay solely based on who she likes not the sexiness which is something she only thought about recently when a fan asked her about it. She shared a couple stories about a creator and another fan who took issue with particular things, one of which was that was “too tall†to be Deanna Troi from STAR TREK.
Where does Barbie fit into this conversation? Barbie has been in every branch of the Armed Forces, but she’s still never been given weapons unless she’s a specific character like Katniss Everdeen from THE HUNGER GAMES or HARLEY QUINN from DC Comics. Other iconic female characters of fandom include Ripley from ALIEN, Sarah Connor from TERMINATOR, and of course Princess Leia.
LINKS
IndieGoGo campaign for Girls of the Finest:
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.