Did you wake up this morning thinking you’d see an authentically Russian Black Widow or a Russian Captain America? What a time to be alive.
Russia held their first Comic-Con at Moscow’s Crocus Centre this weekend. Fans waited two hours in a drizzle for a chance see events including presentations on Star Wars, Playstation, and Xbox as well as an autograph signing with Misha Collins from Supernatural.
Although this is the first convention in Russia to bear the trademarked Comic-Con name, this isn’t the first geeky convention to ever be held there. We’ve posted cosplayers from gaming convention IgroMir multiple times in the past, for example. Having the internationally-recognized “Comic Con” name attached to the event, however, raises its profile and draws large studios and fans who may not have heard about the convention otherwise.
The Guardian spoke with one fan, 18-year-old Victoria Ocharova, who came dressed as Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games.
She says she’s not here for anything specific, but to simply be with like-minded people. “Would my friends think this was strange, or not Russian? I don’t know. I’ve not talked about it with them. They don’t know I’m here. We have different interests. But I just love this book and I love being this character. I love when people ask to have their photograph taken with me. Next year I’ll be back – except then, my costume will be better.”
Teodor Van Bo photographed cosplayers at the inaugural event and shared 42 pictures on Reddit. One of the pictures in the gallery is NSFW, though, due to the awesome bodypaint. Continue on for some of our favorite safe-for-work pictures from this collection.