Comic-Con would not be Comic-Con without cosplay.
As much a part of the event as the Hall H panels and comics themselves, being decked out in elaborate costumes—or watching people decked out in elaborate costumes—is one of the main reasons people attend. This year cosplay felt even more crucial. Due to health concerns over the spread of Covid-19, there has not been an in-person Comic-Con for the past two years. Last weekend, when the event once again filled the streets of San Diego, the cosplayers also returned.
But not without some changes. Just because Comic-Con held an IRL event this year doesn’t mean Covid is over — far from it — so people had to take precautions to stay safe, namely by wearing masks. Now, cosplayers are used to wearing masks, but the kind required to stop the spread of infectious diseases aren’t necessarily the kind that Spider-Man wears. So, as expected, fans got creative.
WIRED asked the photographer Daniel Gonçalves to attend last week’s convention and look for cosplayers with some of the most creative masks around. He found some great ones – and a few that had no masks at all.