My first stop on Saturday morning was my hair salon of choice, Alexandra's Hair Design. I go into this more on the Agent Carter costume page, but I was so disappointed with the way a completely different hair salon had styled my hair the first time I wore the costume that wanting another try at it was a factor in deciding to wear Peggy again. I wasn't taking any chances this time, so I called Alexandra's on September 12th, exactly one month before Comic Con, to schedule the appointment. My favorite stylist Antoinette had an opening at 9 AM, and she and I texted back and forth beforehand so I could send her the reference photos. We spent the entire time chatting about Marvel movies and conventions (this was not the first time she'd done my hair for a con, though this was certainly the most elaborate style) and when she was done I think we were both seriously impressed with the way she was able to make my waist length hair into a 1940s shoulder length style. I felt a lot more confident, which led to me doing a better job with my makeup, which led to me being in a MUCH better mood in the uniform this time around. I even took a cab to the convention because the weather was drizzly and I didn't want to ruin my hair, so I arrived at the con warm and dry and rested, which was a nice change.

Our friend Robert was right by the entrance as well, so we spent some time talking with him, and he casually mentioned this was his last year, and my heart almost dropped. As I've mentioned both here and my Otakon 2023 con report, I had been grappling with the decision to quit cosplaying myself; after all, I was middle-aged, I was starting to *look* middle-aged, and while I didn't feel it, maybe it was time to start acting middle-aged. Multiple friends (primarily Lady Terentia and Pete) convinced me that I should not, but here Rob is about the same age I am--was he making the choice I should have made?

Nope! Thank God. He has no plans to quit cosplay; what he was saying, was that he was going to be taking a step back from so actively recruiting, organizing, and running DC Cosplayers East. And even then, he still plans on helping, but it's just a lot of work and he wants to focus more on his own stuff. That, I can understand. I'm lucky in that OPIB has four "core" members who all pretty much think alike and want the same things, and an extended group of maybe a half-dozen regulars who are also very easy-going and in agreement; I can't imagine trying to wrangle a group of close to two thousand members! He has done an absolutely amazing job and I hope they give him the nerdy equivalent of a gold watch (a gold Batarang, maybe?) and a retirement dinner at Applebee's.

Neil and I said goodbye to Robert so we could take a walk around the convention center. We had just gotten to the south end of the concierge when we saw a fantastic Captain America cosplayer by the doors. Now, granted, Cap's helmet covers a great deal of his face, but something about that jaw looked familiar...in fact, it looked like our friend Josh, but we knew Josh had moved to Florida that year, so it couldn't be Josh (about that time the song "West Covina" from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend started playing in my head), could it?

It was! He had come back up north for New York Comic Con, in part because of the guests, in part to see his friends. I was sad to see his wife Tricia wasn't with him, but there's always next year! But at least we had some time to pose for photos together (because people naturally flock to take pictures of him, he really is a great Cap, and I'd like to think having a Peggy and a Bucky were an added attraction), and catch up on how he's doing in Florida (wonderfully!), and just talk about the joys of finding a great work-life-hobby balance at our age (because he, too, is around my age.) Honestly spending time with other cosplayers who are in similar stages of life as I am was possibly the best choice I made in 2023.

Josh had other appointments he had to keep, so Neil and I said goodbye, and continued our walking tour of the Javits Center. There were, naturally, some truly wonderful costumes to see, including a HUGE group of Mandalorians who created quite the traffic jam in the concourse. (It's possible Rocco was in there, but if he was, I couldn't recognize him, which of course is part of the point.) I couldn't get too mad at the traffic jam, having been part of one back in the epic marriage proposal of 2016. Really a person could conceivably spend an entire day of Comic Con just hanging out at the entrance to the show floor and people watching.

I was extra excited to spot other MCU cosplayers, but I was especially hoping to run into other Peggy Carters. And, sure enough, one of the first ones I saw was a Captain Carter from the first episode of the What If...? animated series. I asked if we could take a picture together, and we ended up talking for a bit--her name is Bri, she's a glorious human being, and does a lot of fantastic characters besides Captain Carter (although that's my favorite) like Padmé and Kate Bishop. We followed each other on Instagram and I look forward to meeting up with her again in the future!

It was getting close to the time for our photo op, so Neil and I went down to the first floor to line up in the queue. As might be expected, the line was massive, but the staffers as always kept it orderly and kept it moving. We ended up meeting one of Josh's friends, who was also dressed as Captain Carter, who was a lovely girl but for the life of me I can't remember her name now. She and Neil traded tips about where to buy the best tactical gear for these quasi-military costumes, and she talked about some of the charity work she and Josh have done in costume. That's one of my favorite types of stories to hear; I've known other cosplayers who have visited children's hospitals and whatnot in character, and I can't tell you how much it warms my heart. There really is so much more to this hobby than what lies on the surface.

With the line moving as quickly as it was, it wasn't long before we were outside the photo staging area, where we quickly had to leave behind all cell phones and, from what I heard, props; the cell phones were for obvious reasons, but I think the "no props" was because of the ongoing SAG strike, the actors were not referencing any "struck work" (which I heard made for some really awkward panels, incidentally.) Now, I understand that Photo Ops are not Meet and Greets, and I understand wanting to make sure everyone has a chance to get their photo. Nevertheless, I've seen other Photo Ops where you get a moment to, like, pose with the celebrity. Not this time. Neil and I were ushered in, Chris smiled at us, Neil stood next to him on his right and I moved around to his left, Chris put his arm around me (I thought that was sweet), the photographer shouted "Ready?" and the flash went off immediately. Neil and I didn't even have time to smile let alone anything else, and then staffers were ushering us out. Before we left the staging area, I turned back to Chris and told him how much I loved all of the charity work he has done in costume, and he seemed honestly touched. We barely had 60 seconds with him, but Chris managed to convey niceness and kindness even in that short amount of time. The man truly is a class act.

Even with how brief the encounter was, we were all on a bit of a high after our photo, and Neil and I and Josh's friend were all giggling like children as we got on yet another line to get a print of our photo. Neil paid for the print and I paid for the JPG so that we'd have a copy forever, and then we left the queueing area to go check out more of the con.

We hadn't really checked out the first floor too much, so we went over to the staircases by the main stage, which is another popular meet up/photoshoot area. And that's where I ran into my Staten Island boys; Artiga, who was cosplaying again for the first time in what feels like ages as Indiana Jones (and looked just phenonmenal), Mike and his wife Julia, who I love talking with about their latest media obsessions, and Giovanni, who had the consumate gall to complain about "getting older" when I am nearly a DECADE older than HIM and he is ageless anyway. These "kids" (I really have to stop calling them that, they're all established professionals now!) are doing wonderful things with their lives and I am unendingly proud of them.

While I was chatting with them, a pleasant woman with an official looking badge around her neck approached me. "Hi there," she said, "Are you over 30?" Yes, by a comfortable margin. "Would you like to join our Over 30 Cosplay photoshoot?" Why yes, I would. So Neil and I left the boys and arranged ourselves on the stairs with a sizeable group of cosplayers who, as you have probably deduced by now, were all over 30. And I can't tell you how much it did my soul good. Lately at anime conventions I've been feeling just a tad...unwelcome. Like the lone adult man creeping around a playground. Like the 22 year olds are looking at me with a "What are YOU doing in OUR safe space?" expression on their face. Now, I'm aware some of this (I couldn't begin to guess what percentage) might be in my head. But I've talked to some other cosplayers who are around my age, and it's not just me. And that hurts, a little bit, because I have always preached that cosplay is for everybody. But Comic Con seems to attract a broader spread of ages than the anime cons do, and while I was able to stay for the Over 30 and Over 40 photos, I had to step aside for the Over 50 photos, and there were still quite a few cosplayers on the staircase. It's nice to know I'm not alone.

And I love how absolutely silly we all are--as they were finishing up the final photos, a Lady Tremaine cosplayer came up to me and asked if I would mind filming a short bit she had in mind. She recruited a Zombie Snow White and did this whole spiel about being an evil stepmother to a Disney princess that had me laughing so hard it was difficult to keep the phone steady! You can check it out here and God help me I don't want to have to learn how to use TikTok when I'm still barely figuring out Instagram but I don't want to be left behind! I so love random stuff like this.

And then I got to meet another Peggy! Her name is Akilles and I was thrilled to see she was doing her classic military costume as well, so of course I had to get a picture with her. And of course, she's on Instagram, so we followed each other and I got to see some of her other gorgeous costumes, like Scarlet Witch and Hinata and Winter Soldier. She's planning a Captain Carter costume of her own in the future, and I can't wait to see it.

A week before the con, I had published my costume lineup and put out an open invitation to message me if anyone wanted to meet at the con. I got a message through my Facebook cosplay page (Sunseen Li, naturally) from a friend of a friend who was also a photographer, Anthony Perez, saying that he would be attending both Saturday and Sunday, and had some free time on Saturday if I'd like to shoot. I jumped at the chance, not only because I really hadn't gotten any great pictures in my Peggy costume the last time I had worn her (for all of two hours), but also because I'm always looking to meet locals who are into the same stuff I am. We had exchanged a few messages throughout the day, and he ended up finding me right as the Over 30 Cosplay shoot was wrapping up, so we took a few photos downstairs, and then he said he knew of a good place near one of the entrances to the show floor that was recessed a bit (so we wouldn't interfere with foot traffic too much) and had a nice plain black backdrop, so we went upstairs and snapped a few photos, all of which can be seen on Agent Carter's finished cosutme page. He did a great job of making Neil and I look awesome.

After Anthony was done and had gone off to his next shoot, I ended up meeting another photographer who was there to make use of the same backdrop, Bob Plant. He had some fancy looking lights with him, and as I watched him photograph another cosplayer, I had an idea. When he was finished with her he turned to me and asked if I'd be up for a few photos. "Sure," I told him, "but could we make it look truly vintage? The kind of photos we have of our grandmothers from that time period." "That's exactly what I had in mind," he answered. So he fiddled with the lighting a bit, and suggested some poses, and ended up taking my favorite picture of me from this con--I'm not usually given to self-praise, but I think I look almost as beautiful as my actual grandmother (and if you'd ever met her, you'd know I'm saying a lot.) I can't thank him enough for taking such a gorgeous photo of me.

There really wasn't much else that could top that, and there was still one more day to go, so Neil and I said goodbye, and although I had arrived at the con in style, I no longer had to worry about preserving my hairstyle so I hoofed it to the subway. When I got home my father was so impressed with how well it had come out that he didn't want me to take my hair down before dinner--but he wasn't the one with approximately ninety-three bobby pins all jammed directly into his scalp, "but, dear me, let us be elegant or die." And anyway, I'd have to shove them all back in the next day.

The Heartbreak Kid himself!

Mine and my cousin's ABSOLUTE fave.

Which I know is so basic of me, but whatever.

Me and Rob

Neil Anthony as Bucky and me

Honestly he was the main reason I cosplayed Peggy again

Honestly even without Chris Evans I would've worn her again just to match him.

I think Josh had the photo of just the three of us, but it's on my Agent Carter page.

No offense to this guy, we just wanted a shot of just the three of us.

Me and Bri

Love that shield, too.

Seriously if I was TRYING to find him I wouldn't have.

I was so happy to run into other Peggys!

I hope I didn't creep this guy out he looks a little frightened of me.

Me and Artiga

My Staten Island boys (and girl!)

Assembling for the Over 30 Photoshoot!

I was really surprised at the size of the group.

I have a feeling it would have been smaller at an anime con, though.

Comic book conventions seem to have a wider range in age.

W took up the entire staircase!

Pointing at the photographer.

They did a really good job of fitting everyone in.

I can't remember what we were laughing at.

But it was clearly very funny.

There was such a range of costumes, too.

You see some variant of Spider-Man in the middle with zombie Snow White to his left...

A whole bunch of Batman characters, including the Riddler, Batman, Mister Freeze, and Poison Ivy.

A Twi'lek member of the Green Lantern Corps to my right, Wonder Woman and Superman to my left, and Lady Tremaine from Cinderella directly behind me.

I also see Auntie Entity from Mad Max, and of course Neil as Bucky, and a Doctor Strange.

And then Gambit and Kraven the Hunter joined us.

I think the girl in front is Kraven, too.

People kept joining us!

And everyone was so nice.

Getting into dynamic poses can be a bit more challenging as you get older...

...but we pulled it off pretty well!

But simple poses are good too.

And above us all, a Demogorgon.

We appear remarkably unworried.

I forgot to point out the cool Batman behind zombie Snow White too.

And Gambit found a Rogue, and a Two-Face?

We took a lot of pictures.

As one does at a photoshoot.

I think at some point they had us filter out by age.

I made the "Over 30" crowd...

...and the "Over 40"...

...but not the "Over 50" crowd. Not yet.

We'll see in seven years, eh?

Lady Tremaine and zombie Snow White asked me to film them together.

And it was hysterical.

Pre-war selfie!