COMIC book fans and movie nerds from across the country have lined up to attend the first day of New York Comic Con on Thursday.
The four-day event, held annually at New York City's Jacob K. Javits Center, features celebrity guests, movie panels, the famed artist's alley, and countless cosplayers who often spend thousands dressing as their favorite characters.
One cosplayer, who introduced herself as Kendra Chantelle, donned an all-black, skin-tight latex Catwoman costume.
Chantelle has been dressing up as her favorite characters for years but she revealed her risque catsuit had a rather unusual inspiration.
"It's my mom's favorite character of all time," she exclusively told The U.S. Sun.
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"She has a picture of herself when she was eight, wearing these little Catwoman ears, a black leotard, and a little cat tail.
"And it was the cutest thing ever. And was like, 'You know what, if she wanted to be Catwoman so bad, I'm going to embody that for her.
"When she saw it she was so excited and it just made me happy to see her so happy."
Chantelle said she had another connection to the Batman villain.
"This specific Catwoman came out from Michelle Pfeifer - 1992 is the year I was born.
"I was like, well...meant to be!"
One of the highlighted guests this year was actor Ewan McGregor, best known for his role in the film Trainspotting and for portraying Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel films.
A group of friends were one of the many fans who waited in line to meet McGregor, whose autograph and photo-op tickets sold out days before the event began.
Spending more than $260 just to take a photo with McGregor, the group all said they weren't prepared to meet their hero.
"I can't feel my legs," said Lauren, who had dressed up as Princess Leia Organa. "I can't feel any part of my body."
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Lauren told The U.S. Sun that she grew up watching the Star Wars movies, specifically the prequels as a child and said that meeting McGregor would mean the world to her.
"It doesn't feel real."
Lauren was accompanied by her friends Matt, Sam, and Bria who were dressed as Luke Skywalker, Rey, and Han Solo respectively.
Like Lauren, Matt had also grown up watching the series.
"I’ve been a Star Wars fan since I was eight," said Matt. "I got a box set of the movies on VHS and I watched them every day for about two months."
"I've been obsessed. Meeting Ewan is gonna be awesome."
Sam and Bria had only started watching the movies a few years ago but are still just as excited to meet McGregor.
The photo wasn’t the group’s only chance to get some face-to-face time with McGregor as they also had plans to attend a panel with the actor.
“We went to New York Comic Con last year so we were coming again this year anyway but meeting Ewan was also a huge factor,” said Lauren.
“This was very important to us.”
When it came to cosplaying, the group said it wasn’t uncommon for them to get stopped while at the convention.
“It’s a lot of work that goes into it and it’s really worth it when you actually go to the con cause all that work actually pays off,” said Matt.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh my god, you’re so good!’ and it’s like ‘Oh, thanks!’”
Lauren said her costumes take a lot of time and money as the process is a mixture of buying and making things.
“It’s really exciting when you get to show it to people and they appreciate it and who you’re cosplaying and they recognize all the work that you put into it,” she said.
“It pays off.”
One of them, Sam, said she spent hundreds of dollars for just one cosplay - as the character Nebula from the Marvel comics.
“The outfit alone was $300 and then all the extra stuff was probably a few hundred more,” she said.
“All the face paint, prosthetics, bald cap, outfit.”
Matt said he dressed up as Robert Pattinson’s version of Batman and the costume came out close to $500, however, he made a costly mistake when putting it together.
“I do not wear it anymore, it’s very bulky so that is another thing to take into consideration,” he said.
“Know your size 'cause if you get a cosplay that’s really bulky it’s hard to walk around in.
“It’s very exciting to have people compliment our costumes. It’s a very nice feeling.
“People see you and they’re like, ‘Oh my God, you’re one of the characters that we all love’ and you have to do a photo with them cause it makes their day.
“We love making people’s day.”
Lauren added: “Especially if you have a particular connection with a character that you are cosplaying and you noticed that other people have the same appreciation for it.
“It just means the world when they recognize who you are and just all the details of the costume it’s exciting for sure.”
