PopCultHQ

Pairing Science with Fiction

Silicon Valley Comic Con (SVCC), Steve Wozniak’s pop culture and technology expo, is almost here! Taking place April 21-23, 2017 in downtown San Jose, Silicon Valley Comic Con aims to inspire and entertain with celebrity appearances, science/tech discussions, film and TV screenings, panels with award-winning authors and artists, cosplay contests and more.

In addition to celebrating the pop culture and technology of today, SVCC 2017 will feature a series of themed exhibits and sessions focused on the “Future of Humankind: Where will we be in 2075?” SVCC 2017 attendees will be able to hear visions of the future from high profile guests and companies spanning a variety of industries. Here’s a look at the cosplayers at SVCC 2017 on April 22:

<PopCultHQ Cosplay Spotlight: Keith Zen & Abby Dark-Star>

Abby Darkstar

Best known for her rendition of Poison Ivy & Indiana Jones

Guest Bio

Abby is a New England bred, Southern raised, West coast girl. Raised on a steady diet of Sci-Fi, fantasy and comics by her Dad and an infusion of theater from her Mom, Abby finds creative and professional inspiration from Cosplay. She’s been known to lurk in the pages of geeky magazines but her passion lies in her career in Digital and Social Media Marketing. Abby enjoys encouraging others to Cosplay and enabling them to join in on the fun! ALL THE THINGS!

Bob Mitsch

Known for his Shazam and Classic ‘66 Joker Costumes

Guest Bio

Bob Mitsch has been cosplaying for over 15 years covering a wide range of characters TV, Film, Comic Books and more. When he’s not taking on the odd costume commission, or helping to plan Cosplay panel tracks at conventions, Bob can be found hosting the cosplay podcast Costume Station Zero at www.costumestationzero.com

You can catch him on the floor this weekend as Shazam or The 1966 Joker or as a part of the Idiot’s Lantern Sketch comedy show.

Chrissy Lynn Kyle

Best known as a wigmaker, makeup artist and fashion designer

Guest Bio

Chrissy Lynn is an LA local MUAH/Cosplayer. A natural “go-to” in the community for SFX, body paint, hair and wig styling, she’s spoken on many panels from “Cosplay Makeup 101” to “Body Positivity” at both Comikaze and San Diego Comicon. Her most recent work has been seen on Bat in the Sun’s “Superpower Beat Down”.

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HCC Cosplay

Known for their historic costuming and group cosplays

Guest Bio

HCC Cosplay is a group of California gals (Cheryll Del Rosario, Judith Grivich, Charlene Ingram, Aimee Major Steinberger, and A.J. Wu) who have been cosplaying together for the past 14 years. They’ve won Best in Show at San Diego Comic Con International, Fanime, and the World Science Fiction Convention. At home in both armor and princess dresses, they’ve made it their mission to pass on their wide variety of things they’ve learned not to do. Have fun with fiberglass! Use more rhinestones! Scare your parents! How to be a cosplayer and have a “real” job! Being a fan is fantastic, and these gals want to share their enthusiasm and knowledge with the world. Come by their table in the exhibit hall for live cosplay technique demonstrations. You won’t get a signed photo, but you will learn how to make your own molds!

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Ireland Reid

Known for her Pokemon, Zelda, and Disney cosplays

Guest Bio

Ireland Reid is a San Diego, Califofrnia, based International Costume Designer/Cosplayer & Published Model, a background of Mechanical Engineering, and holds an MBA with Honors. Ireland’s self taught, elaborate & extreme attention to costume detail, originally first caught world attention when she designed & made Fitness Theme Wear for competitors for some of the world’s champion titleholders. When Ireland isn’t working, you can find her in the gym, gaming, making videos & tutorial content for her YouTube channel, or curled up with a sci-fi book.

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Jackie Gohner

Known for her Witchblade and Princess Zelda

Guest Bio

Jacqueline Goehner is a long time cosplayer highly recognized for her Witchblade and Princess Zelda costumes. She has been cosplaying since 2005, making her debut as Princess Zelda from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Her passion for the craft continued with numerous other characters from the Zelda series as well as others such as Final Fantasy, Meta Gear Solid, Metroid, Silent Hill, Batman, X-Men, Spiderman, Teen Titans, Cowboy Bebop, Record of Lodoss War, ThunderCats, Jem, and many many others. It wasn’t until after her 4 year hiatus in 2012 did she make and wear her most popular costume yet, the Witchblade.

Miss Goehner prides herself in her work; she makes all her costumes and props herself and happily shares her knowledge with fellow cosplayers. She is most known for her acting and costume design work in SMOSH and more recently her latest feature film, The Curse of Sleeping Beauty, directed by Pearry Teo and starring Ethan Peck, India Eisley, and Bruce Davison. She works full time as a costume designer and owns her own costume and effects shop located in Los Angeles, CA. Jacqueline is also a native to northern California, growing up in Lodi and the bay area. She is excited to be debuting her latest cosplay, Linkle from Hyrule Warriors Legends here at Silicon Valley Comic Con!

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Keith Zen

Known for Tony Stark Cosplay and the Replica Prop Forum

Guest Bio

Keith credits Raiders of the Lost Ark for inspiring him to put together his first costume. From that moment in 2000 he’s been dedicated to bringing life to his favorite characters. From Batman, to Tony Stark, to Deathstroke and all in between he strives to focus on the details that make these characters real. With a background as a martial artist, photographer and charity work, costuming isn’t just about the costumes; it’s about the memories that are made while wearing them. Keith credits Cosplay (or costuming for the old school) for helping him meet and create lasting relationships across the globe.

Kit Quinn

Best known for her rendition Wonder Woman and Queen Gorgo

Guest Bio

Kit Quinn has been cosplaying since 2007 when she attended her first San Diego Comic Con. Since then she has created dozens of costumes based on her favorite characters from comics, cartoons, movies and manga. Recently Kit won best special effects costume at Twitch con for her Tron Siren build from TRON: Legacy, and was featured on Marvel’s comics Avenger’s cosplay cover as the Wasp. Kit is excited to be returning home to the Bay Area to celebrate all that is technology and comics at SVCC!

Macy Rose

Known for her Game of Thrones and World of Warcraft Cosplays

Guest Bio

Macy Rose is a cosplayer, costume maker, and artist from Sacramento, California. Her cosplay/costume making journey began 3 years ago. Since then, she has won numerous awards for her costumes. Cosplaying has opened other doors for her as well- modeling and appearing in several magazines. Macy’s favorite thing about Cosplay is the contagious inspiration she feels from meeting all of the amazing and talented costumers/artists in the geek community!

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Steven Meissner

Best Known as a Propmaker and for his rendition of the Classic Antman

Guest Bio

Steven Meissner is the man behind the helmet at SoloRoboto Industries, where he works as a full time prop maker, fabricating props for cosplayers and collectors alike, and occasionally working on the odd trophy for properties such as League of Legends. His talents don’t stop at prop building; Steven is an accomplished cosplayer who has been making costumes since his first San Diego Comic Con in 2008. He is also very tall.

The Idiot’s Lantern

A Superhero themed sketch comedy troupe known for their comedic send up of geek and pop-culture

Guest Bio

The Idiot’s Lantern sketch comedy troupe explores the comical side of all forms of geekdom. The Idiots have been performing to sold out crowds for the last 8 years with annual performances at Gallifrey One and other pop culture events. The SVCC 2017 cast includes Valerie Perez, Bob Mitsch, Scott Sebring, Alex Murphy, Johnnie Gee Griffing, Kelly Delcambre and Vickie Sebring. #idiotslantern

Valerie Perez

Best known for her rendition of Wonder Woman

Guest Bio

Valerie is known for starring in series such as the Adventures of Paula Peril and Universal Dead on Amazon and in various shows for The Nerdist and Stan Lee’s World of Heroes. She has modeled for DC Comics, Marvel, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars comic book covers and video games. Valerie enjoys bringing to life superheroines for children’s charities such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association and Shriners Hospitals for Children. She first started cosplaying as Lara Croft which led to starring in her first film, “Tomb Raider: Tears of the Dragon”, that has been featured in magazines and news sites in over seven different countries. Last year Valerie was chosen as the official ambassador for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror and is stage host for their annual Saturn Awards honoring the best in genre film and television.

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Xavier Conley

Known for Armor Building and Cosplay Melee Winner

Guest Bio

Charles Xavier Conley is a Georgia based prop builder and designer. Originally from California he moved to the East Coast in 2006 and has been in the metro Atlanta area ever since. Charles, who typically goes by the name Xavier, started prop building around 2010, although he had already been a very proficient graphite artist since his youth. As a child, all throughout elementary school Charles was bullied, so the armors and creations he makes today are a tangible reality of the heroes he wishes he had standing by his side during those dark days. Because of the hardships he faced as a youth, Charles is a champion of social justice and equality both in and out the world of cosplay. In 2016, he started in the hashtag #RepresentationMatters after a powerful encounter while wearing his Batman armor with a little boy at Atlanta’s largest convention, Dragon Con. Just recently Charles started Cosplaying professionally with his business, Ebony Warrior Studios, gaining more and more recognition for his foamsmithing prowess. Through his work, Charles seeks to inspire and change the world of cosplay one build at a time.

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Yui Kanan

Leader of YUIMINO+ and CEO of professional cosplay company “ONIGIRI PLUS Inc.”

Guest Bio

DJ Yui Kanan is the leader of YUIMINO+ and CEO of professional cosplay company “ONIGIRI PLUS Inc.” After receiving 3rd place in the world at WCS 2008, she used her skill of cosplay and knowledge in entertainment industries to create very first professional cosplay company in Japan. Working closely with clients from animation/game/manga/local official/NPO to have a professional work environment for cosplayer and at the same time make cosplay and cosplayer more accepted in the society.

Last year her activities in professional entertainment and outside of Japan had given her an opportunity to be an image cosplayer for “2016 Tokyo Comic-con” and management companies to run cosplay section at the event, including setting up stage event sponsored by Air Asia and SONY Entertainment. Also, she has been working with automobile industries utilizing cosplayers and J-culture to vitalize local cities and sales of an automobile with a unique combination of automobile and cosplay.

She has started her career in DJ to reach out to the world. Knowing that good party is the best way to bring cultures together!!

Her DJ style is based on popular EDM mixed with a touch of J-pop culture and her original tracks to pursue a new expression in EDM and Cosplay.

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General admission tickets are now on sale for Silicon Valley Comic Con (SVCC), Steve Wozniak’s pop culture and technology expo taking place April 21-23, 2017 in downtown San Jose. Pairing science with fiction, Silicon Valley Comic Con aims to inspire and entertain with celebrity appearances, science/tech discussions, film and TV screenings, panels with award-winning authors and artists, cosplay contests and more.

Three-day and single-day passes for SVCC 2017 can be purchased today at www.svcomiccon.com. Fans who purchase three-day passes before October 1 will be entered into a drawing to ride around SVCC 2017 with the Woz in his VIP golf cart.

To purchase tickets, visit www.svcomiccon.com/tickets.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available.
For more information, email marketing@svcomiccon.com or visit http://svcomiccon.com/sponsors/want-to-exhibit.

Be sure to stay with PopCultHQ as we bring you more pre-convention news as well as our live and on-the-scene coverage at Silicon Valley Comic Con this weekend!

<Silicon Valley Comic Con 2017 (April 21-23): The Celebrities>

<SVCC 2017: Artists, Authors & Exhibitors + Downloadable Maps!>

<Silicon Valley Comic Con 2017: The Special Events>

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*** info courtesy of Silicon Valley Comic Con