Three Kings of Superhero Cosplay: NIDGEL BAILON

Admit it. It is hard to cosplay a comicbook character especially the male ones, who either have good looks or bear a superhero physique. Even supervillains have to be aesthetically appealing like Heath Ledger. But Myke dela Paz struck this notion with optic blasts, Nidgel Bailon killed it with laughing gas as Kevin Mark Bautista took photos of it for the obituary. These guys pulled it off.

NIDGEL BAILON

Nidgel is a 24-year old graphic designer who studied visual communication in the University of the Philippines-Diliman. He also created a self-published mini-comic “Daniel Magtanggol.”

So Nidgel, what pulled an Iskolar ng Bayan into cosplay?

I was first into comics back in college. Ever since the Dark Knight movie by Christopher Nolan came out, my friends and I have been really big fans of the Joker and the rest of the Batman’s rogues gallery that we couldn’t resist trying to cosplay them.

Why pick the Clown Prince of Crime?

Cosplaying a character like the Joker really felt liberating in a way, since he was depicted as crazy, it kind of gave me a free pass on pretty much any kind of attitude when I cosplay him. I could be loony, cheerful, grim, or all of those traits at the same time!

So I assume, Joker’s your favorite cosplayed character?

The Dark Knight version of the Joker is my favorite. Although my Warpath from X-Force comes at second since it’s the easiest to get into. The least favorite would be I think the random kimono thing I wore during an event in Mall of Asia. I didn’t know how to act in that costume. (Laughs). I felt awkward in that attire.

Speaking of costumes, did you have to learn how to sew?

It depends on the character I’m cosplaying. Usually we make little modifications or add ons on the detail of the character’s attire or costume. We do that about a week or two before an event. Eventually, learning to sew on my own helped a lot, since in our group, only one person is the expert at handling fabrics and such and that’s Meili. She taught me a few things about sewing and we finished a lot of costumes faster that way.

Wow. It’s great to hear you found a friend who shares your interest.

It’s always been a wild ride whenever we go to a cosplay convention, during and after the event. We meet a lot of new people and some of my closest friends and colleagues today, I met through cosplay events.

Any crazy thing happened when you were cosplaying?

Well, we do a lot of crazy stuff when in costume and out. But there’s always the kind of people where they suddenly come towards us during events and they just come in way too strong in my opinion, making comments like they were some kind of cosplay genius. Things like that rarely happen though, most people are just entertained with our costumes.

How about your peers and family? Have you experienced being looked down because you cosplay?

Not really, they aren’t against it as much as they aren’t really encouraging it. But it’s different with other people, really. It’s really nice to see parents and friends come to cosplay events to support their loved ones show their creative side.

Do you plan to stop cosplaying in the future?

If the costumes won’t fit anymore, maybe. But if I can still put them on and if we feel like going to a cosplay convention, then I won’t be throwing out the face paint and trenchcoats, prop guns, prop knives and stuff anytime soon.

I guess you have to be really physically fit to fit into a superhero or a supervillain costume. What advice can you give other guys who aspire to cosplay?

I’ve always got by with one rule I think, if the character fits you, why not?

“Fit” is the word of the day. Thanks Nidgel. I’m sure people are anticipating for your next cosplay!

Ah, visit our cosplay group at Gotham Madness at Facebook, Justice Ph as well, they’re a warm bunch. See you all at the next cosplay event then?

I believe we can FIT that in our schedule. See you soon, Nidgel!

Hey, Flipgeeks, be back here for the next part of our three-part feature on male superhero cosplayers. Meanwhile, head to Nidgel’s online portfolio at nidgelbailon.tumblr.com for more awesome stuff.