Cosplay Queen Meagan Marie

By Eugene Kim on July 29, 2011

Lara Croft of Tomb Raider

Meagan Marie is the real deal. She doesn't just wear off-the-shelf cosplay costumes. She goes all the way, sometimes taking up to six hours to prepare her makeup, like in the case of her highly creative Comic-Con outfit for Lady Two-Face.To prove just how hardcore Meagan is, she even works at game studio Crystal Dynamics, best know for their Tomb Raider franchise.

Earlier this week we chose Meagan's Lady Two-Face costume as the best costume of Comic-Con 2011. The public must have agreed because our post went viral, garnering over 130,000 page views in just three days!

We reached out to Meagan to find out what inspires her to create such awesome cosplay costumes. You can catch the entire interview, below.

Lady Two Face

Where are you from? Can you please give us a brief description of yourself?
I’m originally from Minnesota. I’m a recent San Francisco transplant, however, due to taking up post as Community Manager for Crystal Dynamics – the studio most recently known for their work on the Tomb Raider franchise. I’m a Tomb Raider fanatic, so the new gig is a dream job. Prior to working at Crystal, I was an Associate Editor at Game Informer magazine in Minneapolis. In my spare time (what little I have) I play games, read comics, or work on costumes for upcoming conventions.

Anya Stroud of Gears of War 3

What inspired you to dress up in awesome cosplay costumes?
I’ve always loved the fantastical worlds and characters native to video games, comics, and thematic movies. I tried my hand at some commercial modeling during college, and found myself taking on more of an art director role for each successive shoot. Eventually I wound up fabricating costumes and scouting locations for each occasion. When I started attending conventions I realized there was an entire cosplay culture, and I felt immediately at home. I’ve met a ton of interesting people through the hobby.

Prince of Persia

Who are your favorite characters and who do you most love to dress up as?
I enjoy pretending I’m a badass, so I’m more attracted to characters who are bloodied and bruised from action rather than prim and proper. My favorite costumes so far have been Anya Stroud from Gears of War 3 (which I just debuted at SDCC 2011), Borderlands’ Mad Moxxi, a gender-bending Prince of Persia, Lara Croft, and my recent Two-Face interpretation.

Mad Moxxi

How do most people react to your costumes and what's the strangest response you've gotten?
Most individuals seem to appreciate the time and energy that goes into creating a costume. The best feeling is running into an uber-fan who enjoys a particular franchise or IP as much as you do. You instantly have a connection and fodder for conversation.

I think the strangest experience I’ve had was at SDCC two years back when I was dressed as Sydney Savage from Danger Girl. A man passed by and started screaming at the top of his lungs “OH NO YOU DIDN’T!” and biting his fist. He stopped and stared at me for a few seconds, then continued his outburst well beyond the point that I walked out of his range of vision. Everyone in the vicinity turned and laughed. It was a bit bizarre.

Aphrodite IX

What advice would you give to others who aspire to be in cosplay like you?
Don’t let yourself be intimidated! If you aspire to create a particularly challenging costume, give yourself time and be ready for lots and lots of research to save yourself time an energy. You don’t have to dabble in metalworking to make armor – craft foam will often do the job. If you take your time to properly investigate, chances are you’ll find a tutorial that will make your life much, much easier. Also, remember to have fun. Cosplay isn’t’ a competition, and ultimately the person you should aim to please is yourself.