Cosplaying is an integral part of the Comic Con experience. If you haven’t ever experienced cosplay, which is short for “costume playing,” then you are truly missing out or at least that’s what entertainer Yaya Han would tell you. Cosplay is a true performance art, and now an enormous industry, fan of comic book series, video games, novels, movies and television series all descend upon conventions or “cons” dressed as their favorite character. However, these are no average Spiderman Halloween costumes, most cosplay outfits are handmade and take months to craft, they are intricate, elaborate and incredibly detailed.
Cosplay hasn’t always been big business, but now with the growth of conventions especially in New York and San Diego, cosplaying is a notable industry with celebrities all it’s own. One of those celebrities is Yaya Han, who began cosplaying over 14 years ago when she was only 15 years old. The now established entertainer, actress and model first found success making over 265 complete cosplay costumes for herself, friends and family. This drive and passion for crafting led Yaya to establish her own signature cosplay accessories line, with her experience with costume making, Yaya realized that she enjoyed making the accessories more than the costumes, admitting, “I could be creative, and design items in different colors and the pieces were affordable to many people, not just luxury items for a few. I also liked the idea of providing items that would complement people's own costumes, and giving them the chance to be more creative on their own.”
All of this exposure to the cosplaying world has made Yaya Han a staple at comic cons, and on several TV series based on the con-culture, such as Syfy’s “Heroes of Cosplay,” “Face Off,” and TBS’ “King of the Nerds.” Yaya sat down with Latin Times at New York Comic Con and revealed not only how she got her start, but also revealed her latest venture with Lion Forge comics. After years of dressing up as comic book characters, Yaya has had her dreams finally realized by becoming a comic book character, herself. Yaya stars in her very own Lion Forge comic book called, “Wonderous II,” find out what powers she possesses as a hero and what adventures she encounters!
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
