[Please use image Stocking.jpg here]
So much happened at Anime Expo, we haven’t even talked about all the cosplay yet (You’ll notice this is the reverse of the way mainstream media covers cons, where they talk about the cosplay first, and sometimes that’s all they talk about ^_^). Every Japanese fan convention in North America has people dressing as characters in books published by Dark Horse. Sometimes those people don’t know it, because we haven’t told anyone about it yet! But now that we’ve announced that we’re releasing the Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt manga next May, we can welcome our first P&Sw/G cosplayer, too. 
[Please use image Anderson.jpg here]
You know how you sometimes see people picketing and passing out tracts outside anime cons? I think they should get into the spirit of the event and cosplay as some of the great faith-based characters of manga and anime, like Riqunni from Royal Space Force, Rosette from Chrono Crusade, and of course, Father Alexander Anderson from Hellsing. AMEN! (Definitely give it that “AH” sound).
[Please use image Pip Bernadotte.jpg here]
Speaking of Hellsing again, it’s great when people cosplay as some of the supporting characters as well (it’s a hallmark of the otaku to take an interest in supporting characters), so we have to give it up to that mercenary man, leader of the Wild Geese, Pip Bernadotte.
[Please use image Vash.jpg here]
An extreme example of a Hellsing supporting character is Vash the Stampede. Vash isn’t in Hellsing, you say? As Bernadotte might reply, tout au contraire, and if you don’t believe me, check the back of Vol. 7, where Luke Valentine reveals that Vash was voted the #2 most popular character in Hellsing (Alucard was #3, and Luke, naturally, was #1). Of course, most of the time, Vash hangs out in his own manga, Trigun. 
[Please use image Katara Kyoshi Sokka.jpg here]
Our Avatar: The Last Airbender books are always popular at anime and manga cons, demonstrating their true crossover appeal. But one thing that brought it home for me recently was seeing that even our local Japanese bookstore, Kinokuniya, shelves Avatar with the manga. Speaking of which, this is really some awesome Avatar cosplay of Katara (in disguise as The Painted Lady), Kyoshi, and Sokka. 
[Please use image Shinji and Mari.jpg here]
We publish a lot of Evangelion manga (and will publish more in the future, as we announced Tony Takezaki’s Neon Genesis Evangelion at Anime Expo, too). But here’s something you don’t see every day—a smiling Shinji. Maybe it’s finally occurred to him that he gets to hang out with people like Mari Makinami here, not to mention Misato, Rei, Asuka…
[Please use image Misato.jpg here]
Now, Misato told you to do one thing in the Evangelion 3.33 movie, Shinji—namely, not to do anything. But you just wouldn’t listen, would you? Admittedly, if you had, the film would have only been half an hour long. By the way, she’s holding up a card for “Misato’s Fan Service Center,” which is the letters column in our Evangelion manga where we invite you (at evangelion@darkhorse.com) to send in your thoughts, questions, fan art, or whatever’s on your mind about Eva! 
[Please use image Rei.jpg here]
As for Rei, this cosplayer has got not only the outfit, but the expression we see on Rei in the very earliest episodes of Evangelion. Did you know that the bandaged, eyepatched look worn by Rei became briefly fashionable in Japan back in the 1990s? Well, of course, for poor Rei, it wasn’t really something she wore out of fashion…
[Please use image Asuka.jpg here]
This leaves only Asuka. There’s something intense about the way she stands between those two gazes—I mean, Asuka’s own on the banner, but also that of Togo Shigekata, from the New Lone Wolf and Cub poster on the table beside her. Don’t be shocked, Togo-sama. I can assure you that she is indeed one of the greatest warriors of centuries yet to come. Also, those iron birds up in the sky aren’t really birds, you know. 
[Please use image Gendo.jpg here]
Now notice someone who can’t keep cool under Asuka’s gaze is Gendo. Please, Commander Ikari. We appreciate your leadership, but don’t you have a Third Impact to attend to? Shinji’s going to lose that smile if he knows you’re around. 
[Please use image Sakura.jpg here]
Hmm. I doubt anyone could save us from apocalypse at this point except for the Master of the Clow, Carcaptor Sakura…
[Please use image Domo.jpg here]
…Too late, the great devourer is upon us. But Dark Horse will reincarnate at Kumoricon this Labor Day weekend! See you there!
—Carl Horn
Manga Editor

So much happened at Anime Expo, we haven’t even talked about all the cosplay yet (You’ll notice this is the reverse of the way mainstream media covers cons, where they talk about the cosplay first, and sometimes that’s all they talk about ^_^). Every Japanese fan convention in North America has people dressing as characters in books published by Dark Horse. Sometimes those people don’t know it, because we haven’t told anyone about it yet! But now that we’ve announced that we’re releasing the Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt manga next May, we can welcome our first P&Sw/G cosplayer, too. 



You know how you sometimes see people picketing and passing out tracts outside anime cons? I think they should get into the spirit of the event and cosplay as some of the great faith-based characters of manga and anime, like Riqunni from Royal Space Force, Rosette from Chrono Crusade, and of course, Father Alexander Anderson from Hellsing. AMEN! (Definitely give it that “AH” sound).


Speaking of Hellsing again, it’s great when people cosplay as some of the supporting characters as well (it’s a hallmark of the otaku to take an interest in supporting characters), so we have to give it up to that mercenary man, leader of the Wild Geese, Pip Bernadotte. 


An extreme example of a Hellsing supporting character is Vash the Stampede. Vash isn’t in Hellsing, you say? As Bernadotte might reply, tout au contraire, and if you don’t believe me, check the back of Vol. 7, where Luke Valentine reveals that Vash was voted the #2 most popular character in Hellsing (Alucard was #3, and Luke, naturally, was #1). Of course, most of the time, Vash hangs out in his own manga, Trigun. 


Our Avatar: The Last Airbender books are always popular at anime and manga cons, demonstrating their true crossover appeal. But one thing that brought it home for me recently was seeing that even our local Japanese bookstore, Kinokuniya, shelves Avatar with the manga. Speaking of which, this is really some awesome Avatar cosplay of Katara (in disguise as The Painted Lady), Kyoshi, and Sokka.
 

We publish a lot of Evangelion manga (and will publish more in the future, as we announced Tony Takezaki’s Neon Genesis Evangelion at Anime Expo, too). But here’s something you don’t see every day—a smiling Shinji. Maybe it’s finally occurred to him that he gets to hang out with people like Mari Makinami here, not to mention Misato, Rei, Asuka…

Now, Misato told you to do one thing in the Evangelion 3.33 movie, Shinji—namely, not to do anything. But you just wouldn’t listen, would you? Admittedly, if you had, the film would have only been half an hour long. By the way, she’s holding up a card for “Misato’s Fan Service Center,” which is the letters column in our Evangelion manga where we invite you (at evangelion@darkhorse.com) to send in your thoughts, questions, fan art, or whatever’s on your mind about Eva! 


As for Rei, this cosplayer has got not only the outfit, but the expression we see on Rei in the very earliest episodes of Evangelion. Did you know that the bandaged, eyepatched look worn by Rei became briefly fashionable in Japan back in the 1990s? Well, of course, for poor Rei, it wasn’t really something she wore out of fashion…


This leaves only Asuka. There’s something intense about the way she stands between those two gazes—I mean, Asuka’s own on the banner, but also that of Togo Shigekata, from the New Lone Wolf and Cub poster on the table beside her. Don’t be shocked, Togo-sama. I can assure you that she is indeed one of the greatest warriors of centuries yet to come. Also, those iron birds up in the sky aren’t really birds, you know. 


Now notice someone who can’t keep cool under Asuka’s gaze is Gendo. Please, Commander Ikari. We appreciate your leadership, but don’t you have a Third Impact to attend to? Shinji’s going to lose that smile if he knows you’re around. 


Hmm. I doubt anyone could save us from apocalypse at this point except for the Master of the Clow, Carcaptor Sakura…


…Too late, the great devourer is upon us. But Dark Horse will reincarnate at Kumoricon this Labor Day weekend! See you there!

—Carl Horn
Manga Editor