On this episode of the Fan Made Podcast, we're talking about creating characters that people will clamor to cosplay. We sit down with author and artist Phillip Sevy ("Tomb Raider," "The Freeze") to break down the character creation process and talk about his new series "TRIAGE" (out September 4, 2019 on Dark Horse Comics). You will never look at comics the same way again. We also explore the relationship between artist, character design, and cosplay and the influence they have on one another.

"Who would win in a fight?" If you're a fan of comic books, fantasy, or sci-fi, it's more than likely a discussion you've had. On this episode of the Fan Made podcast, we pit the residents of two fantasy worlds against each other: the characters of JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit and the characters of George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. It's anything goes and no holds barred. We were going to hold off on this bout until after the completion of ASOIAF, but then we'd never get to have it. So, like fans of the books, we settled for the completion of Game of Thrones, the TV adaptation, instead. You heard right, we're forcing people to choose between Samwise and Samwell.

Peter Mayhew played the mighty Chewbacca in the original Star Wars trilogy and passed away on April 30th. On this episode of the Fan Made podcast, we hear from Peter Mayhew about a lifetime spent in the Star Wars universe, what it's like to embody such an iconic character, and why Chewie and Mayhew were so beloved by fans... from an interview he gave to ABC4 News.

Years after watching it all fall apart, these intrepid cosplayers finally manage to pull together one of their dream group cosplays. From construction to comic convention, we discuss the surprise successes and the extraordinary fails leading up to the cosplay debut, as well as what's it's like to bring a comic book character to life-- especially when the Rat Queens (Image Comics/Shadowline) are so near and dear to our hearts. On this episode of the Fan Made podcast, expect pro tips, lessons learned, and a fair amount of distraction.

As always, stick around to the very end where we geek out about everything from Avengers: Endgame to Detective Pikachu and the result of a Ryan Reynolds character mash-up cosplay. (Sexy Detective Deadpool Pikachu, anyone?)

Fan Made shines the spotlight on cosplayer Kiki Furia. We dive deep into how cosplaying can be positive and empowering even in the face of bullying and body policing. The fandom community is hardly immune to these things, but is it getting better? Kiki Furia offers insight into how comic conventions are working to listen to the voices of fans and keep con-goers safe. We'll hit on the secret magic of wigs and, as always, take some time at the end to geek out about whatever we want.

If you have a topic or question or mean comment for Fan Made podcast (or just want to show off a thing you made) contact us at [email protected].

Spend a day in the life of a cosplayer and you'll find you get a lot of questions. Sometimes the same question over and over and over again. Cosplayers Zabracus Cosplay and CosplaySJ join the Fan Made podcast panel once again to talk about cosplaying out in the wild and when gatekeepers try to tear them down. And, of course, we can't help but geek out about Game of Thrones.

If you have a topic or question or mean comment for Fan Made (or just want to show off a thing you made) contact us at [email protected].

Fan Made is shining the spotlight on a cosplayer so good sometimes his own kids don't recognize him. After cosplaying for 10+ years, Stephan Watson (Cracked Brain Cosplay) is still finding ways to push his limits as a cosplayer. From Baby Worf (Star Trek: The Next Generation) to adventures in voice acting and mishaps in 3D printing, he also demonstrates how cosplaying can spin off and spiral into a multitude of avenues and ventures. When you're one of the only black cosplayers most of your friends know you get a lot of requests, and he's got a few ideas on how we can make the fandom community as open an accepting as it claims to be.

If you have a topic or question or mean comment for Fan Made podcast (or just want to show off a thing you made) contact us at [email protected].

What happens in someone's life to make them one day become a cosplayer? Are they born that way? Were they bitten by a radioactive spider who loves mountain man rendezvous? Zabracus Cosplay and CosplaySJ join the Fan Made podcast panel to talk cosplayer origin stories.