Skip to main content

Latest Podcast Episode

Featured

Shutting One Door, Keeping others Open

UPDATED ON 8/20/21: Facebook, Patreon and Blog IG pages have been shutdown/discontinued As the COVID pandemic rages on and cons are even shutting down into 2021, it got me thinking on a drive home one night about how I'd feel with even coming back to blogging. When cons eventually do come back at some point. Truth be told, many of the posts and content I shared here could be transferred over to more discussions via my podcast CosplayBytes. I've been blogging my love for games, cons and cosplay for 7 years now and maybe it's time to say goodbye for now? My podcast has gotten me some incredible opportunities as a member of Press for conventions, and the rapid love I've had for streaming is also taking up a lot of time now. On top of multiple personal things on my end, I don't think I have the energy to keep this up even post COVID you know? The very first cosplay centered post I wrote was on Jessica Nigri's Deadpool, and since then it's spawned over 800 posts

Cosplayer Interview: Bethany Maddock

Bethany has been quickly gaining more notoriety since this interview has been done. Not only that but she has also made an incredible Killer Frost cosplay based off the character's Injustice design. Which makes sense since it stems from her love of NetherRealm Studios the makers of Mortal Kombat. For upcoming, Bethany wishes to create a Fem Shepard cosplay from Mass Effect! Enjoy guys!


Bethany is a beautiful and talented cosplayer who’s just all sorts of awesome. She’s definitely a full-blown geek having a passion for both comics and gaming. She is quickly gaining a likable fan base and respect for the tremendous amount of work she puts into her outfit. Most recently known for her outstanding Lady Scorpion from Mortal Kombat (which is due to her obsession--- I mean love for the franchise) Bethany has also tackled other characters such as a feminized Sheik, Juliet Starling, and Catwoman. Having met her at a convention this year she is also very nice and friendly!

1.    What is your Name?
Bethany Maddock
 2.   Where are you from?
Boston, Massachusetts
 3.   How long have you been Cosplaying?
Three years.
4.   What is your Favorite Cosplay you’ve made so far?
I absolutely believe that the more experience you have the better work you produce. With each costume I make, I know I do a little better, so I have to say my favorite cosplay I’ve made is my gender-bent Scorpion cosplay from Mortal Kombat since that is the most recent.
 5.   Are there any upcoming outfits that you are able to share/tell?
Right now I am in the process of making Killer Frost from Injustice: Gods Among Us. For some reason I really gravitate towards things produced by Netherealm Studios. I’m about 60% finished with it at this point. It will definitely be done for Boston Comic Con in August.
 6.   How did you get into Cosplay?
I’ve always been obsessed with video games. (Comics, and anime too, but I eat, sleep, and breathe video games) The problem was I never really had any friends that were as obsessed as I was, until I graduated college and started my career as a Graphic Designer. I met a coworker (and now very close friend otherwise known as C. Wish Cosplay Photography) who taught me all about cosplay, and conventions. I thought I would give it a try, but I never really committed to going until an unexpected cancellation of my long awaited trip to Japan. (Earthquake, nuclear meltdown, tsunami…remember that? Happened a week before I was supposed to go.) So I decided to go to Anime Boston. My first cosplay was my own design, a feminized version of Sheik from Zelda: Ocarina of Time. People treated me so well there and loved my costume so much I quickly became obsessed and wanted to keep creating costumes and keep going to conventions.
7.   Who’s your favorite Video Game Character?
Sheik will always be my favorite. I can’t even begin to start talking about how much I love that character, and how much I love Ocarina of Time because I could probably write a book about it.
8.   Who’s your favorite Comic Book Character?
Catwoman! I grew up loving her ever since I started watching Batman: The Animated Series. Again…I could write a book about how much she means to me.
 9.   What was a memorable con moment? Worst con moment?
There are too many good moments! That’s why I keep going to conventions! I meet so many talented people bringing what I love about video games and comics into reality. The friendships I’ve made, the things I’ve learned the places I’ve been able to go. There’s nothing greater than that.
Worst moment... It wasn’t so much at a convention, but more after a convention. Someone from a “magazine” (and I quote it here because It wasn’t a very reputable magazine) asked to get a picture of my friends and I. After he asked for our email addresses so that he could send us the picture. A very normal situation for conventions that I’m normally fine with. However after the convention this person that was supposed to be a professional representing a magazine sent very unprofessional emails to me multiple times a day for several days until my awesome heroes for friends took action and got him to stop. It was a very scary situation for sure and it has definitely made me be more wary of who I can trust, but the good truly outweighs the bad in the cosplay community, so I can’t make situations like this bring me down. So I don’t!
 10.    Do you have a Favorite convention you go to/been to?
OOOH YEAH! I loooooove PAX East. It’s in Boston (my hometown) and it’s freaking video games! SO MANY VIDEO GAMES! And so many amazing people that I look up to travel to Boston for it. I also love Dragon*Con. I can’t wait to go back this year and meet some of my lovely friends that I haven’t had the opportunity to hang out with yet!
11.   What advice would you offer to those that want to get into cosplay?
Don’t get overwhelmed by other people. Do it for yourself. Take it slow. Find as many tutorials as possible. Google is your friend. AND HAVE FUN!
12.  What is your favorite part of cosplaying as a character?

I get to bring a fantasy to life! I love taking something that’s conceptual (a render, an illustration) and making it real. The challenge of that drives me to keep growing as an artist.
Picture:
Photo by C. Wish Cosplay Photography

How did you make this outfit?
This is one of the few outfits that I didn’t really make! I had done the classic Juliet outfit (With the Nick head I might add! I’m very proud of him) before the game came out. When Grasshopper Manufacture released pictures of Juliet’s alternate outfits (A few weeks before PAX East) I decided it would be fun to ask my friends to vote which one I should do. The pink rider suit got chosen, and I didn’t have very much free time to create it from scratch, so I bought it off of eBay. When it got delivered, I looked like I was wearing a pink trash bag on my body. It was so unflattering I had to completely re-shape it and get to fit better. But that was just altering a pre-made costume not really creating it from scratch.
How long did it take to complete this?
Probably a week and a half? I have a full time job so all my costume making is dedicated to weekends that I’m free, and weeknights. However, the original Juliet Starling costume (outfit, Nick head, and chainsaw) took much longer. I started it in October 2011 and its debut was at Katsucon in February 2012. It was a lot of fun cosplaying a character from a game that hadn’t been released yet. I just fell in love with Juliet’s personality in the trailer and she really does look a lot like me!
Photo by Anna Fischer

Photo by C. Wish Cosplay Photography

Photo by C. Wish Cosplay Photography

Photo by C. Wish Cosplay Photography

Photo by Ashley Badie

Conclusion:
Hopefully you guys have an idea as to what Bethany hopes to bring to the cosplay community and just how awesome she really is. I want to thank her for taking the time out of her busy life to do this interview! If you want to follow more of Bethany’s work/amazing adventures:

What's Popular?