Behind the mask: being yourself as someone else at New York Comic Con

That’s a great police officer outfit, you think. If I can get closer to read the badge... at which point, you realize that you’re staring at security for NYCC, not a meticulously attired facsimile of John Blake from The Dark Knight Rises. Suits are even more ambiguous, with indications of character as subtle as a certain posture or tie. Anyone with a bald or shaved head may as well put on a blazer and decide whether he’d rather be Agent 47, King Mob, or Spider Jerusalem. More muscular ones can come as Bane, who’s seen a resurgence after the release of Nolan’s film.

There’s a certain sensory overload attached, a feeling that you’ve got to uncover the intentions behind every shirt and accessory. But living temporarily in a world imbued with fiction is also tremendously beautiful. For a few days, everyone is a costume designer for their own personal drama. At New York Comic Con, an unconscious survival tool becomes a thing to celebrate, and one simple question — "who are you?" — becomes a little more fluid. Are you a fictional character? A man or woman behind a facade? A canvas for a painstakingly constructed masterpiece? Or are you, for a few days a year, just being yourself? — Adi Robertson