2014 COMICONN, BRIDGEPORT, CONN.

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Which came first for you...
Kiss Nation or Cosplay?
Kissnation came rst. I started the KISS tribute
band in 1996. Thats a lot of years being in the
same band. Cosplaying started happening
around 2005. I didnt even know the term yet,
but I discovered this surreal entity known as
comic conventions around that time and I
noticed that attendees with amazing creativity
were dressing in all sorts of costumes. Having
Halloween as my all-time favorite holiday, and
always being disappointed that it only came
around once a year, I knew I wanted to be part of
this scene from that moment.
How did you get such a sweet
gig... judging costume contests?
Luck, i guess.
After being an attendee at various conventions
for several years, I thought it would be
interesting to actually be a part of these events
themselves in some sort of staf ng or of cial
capacity. I was lucky enough to be associated
with people (within the convention community)
such as Eric The Smoke Moran and Renata
Gatti amongst others, who knew of my interest
to participate in of cial convention activities.
Through them, I was given the opportunity to
be involved in various aspects of these events.
So far, Ive had the fortune of participating as a
judge for costume contests and hosting trivia
shows for Wizard World conventions.
During the weekend of August 15-17, at
Connecticut Comic CONN at the Webster
Bank Arena in Bridgeport, I will not be judging
however, but will be hosting, both the adult and
childrens contests.
Are you a convention regular
around the country?
I do attend several conventions regularly
around the country, although not every one. My
personal favorites are Wizard World (at their
various national stops), Dragon Con in Atlanta
and New York Comic Con. Ive heard great
things about Connecticut Comic CONN, and am
looking forward to that, as this will be my rst
time being there.
Your favorite costume,
outside of Kiss Starman,
you like to appear in?
Actually, my KISS character is known as The
SPACE-MAN, or the The SPACE ACE, but I
do understand the confusion. My usual go-
to cosplay is my 1966 Adam West Batman
costume. Its been a favorite of mine for years,
and people seem to enjoy it.
Who or what is ManBat?
Did Neal Adams commission you
to construct the costume?
ManBat is a villain from the Batman comics
created by Frank Robbins and Neal Adams in
1970. The character has been a dream project
of mine to cosplay. Neal did not commission me
to construct the costume, but you cant think of
Manbat without thinking of Neal Adams, in my
opinion. Throughout the years, Manbats design
or look has somehow involved, but when i
decided to actually do the costume, I had Neals
original design in mind. I was helped by the
amazing talent of Shawn Reevz of REEVZ FX
to help make this costume come to life. Shawn
built the mask and chest for me.
You are a graphic designer.
I bet you can draw too.
Have you created your own comic
book character?
Do you write and draw your own comics?
Yes, Im a graphic designer. I used to draw quite
frequently and as a child I designed my own
comic characters etc. However, throughout the
years, Ive traded in my pencil for a computer
mouse.
What is the greatest reward that
you, or any cosplayer, can receive
for dressing up and stepping out?
Well I guess that depends on the individual. For
me, I appreciate the recognition of people who
enjoy and respect my decision making of who
or what i cosplay as. I like to bring to life the B
or C level characters,... characters who arent
household names. If I do an A list character like
a Batman, it usually will be a diferent take on
him, such as my 66 style costume or my new
Kingdom Come Batman. I try to avoid trends, or
do whats popular, and I think people appreciate
that about me. For me, that recognition is
reward enough.
Are you a costume contest
judge at many conventions?
Just a few so far, for example the
aforementioned Wizard World contests.
Do you make your living as
a Kiss tribute musician?
No, I guess you can say Im a Weekend Warrior,
playing on weekends and holidays. Ive been
doing it for over 15 years and its been such a
passionate part of my life.
Ruby
Rinekso
Cosplayer on a planetary scale
Ruby Rinekso (right) all tricked out as Neal Adams (left) character ManBat.
Ruby (top) and his wife Jennifer Rose (below)are probably going to be the
most interseting couple youre gonna get to know.
Ruby and Jennifer Rose were so over the moon about their decision
to wed, they created an invitation to the wedding that tops them all!
Ruby as The Space
Ace in the Kiss tribute
band KissNation.
Ruby as
crowd favorite
(above) ...
Batman.
All photos contributed
ComiCONN_003_2660.indd 2 8/15/2014 1:54:41 PM