The votes have been tabulated, and the the winner in the 2012 Major Spoilers Costume Contest is the Hobgoblin. There’s a person under the cape and mask, and his name is Mark Meer. We had a moment to catch up with the winner to find out a bit more about him.
Major Spoilers: Tell us a little about yourself. What does Mark Meer do when he’s not cosplaying?
Mark Meer: I’m an actor, writer, and improvisor. I work as a writer and performer on The Irrelevant Show, a national sketch comedy program on CBC Radio up here in Canada, and I also write and perform on APTN’s TV sketch show CAUTION: May Contain Nuts. Here’s a couple of my sketches from that, if you’re interested…
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
DOCTOR VON CHAOS
I’m also working on a new television series called Tiny Plastic Men that will be debuting in Canada on SuperChannel in early December. It’s a sketch/sitcom hybrid about three guys who work as prototype testers at a struggling toy company. Besides that, I do a lot of live theatre, improv comedy, and voice acting for video games from Bioware and BeamDog / Overhaul Games.
Major Spoilers: How long have you been cosplaying?
Mark: If you’re counting Halloween costumes, I guess I built my first supervillain costume about fifteen years ago. It was an early Doctor Doom prototype that’s been rebuilt and refined substantially since then.
Major Spoilers: What originally got you into the idea of dressing up as your favorite hero, or in this case, villain?
Mark: I’ve always loved Halloween and I’ve always loved comic books, so it seemed like a natural fit… and villains tend to be my favorite characters.
Major Spoilers: You’ve entered the Major Spoilers Costume Contest a couple of times, what sets Hobgoblin apart?
Mark: Like most of the costumes I’ve entered in the Major Spoilers contest over the years (Bizarro, Black Adam, Sinestro, Super-Adaptoid…) he’s another bad guy, but I think he’s definitely the most Halloween-y of all my submissions.
Major Spoilers: Give our readers the rundown on getting this costume on. There’s obviously some prosthetic work involved (at least I hope there’s some prosthetic work involved)…
Mark: Nope, I do it all with acting… It’s actually a custom-painted silicone mask, sculpted by the good folks at Composite Effects. It’s a great mask – gives the same effect as many hours in the make-up chair. It slips right on and moves with my facial expressions very well. It’s what the Hobgoblin would wear if he existed, I reckon.
Major Spoilers: Do you travel to a lot of conventions to show off your costumes?
Mark: I go to Dragon*Con on Atlanta every year – wouldn’t miss it! It really is an amazing time, and the costumes are incredible.
Major Spoilers: Where can people see you in costume next?
Mark: I’m definitely planning to attend Dragon*Con again in 2013, and with any luck, I’ll make it to ComicCon.
Major Spoilers: Are your friends and family supportive of your cosplaying?
Mark: Sure – I work in live theatre and sketch comedy, so supervillain costumes are FAR from the silliest things they’ve seen me wearing in public… Our wedding anniversary is Halloween, so as you might guess, my wife is a fan of costumes as well.
Major Spoilers: Third year in a row that a Marvel character has won the contest. Is this a vast conspiracy, or what?
Mark: The fix is in! I suspect the Grandmaster. Or Stan Lee…
Major Spoilers: Do you have a favorite comic series you are reading at the moment?
Mark: My favorite books on the racks rights now are The Walking Dead, Invincible, The Goon, Hellboy/B.P.R.D. and Fables.
Major Spoilers: With a new iPad, will you be reading more comics in the digital format, or just playing Angry Birds all day?
Mark: I’m more of a Zombie Gunship kind of guy… :D
Thanks again! I’m honored to have won, especially considering all the other great costumes this year. Hope you had a Happy Halloween.
We’ve done this contest every year that Major Spoilers has exisited. If you didn’t win this year, take note that this is Mark’s third time to contest, and second time in the finalist category before he won. Each year we love looking at all the pictures that come in, and we can’t wait to see what everyone delivers in 2013!
2 Comments
Fantastic choice and congratulations to all of the participants. This was an amazing year for the costume contest.
A lot of work obviously went into this costume. Hobgoblin was definitely one of the standout characters in that 90’s Spiderman cartoon, played by the incomparable Mark Hamill. Congratulations to Mr. Meer for a great costume, and also being a great actor. To be sure, this is my favorite costume on the citadel, or anywhere else for that matter.