Cosplay

The X-Men Hellfire Gala Walk returns at WonderCon

‘The goal for the Spring Gala is to be even more inclusive than our inaugural Winter Gala.’

April 3, 2023

The creators of the original Hellfire Gala Walk from LA Comic Con returned with a Spring 2023 show at WonderCon last March. Combining Marvel artist gala designs with fan creations brought a fountain of creativity to the activation that sashayed through the Palm Tree Garden outside the Anaheim Convention Center.

@thegirlwithagreatsmile and @meshellwaffleo at the Spring Hellfire Gala Walk

Hellfire Gala Walk co-founder Jordan Blaza Olsen stated that “the goal for the Spring Gala is to be even more inclusive than our inaugural Winter Gala. In addition to having BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and differently abled people, we also welcomed those with different cosplay making skills. The best way to do that was to open it up to character interpretations, fan art, and variants, which included designs by @saintsanti15 and original creations by @londonheartsu and @colbymelvin.”

@isabelsdieppa as Jean Grey based on Jen Bartel’s 2022 design.

“Jordan and I received so much feedback from the LACC walk that we unanimously agreed we had to do it again,” remarked co-founder Michelle Waffle. “We had some returning walkers and new faces express interest, and the walk grew into something bigger than we initially imagined. It can not be said enough that representation matters. We want everyone to see a part of themselves in these types of cosplay events, and we didn’t want to tell anyone no. Initially, we had a cap on walkers, but Jordan and I talked and said, ‘F**k it. We’ll figure it out. Everyone deserves to walk.’ Also kudos to her for being the master planner with the zoom meetings, maps, and organizational level. Because of her, we have a template that others can use to bring these types of experiences to other conventions. I’m so glad she slid into my DMs after SDCC and invited me to co-chair this. I’m so proud of her and everyone who worked behind the scenes (photographers, MC, crowd control, etc.) Special shout out to Shortboxed too, for streaming us live on their IG platform so everyone not in attendance could see.”

Check out some of this year’s looks and scroll to the bottom to watch the livestream from Shortboxed. The walk was MC’d by Paul of the Power of X-Men community with audio commentary by myself for Shortboxed’s livestream.

@ugoandcosplay as Bishop by Russell Dauterman

@todd.wing.1981 as Mr. Sinister based on Dauterman’s design

@vanstrider.cos as Gambit based on Dauterman’s design

@camislyce as Rogue, based on @saintsanti15 design

We can’t wait to see where The Hellfire Gala Walk pops up next at a future convention. You can follow their activities at @hellfiregalawalk on Instagram.