Lonnie Lucas has always loved to play dress-up. So it seemed only natural that she would end up cosplaying as an adult.
“I’ve always loved to cosplay,” the 41-year-old San Diego native said, referring to the term used to describe dressing up and acting as a character from a comic book, video game or movie. For Labor Day weekend in 2021, “I went to Afro Future Con in southeastern San Diego, and I created a 10-page back story of an elf character” for the convention.
She won a contest and took home a $350 prize. There was no turning back.
Soon, she discovered the Science Fiction Coalition, a group started in 2017 by San Diegan Shawn Mullen and other science-fiction enthusiasts. Its mission was simple: “Support our community, uplift each other and all of those around us, and celebrate the spirit of fandom.”
For Lucas and the 178 members of the Science Fiction Coalition, that spirit of fandom will be front and center today as more than 130,000 people descend on San Diego for Comic-Con International, which officially opens this evening with Preview Night.
They may not get the massive press junkets Hollywood superstars do, but in a way, these superheroes in spandex keep the Comic-Con pop-culture engine running — entertaining people in line, posing for selfies and livestreaming to their faithful followers.
They aren’t carefully calibrated and curated Hollywood personalities. Instead, they are bespoke personas, handcrafted with care, stitched, hot-glued and hemmed by hand in kitchens and living rooms from San Marcos to Chula Vista.
The birth of the Science Fiction Coalition on New Year’s Day 2017 was, in a way, the best way to build a community: Gather people of the same interests — in this case, the shared interest was science fiction and “nerd talk,” as one member said — and give them a safe space to express themselves.
Seven years later, what started as a group of people who like to dress up as superheroes cloaked in Lycra and pleather has become an organization with formidable clout and following. Around town, it has developed a reputation as a group of people with Hulk-sized hearts.
“As an Army veteran, I continue my public service through ‘cause’-play, which is attending charitable events and providing superhero support. And what’s even better is getting to work with kids — that’s near and dear to my heart,” said Lucas, now an L.A-based lawyer and new mom who cosplays as Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman) with her 7-month-old son, Storey Blaze Newsome, dressed as baby Spidey. She’ll be at Comic-Con this week, speaking on two panels and supporting her husband, Marcus Newsome, the author and illustrator of the comic book series “Lightning Strike.”
Passions interwined
For members of the Science Fiction Coalition, Comic-Con may be their Super Bowl, but every day of the year is just as important as the five days in July when San Diego becomes the center of the pop-culture universe. Those obscure days elsewhere on the calendar may be even more important than these sweltering days of Comic-Con.
Being a superhero, after all, is a year-round call of duty.
“While we love going to conventions and dressing up in cosplay, our true passion lies in getting involved in charity events with the Science Fiction Coalition,” said Paradise Hills resident Miguel Capuchino, 56, who has been cosplaying with his wife, Lucy, for more than 30 years.
“Initially, our volunteer work and cosplay were two distinct activities. However, thanks to the Science Fiction Coalition, our two passions are now intertwined,” added Lucy Capuchino, 54, who said they were introduced to cosplay by their son and daughter.
Since 2018, when they first joined the Science Fiction Coalition after discovering it at the SD Who Con in Mission Valley, they have collectively volunteered more than 5,500 cosplay hours. And they wouldn’t have it any other way.
The Capuchinos, along with other members of the coalition, are part of the Healing Little Heroes Foundation. The group — which volunteers to “bring joy to children in the pediatric ward” — is coordinated by Dr. Justin S. Wu, a surgeon at Kaiser Permanente Zion Medical Center and a member of the Science Fiction Coalition.
“Though we love to cosplay,” Miguel Capuchino said, “seeing a child’s face light up when they see their favorite character is priceless to us.”
Fellow coalition member Nina Church agrees.
“We love the fact that people in the group not only love to cosplay but that they give back so much to the community by participating in charity events, especially for the military — our people,” said Church, a Navy veteran who now works as a professional photographer.
For the Church family of Chula Vista — dad Adam, mom Nina, 12-year-old Jedi and 9-year-old Audrey — going to Comic-Con is a family affair. Adam and Nina Church started early, first taking the kids to Comic-Con in 2017, when Jedi was 5 and Audrey was 2.
“We dressed up in matching Wonder Woman costumes,” Nina Church, 40, remembered.
For Adam Church, who uses a 3D printer to design many of their costumes, the charity aspects of the Science Fiction Coalition is the ultimate reward for a lot of hard work — work that begins in earnest the minute they’ve secured their tickets.
“You don’t want to commit financially to new costumes until you know for sure,” Adam Church said. “You always have to balance how accurate the costumes are going to be versus being practical. They’re not cheap.”
“We always say we’re not going to make any more costumes, but we always do,” he added, laughing.
In the end, he said, it’s all worth it.
“It’s great to bring smiles to the kids’ faces,” said Adam, who has joined his family on superhero visits to local hospitals, including Rady Children’s Hospital.
Tight-knit community
Long an undercurrent of pop culture, cosplay at Comic-Con is hardly a sideshow — it’s almost a convention in and of itself. In real life, the cosplayers may be engineers, doctors or lawyers. But for a few days every July, they live in an alternate reality — as Batman, Wonder Woman, Supergirl or, in the case of Izola Siegfried of Point Loma, Rogue from the X-Men.
“I’ve been cosplaying before the word even existed,” Siegfried, 46, said. “I loved getting dressed up as a kid, wearing my mom’s clothes. And then I got into theater and it kept getting bigger from there and just never stopped. Now we have a name for it.”
Joining the Science Fiction Coalition not only exposed her to people who love doing the same thing — cosplay — but gave her an opportunity to be a member of a community.
“It’s a great community,” said Siegfried, an analyst by trade. “We’re a tight-knit group. We help each other out, and it’s just a really positive community of people who share the same passions. We have a lot of fun doing this, but we also do it for the greater good. That’s why we do a lot of charity work.”
It’s been three years since Rey Benavides of San Marcos joined the Science Fiction Coalition, and to this day, he thanks his lucky sci-fi stars he did, especially since he found cosplay terrifying at first.
“It’s been a great experience,” Benavides, 53, said. “It’s definitely less intimidating, and when you see others enjoying the same thing, it’s fun, and there is a sense of belonging.”
Alpine resident Shawn Richter, the Science Fiction Coalition’s vice president and events coordinator, summed it up this way: “It’s not why I got into cosplay, but pretty much, at some point, you run into a kid who looks at you and smiles because they think you’re a superhero. That’s a really magical and amazing feeling.”
“It’s definitely the best part of cosplaying — when kids think you’re the real Wonder Woman or Captain America,” said Richter, 55, who cosplays with his wife, Lisa Lower-Richter, 47. “The smiles on their faces — that’s why we do what we do.”
Lonnie Lucas and Story Blaze Newsome
Characters: Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman) and baby Spider-Man
Ages: 41 and 7 months old
Lives in: Native San Diegan but now lives in Los Angeles
Day job: Lawyer and (new) stay-at-home mom
Quote: “As an Army veteran, I continue my public service through ‘cause’-play, which is attending charitable events and providing superhero support. And what’s even better is getting to work with kids — that’s near and dear to my heart.”
Miguel and Lucy Capuchino
Characters: Charlie Brown and Lucy
Ages: 56 and 54
Lives in: Paradise Hills
Day job: Global wholesale club worker and costume designer
Quote: “Initially, our volunteer work and cosplay were two distinct activities. However, thanks to the Science Fiction Coalition, our two passions are now intertwined,” Lucy Capuchino said.
Izola Siegfried
Character: Rogue from X-Men
Age: 46
Lives in: Point Loma
Day job: Analyst
Quote: Bring a costume repair kit. “You have to be prepared for that wardrobe malfunction,” she said. “And I’ve had some epic ones!”
Rey Benavides
Character: Gambit from X-Men
Age: 53
Lives in: San Marcos
Day job: Retail worker
Quote: “I’ve loved dressing up in costumes since I was a kid.” Now that he’s a member of the Science Fiction Coalition, cosplay “is definitely less intimidating, and when you see others enjoying the same thing, it’s fun, and there is a sense of belonging.”
Adam, Nina, Jedi and Audrey Church
Characters: Flash, Batgirl, Joker, Supergirl
Ages: Adam, 39; Nina, 40; Jedi, 12; Audrey, 9
Lives in: Chula Vista
Day jobs: Adam, Navy; Nina, photographer; Jedi, student and water polo player; Audrey, student and dancer
Quote: Always be prepared: “Don’t forget the costume repair kit: glue, safety pins, double-sided tape, Velcro,” Nina Church said. “That pleather’s not going to repair itself.”
Shawn and Lisa Richter
Characters: Deadpool and Wolverine
Ages: Shawn, 55; Lisa, 47
Lives in: Alpine
Day jobs: Laboratory field service engineer and kindergarten teacher
Quote: “We started dressing my son Gavin up at SDCC when he was 6 years old. We had so much fun with it, I joined him soon after, and we cosplayed together. I have been cosplaying for about 12 years now.”
James Royce Edwards
Character: Thor Odinson
Age: 48
Lives in: San Diego
Day job: Professional stage actor
Quote: “I was a professional stage actor my entire adult life and a lover of superheroes, sci-fi and fantasy my entire life. So when I had to make a career change during COVID, I really missed dressing up and playing roles. … In 2021, (my wife and I) went to Comic-Con Special Edition and met some now good friends, who introduced us to the Sci-Fi Coalition, and we both immediately felt like it would be a fit, so we applied to join. … You get to be your fave superhero, talk nerd stuff with friends, and work with kids and families in need — heck yeah!”
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