Last weekend was Mini MegaCon in Orlando, Florida, and several notable "Buffy" stars were there. Charisma "Cordelia" Carpenter, Emma "Anya" Caulfield, Amber "Tara" Benson, and Adam "Warren" Busch. I was going to tell you about the Buffy Q&A panel they gave, but Phil of NeatEntertainment.com (and the panel moderator) just transcribed the whole thing, so I'll just send you there. Many of the photos on that page are from my Flickr set of the whole con.

The con was a lot of fun, if a bit smaller than I expected. The MegaCon folks planned this mini version a few years ago and made commitments just before the economy tanked, but they went ahead with it anyway. It was roughly half the size of their usual springtime con, which drew 32,000 people last March.

The big guests were supposed to be three stars from the Twilight series, but shooting conflicts forced them all to cancel. Still, the Buffy panel had to move to a bigger room, then had to connect the new room to the original room to make an area big enough for the crowds. You still got it, guys.

Also met Sylvester McCoy, the seventh Doctor. And Lisa Loring, "Wednesday" from The Addams Family. And a lot more, plus all the fanciful folks who populate the cons. Check my Flickr set for tons of pics and more details.

And so ends another wild weekend of scantily-clad women in bizarre costumes.

What? No, Bike Week is still going strong. I meant MegaCon, the annual science fiction convention in Orlando. Thousands of fans of science fiction TV shows and movies and comic books and Japanese anime, gathered together to put on costumes, meet their heroes, and buy stuff. And they did, in brightly-colored droves.

Cosplay (which sounds way better than "dressing up as") is huge at cons when fans take their opportunity to become the hero — or villain, or animal or yummy snack — they've always wanted to be, and with a lot more ingenuity than the old rubber pointy ears shtick.

They take their work seriously, they do, and their costumes often are intricate works of professional-quality art. But what if you're a beginner fan? Never fear! Cosplaying is only as complicated as you want to make it, and I have some handy tips to get you started.

1. Be choosy.

Pick a character you enjoy, pick a character whose strengths you wish to emulate, pick a character whose antics delight you, but most of all pick a character you won't mind seeing yourself as 10 years from now on Flickr. Trust me, that stuff never goes away.

2. Be realistic.

Take an honest look at yourself. Are you the superhero type? Can you pull off the spandex and cleavage look without your audience having to squint? Are you a Slave Leia that anyone would ever want to rescue? Craft your costume to meet your actual body type for a more polished look. Eschew Superman and Lara Croft if you're more ideally suited to the Penguin or Olive Oyl.

Exceptions can be made for ironic costumes or Elseworlds versions, because fat Batmen are just funny.

3. Be comfortable.

I saw several guys this weekend cosplaying Wolfwood, from the Japanese manga and anime series Trigun. Wolfwood carries a massive cross-shaped gun called the "Punisher," which contains two machine guns and a rocket launcher and delivers an amazing amount of firepower. As was hilariously demonstrated over and over again, the "Punisher" also is a bitch to manuever in your average food court or men's bathroom.

Remember, you'll have to deal with your costume all day. Make sure you can comfortably walk, drive, eat and visit the facilities without assistance, unless of course your costume includes a personal slave. Then go nuts.

4. Be accurate.

You're walking (or slithering) into a room full of very harsh critics who know at least as much about your character than you do, and usually much more than the character's own creator. Check your details carefully. Twice.

Also, try to pick something that people will recognize, or think they recognize. Having to spend half your con explaining your costume to people is just annoying.

5. Be wild.

Remember #2 above? Ignore it. Fans are more willing to accept a wider range of body types than most people and this could be your best chance to show off something you've always kept under layers for fear of laughter or villagers with torches. If you're confident, you can get away with anything, and many do. Go for it.

6. Be social.

Groups of themed costumes get even more attention, and it can help to have backup. Be the X-Men, be the cast of a video game, go as a multi-headed dragon (just be sure you all agree on directions first). Strength in numbers, and all that, you'll make for better photo shoots, and you can all gang up on the inevitable Domo Kun guy.

7. Be patient.

The better your costume, the more you'll get stopped for pictures. The frequency of these stops can be determined by this simple formula: Your attractiveness / how much skin you're showing = feet you'll be able to walk uninterrupted. Black Cats and Poison Ivys measure their hallway progress by millimeters. Plan your schedule accordingly.

8. Be dynamic.

When stopped for a photo, have your pose ready. Don't just stand there waiting, be your character! Your pose should be recognizable, exciting, and something you can hold without popping a hamstring when more photographers rush up and ask you to just hang on for a second more.

9.  Be careful.

Remember your new dimensions when you move around, especially if you've gone for the larger wingspans or taller stilts. Nothing ruins the illusion of your imposing magnitude faster than whanging off a door jamb or taking out a row of Cokes as you go by.

10. Have fun.

SciFi cons are the biggest moving costume parties around, why not jump in? You might even make new friends when you pair up with other people with the same outfit or, better, other people cosplaying your mortal enemy. And if you're in the right mood, nothing beats getting together with friends and grabbing dinner together at a nearby restaurant, in character.

Just don't go as Domo Kun, that's just creepy.

If you're an anime fan or just feel the urge to work your Japanese schoolgirl outfit, check out the upcoming Anime Express con coming next week at ERAU and be respectful: the people dressed as Rurouni Kenshin, Sailor Moon or the Prince of Tennis will be flying your plane someday.

Some quick hits: attendance (and traffic) was massive. We got off the highway at 9:50 and got in the building, maybe 1/2 mile away, an hour later. There was a garden show at the same convention center, which certainly didn't help but probably made for some great interactions. The line inside, for those who didn't pre-order, was huge and extended to, I believe, Tampa. We pre-ordered: we scooted in.

Long lines for Adrian Pasdar ("Nathan" from Heroes) and Erica Durance ("Lois Lane" from Smallville). Not so much for Mark Sheppard, his dad W. Morgan Sheppard (a Klingon in Star Trek VI, among many other roles), Adrian Wilkinson ("Livia/Eve" from Xena), the usual Lost in Space folks, Peter Mayhew ("Chewbacca" from Star Wars), assorted folks from Beastmaster, Kyle XY, some of the Who Wants to Be a Superhero group, etc.  Respectable turnout for Kristy Swanson (the movie Buffy) and Jack O'Halloran (the big Kryptonian from Superman II), but everyone had bursts of traffic here and there, I think.

Talked to Mark Sheppard a bit. Very friendly. As instructed (and threatened) I gave him the regards of BlackMarketBeagles guy and my webcomic partner Adam Levermore-Rich and his face lit up. "Oh, I know Adam! We did charity work together. Great guy. I'm a big fan of his." That's it, I need more celebrity friends. We talked about obsessive fans and how fast FOX would sue me if they saw me wearing the Blue Sun shirt I had on, and then I brought out the Badger Barbie, just finished the night before. He loved it, and started showing it off to his dad (at the next table over) and Adrienne Wilkinson (one more down.)

"Adrienne! Look at this!" He held it up.

She held up a packaged Livia/Eve action figure she was currently signing and waved it at him.

"Yeah, but mine's bigger!"

She came over to check it out.

He pointed out that Badger should have a flamingo pin, but otherwise it was great. I got my pics, collected the Barbie and the posters I put down and everything else and moved on.

Wandered the creator alleys looking for people whose work I had brought to be signed, including Joe Quesada, John Romita Jr., Laura Martin, Mark Waid, and others. Found most of them but at the time lines were too long — the line for John Romita Jr. stretched across two more aisles) so I gave 'em a miss. Mark Waid signed my "Kingdom Come" comics and accepted my stuttering praise, and I bought a sketchbook from Amanda Conner since she's already signed everything of hers I had from previous cons. I never did find Laura Martin despite constant searching — stopped a man carrying large prints of the first Serenity comic covers who pointed where she was and I still couldn't find her, which should give you an idea of either how crowded it was or how incompetent I am, take your pick.

My son called me to hand over his signed Badger pic for me to carry, and I took everything all the way out to the car so I could concentrate on photos, when I realized that in the hassle of collecting all my stuff before I had forgotten to take my autographed Mark Sheppard pic! I zoomed back in the convention, fought through the crowds (this was hours later, I just knew he'd be gone for the day or something) and got to his table where he was explaining to a fan why American Idol was a more brilliant show than Stargate (I came in late on this, but it sounded like he was talking ratings, and not necessarily quality). I didn't want to interrupt so I stood off to the side. Without breaking the conversation he reached under the table, produced my signed pic, handed it over, shook my hand, and grinned at me. I'm now a bigger Mark Sheppard fan than I was before, which ain't easy.

The panel for Adrian Pasdar had lines waiting a half hour earlier so I gave that a miss. Talked to a lot of artists, browsed the booths, and took tons of photos. Mostly I was there to see Sheppard and to let my 15-year-old son James and his friend Morgan and Peyton experience a big con. I also handed out some con flyers for SaveHiatus, you know, as long as I was there… Waited for and attended the Webcomic Awards to see what was popular in my new field, and two favorites won the big ones: "Girl Genius" by Phil and Kaja Foglio won Best Writer and Outstanding Webcomic, and "The Perry Bible Fellowship" won Best Artist. Also there were bellydancers. Not sure why.

Mostly I took pictures, and you can head to my Flickr.com account to see 'em. Sorry I can't offer a better in-depth review than this, I went purely as a casual tourist this time. In the meantime, here's a closer pic of the Badger Barbie: