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Cosplay Superstar Interview: Lindze Merritt
Back again with another phenomenal cosplay interview here on Robot Punch! Lindze Merritt joins me this episode, sharing her thoughts and experiences about cosplay and more.
You’ve most likely seen her from her unforgettable Morrigan and Baroness photo series. As you’ll find, there are other places that you may have seen Lindze’s work, whether you’ve recognized her or not…
For a quick taste of Lindze: Her cosplay journey began in 1999, though she’s old school in the fandoms of anime, comic books, and video games. In just a few years, her talents and love of all things geek carried her on to some incredible adventures in her career. She’s appeared in magazines (including Spin and PS2 UK) and television, flexing her creative muscle.
Lindze has recently pulled back from the public eye after starting a family and forming her own business, but she’s hardly out of commission! Let’s get to know her…
I guess I’ll start with the hottest topic… In every cosplay-related message board I’ve seen, the first pic to either be posted or requested is “The Morrigan Pic” (pictured right). That being a shot of you as Morrigan from Darkstalkers from Animazement ‘06. How do you react to that kind of popularity, especially for that shot?
I think its really awesome that a character that I love so much from a series I care about has become synonymous with my cosplay. I mean how could I not view that as an amazing thing? My only wish would be that it wasn’t a con-shot, but an actual photo shoot photo, since hotels aren’t the best background. But I admit, that photo is very flattering, so who am I to complain?
Do you have a personal favorite costume or photo shoot; one you’re most proud of? That is, if you could choose which shot you’d like to be famous for?
I have a few costumes I associate myself with equally, like Baroness, Morrigan and Shiva…so its a tricky question to answer.
What costume am I most proud of? I would answer Morrigan, because I made everything, and put SO much work and money into it. Baroness was a collaborative effort with another costumer so I cant feel that same pride in my work. However, I worship the Baroness and all things GI Joe, since it was my childhood obsession, so of course I’m going to learn towards her if I had to be ‘immortalized’ as any one character by other people.
And I could never pick a favorite photo… I’ve been so lucky to work with so many amazing photographers, it would be impossible!
Are you stoked about the upcoming GI Joe movie? The Baroness has always been a fan favorite character, but she’s been robbed of her trademark sexy accent! I’d bet if you showed up to the premier in costume, you’ll see the line of fanboys part like The Red Sea!
As soon as I found out who they were casting for the Baroness….a blond, freckled, tan, British girl…I knew the movie was in trouble. I’ve been keeping up with all the promo shots and it looks godawful. It makes me sad to see my childhood love ripped to shreds. But I try to tell myself that the “Xenia Zaragevna Onatopp” character in Goldeneye was damn close to being exactly how I imagine the Baroness to look/sound/act, so I’ll live with that incarnation and just pretend this new movie never was made.
And it makes me happy to hear people say things like I make a thousand times better Baroness than Sienna Miller.
Now, I say with confidence that you have the physical build of a comic book superhero. Do you have any superpowers?
Super strength and super smell. I guess its up to you to decide if I smell really bad or I smell things really well. It can go either way.
I guess fanboys may attempt to find out at their own risk!
I invite any fanboy to attempt to smell me. He may discover that super strength in ways he didn’t bargain for!
What, then, is your super otaku origin? How did you get into anime, video games, and eventually cosplay?
My otaku origins run deep. I grew up in San Diego, where my dad would take me to the San Diego Comic Con, when it was just a tiny little show. My older brother worked at a comic store so I would use every chance to pilfer his books, which started my comic book obsession. I also worked at a comic book store when I was in high school in NC and later on here in GA.
I was introduced to anime when I was in high school, when the very first translated videos were trickling over and Viz was first publishing manga. I fell in love with the style of art immediately. When I met my husband in college, he completed my dorkdom by getting me hooked on video games. So no comic, manga, anime, toy, or game was safe from me at that point. I guess its good I discovered cosplay in ‘98, since I had run out of dorky hobbies to obsess over.
Cosplay was an accidental discovery. I was looking online for pictures of Lilith from Darkstalkers, for a Halloween costume, and came across a photo of a girl cosplaying her. I about had an aneurysm with glee when I discovered there was a scene (albeit small at the time) where other fans that were geeky and fun-loving as me, enough to run around in costume together.
I literally joined a cosplay mailing list that night, and booked a ticket to the next convention within a month, with 3 new costumes in tow, without knowing a soul there. Hooked ever since!
I hear San Diego is nothing like it was since Hollywood took it over.
I’ve heard its more like Dragon*Con now…but even more media-centric. I hope to go next year to visit family and revisit the old comic scene!
Tags: anime, Cartoons, Comic Books, conventions, cosplay, darkstalkers, Girls, Robot Punch, Street Fighter
[...] My interview with Lindze Merritt went up last Friday and as far as I can tell, it’s been well-received. It’s since undergone some editing, in case anyone has not yet given it a read. [...]