Breaking All The Rules: Cosplay and the Art of Self-Expression

by G.L. Tysk

Costume Play - a Japanese phrase originally coined to describe the hobby of designing and dressing up in costumes. While that may bring up images of Halloween, costume players - or "cosplayers" - now go all out with painstakingly accurate replicas of their favorite costumes from TV shows, cartoons, comics, and movies. Cosplay has moved from a niche corner of Japanese geekdom to a global pop culture phenomenon that includes the United States.

Breaking All the Rules is a photobook that showcases the people behind the costumes. From 2011-2013, photographer Ger Tysk visited at least one convention in every major region of the United States, taking photos and interviewing cosplayers. The book includes photographs and interviews from approximately 120 cosplayers from 43 different states, including Hawaii and Alaska, all explaining how cosplay has changed their lives. Cosplay is a hobby that breaks all the rules: anyone of any size, any race, any age, any gender, any background, can cosplay.

216 pages, Paperback

First published December 7, 2013

About the author

G.L. Tysk was born in Chicago to Hong Kong immigrants. She was raised in Texas, moved abroad to Japan, and now lives in Massachusetts with her Norwegian-American husband. This muddling of multiple cultures drives her to explore the effect of cultural exchange and diversity in her writing. Her work focuses on early American whaling and its impact on globalization, 19th century colonialism, and Asian and Pacific Islander immigrant culture. She has sailed square-rigged vessels with Sea Education Association and with Mystic Seaport aboard the historic whaleship Charles W. Morgan. She lives in Boston.