It's been a long time since I've donned a costume for Comic-Con; mostly because there is usually so much work involved in creating the costume and making it look just right -- but I've also been a little hesitant. Am I getting too old to dress up and go to a convention? Should I be dressing up when I write as an Editor on Comic Vine? Is that a good representation of who I am and what I do? Will people stop taking me seriously? It took me a couple of years, but I've finally concluded that it doesn't really matter. Cosplaying, costuming, dressing up as your favorite character -- whatever you want to call it -- is fun. And that's what comics and Comic-Con are all about; fun. If Comic-Con wasn't fun, no one would go. In the spirit of the convention, I decided to throw caution to the wind and dress up as my favorite female video game character -- Lara Croft. The only problem was, I decided I wanted to do this on Tuesday night -- on the eve of the convention. I know, I know, not very convenient.

So, how the heck would I put a Lara Croft costume together literally overnight, and would I succeed? Okay, so Lara's costume is probably the easiest there is to make. Get some khaki shorts, a green tank top, a set of gun holsters and some toy pistols and you're all set, right? Little did I know that looking for a Lara Croft costume in San Diego, in the middle of July, the day before a convention would be, well, kind of hard. We decided to document the adventure for both your viewing pleasure (watch me suffer) as well as to document whether or not I am able to actually get the outfit together. Oh, and you know you have succeeded if your costume is recognizable. So there's that.

Two hours before preview night I decided to take Tony and Thomas (who helped film and edit the video) on a little shopping spree. Needless to say, by the end of the first hour on that hot and humid July afternoon, all three of us were growing irritable -- and I started feeling like I was going to leave the San Diego shopping center empty handed. But that was not to be -- not really, anyway. In the end, I did manage to get most of the costume together (yay) but I am missing an integral part of what makes her outfit iconic (boo).

Oh, and please feel bad for Tony who had to literally go into every store with me. The man certainly has a lot of patience. Thanks for watching! What are some of your favorite comic con experiences? If you're a cosplayer, how long does it normally take you to get a costume together? Which costumes from this year's Comic-Con cosplay gallery are your favorites?

nice

Next year Sara, Rocket Raccoon. Just saying.

Igualita que Angelina Jolie.

Next year the three should try and make the same cosplay and put it to a vote of whos is best.

@Babs Did you make Tony hold your purse while you tried on gun-holsters?

shopping with girls is a terrible, terrible experience! kudos to Tony! although it think he's luckier than most if there was a 2 hour limit lol

gaaaahhh! I'm at Horton Plaza all the time! I'm so angry with myself for missing you guys lol

WOW great job Sara! I feel for tony as I myself spent a couple of hours over my weekend helping a friend looking for an outfit to wear to a wedding we are invited too. So it could have been worse :D

It turned out awesome.

A shame Tony didn't get a Croft costume of his own, though.

Next year, Sara should dress like Batwoman.

Are you picture shy when it comes to Cosplay, Sara?! I haven't seen any pics of you as Lara on here!

@csl316 said:

It turned out awesome.

A shame Tony didn't get a Croft costume of his own, though.

THIS!!!

I think it's great that Tony ended up carrying the bags.

@hunter5024 said:

I think it's great that Tony ended up carrying the bags.

Yeah that made me lol. What a gentleman. ;p

Hey Sara, next year you should run with that Assassin's Creed idea. I've always wanted to see what a female assassin would look like either in AC history or present day. @NightFang said:

Next year, Sara should dress like Batwoman.

Or this, this would be cool too :)

Lol jacket and shorts? Your upper body is cold, but your legs are fine? Isnt that the west coast in the middle of summer?

I dont understand girls.

If G-Man, Babs, and Inferiorego attend SDCC next year, I vote they ALL should Cosplay for at least a bit. If Sara was willing to get the goods at the last minute to dress as Lara Croft then the dudes should join in as well. Fair is fair. Ha! Nice job, by the way, it was obvious peeps liked Sara's outfit.

@Bestostero said:

shopping with girls is a terrible, terrible experience! kudos to Tony! although it think he's luckier than most if there was a 2 hour limit lol

QFT I'm a girl and I know what is shopping........... he was SO LUCKY was 2 hours, on real time that could be...... all day shopping ;D or even an entire day for shoes....... and other for clothes...........

@Decept-O: They could all do a team thing like The JL, Avengers, X-men or something along those lines.

@hunter5024 said:

I think it's great that Tony ended up carrying the bags.

Great job in just two hours.

Sara Croft,perhaps?

@Solh0und: You win the Internet

seriously sara,tony. just be the wonder twins every year and you'll save yourselves a lot of trouble

Sara, That lara croft costume just solidfies my love for you hahaha.

just for that Im hitting the gym to get ready for my Namor Costume for C4 comic con

Sara starring in a Tomb Raider reboot? Id watch that

@Babs

From what I saw in the video, your costume looked good but it was kind of hard to tell. We need a picture of you striking a pose to see how good it really was ;).

@Phantim555 said:

@Decept-O: They could all do a team thing like The JL, Avengers, X-men or something along those lines.

That would be totally sweet. Don't know if G-Man or Inferiorego would do it though; they both seem like they're always constipated. *joke* No, it would be great but I think IF the dudes did any type of Cosplay, they'd do something individually, given their personalities. Your idea, however, is better.

@Decept-O: Guess you didn't hear the 3 or 4 podcasts where I kept saying I was going to. I ended up changing my choice after seeing someone dressed as the character in Chicago. My second choice just didn't happen. It required a helmet and other stuff.

Very nice Lara, Sara! I think it was well done for being put together in the time frame you had. As for having a big gun, ah well, its not like its a requirement in my opinion. Well done!

Babs as Lara Croft? yes please. I think Lara Croft is more convenient than Batwoman or Assasin's Creed. I used to have the Desert Eagle toys, and i have this grey hoodie that i like to call my Assassin's hoodie

@Decept-O said:

@Phantim555 said:

@Decept-O: They could all do a team thing like The JL, Avengers, X-men or something along those lines.

That would be totally sweet. Don't know if G-Man or Inferiorego would do it though; they both seem like they're always constipated. *joke* No, it would be great but I think IF the dudes did any type of Cosplay, they'd do something individually, given their personalities. Your idea, however, is better.

I'm not into cosplay. I'm more into making bad jokes about toys.

Babs is a better Lara than Jolie.

@G-Man: I think this was great content, and nicely executed. It makes me wonder if you guys shouldn't do more of these pseudo-behind the scenes videos. Maybe take a similar tour of your comic shop, and Sara does hers, and Corey. See if James Robinson would be up for a behind the scenes look at his studio etc...

I feel like this type of content has a lot of potential.

Shween! Not in a rude way, though

I'd cosplay as Sentry, and probably get booed haha.

Oh man, those 3 fat nerdy guys who immediately started taking pics of Babs. They are so awkward about it. This sorta thing keeps me away from the cons...

I really love Lara Crfot.

Ha :P

Nice one, Sara! :)

@G-Man said:

@Decept-O: Guess you didn't hear the 3 or 4 podcasts where I kept saying I was going to. I ended up changing my choice after seeing someone dressed as the character in Chicago. My second choice just didn't happen. It required a helmet and other stuff.

No, sorry, I've missed the Podcasts! Perhaps you might try it next year anyway? @inferiorego said:

@Decept-O said:

@Phantim555 said:

@Decept-O: They could all do a team thing like The JL, Avengers, X-men or something along those lines.

That would be totally sweet. Don't know if G-Man or Inferiorego would do it though; they both seem like they're always constipated. *joke* No, it would be great but I think IF the dudes did any type of Cosplay, they'd do something individually, given their personalities. Your idea, however, is better.

I'm not into cosplay. I'm more into making bad jokes about toys.

OK. Well, even if you're not, why not up the ante and Cosplay while making bad jokes about toys? I think I saw you dressed as Capt. America via a pic on the site for a stand-up routine. It can still happen!

That came out great! If you'd told me you had found all of the stuff in 2 hours I wouldn't have believed you. Well done Sara!

@inferiorego: You were no help...

I loved the result!

Good job on getting it together in such a short amount of time!

Am I getting too old to dress up and go to a convention?

Old? Wait... How old is Sara again? I've only been in comic vine for like a year and I must say, she looks like a 16 years old with glasses and 23 without them

Awesome stuff! This is just the type of video content I love from Comic Vine.

Also I love how Sara totally blows stereotypes about comic book fans out of the water.

hahaha, guys mad creepin' towards the end.

You know, I really like that comicvine.com has that girly touch to it.

Did you end up getting that mask Sara? That stand of masks looked awesome.

Nice job for 2 hours.

Comic Vine definitely needs some of its own background music for its videos, hearing some of Giant Bomb and Tested's well-known tracks randomly spread out through the video was a bit weird.