Augustus John's latest cosplay project is an Iron Man costume that he works on in his garage workshop.YADER GUZMAN/The Globe and Mail
Growing up in Toronto as one of two Black kids in his elementary school, Augustus John related more to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and X-Men than prominent white superheroes such as Superman or Batman.
“The X-Men had Black characters and they were chastised for being different,” John says. “I was chastised for being Black. They’d say ‘monkey eater,’ ‘banana boy,’ people were picking on me, throwing peanuts at me. So as an escape, I loved to draw. I drew myself as a hero: someone who was doing right by everybody and was accepted by all.”
Although he now works in tech support at a bank, John has continued to draw and experiment with graphic design and 3D modelling to make realistic cosplay costumes and fully embody his favourite heroes. He builds his costumes in his garage and wears his creations to various Comic-Con and Fan Expo events in Canada and the United States.
John starts his designs by drawing out the plans on foam rolls, which are later heat molded to hold their shape.YADER GUZMAN/The Globe and Mail
He started making costumes in 2018, inspired by one of the central characters in Marvel’s Black Panther: M’Baku.
“It was the first character that I had seen that looked like me,” says John, who decided to make M’Baku’s costume out of fur and foam and perform at Toronto Fan Expo in front of a crowd. “Everybody cheered and joined in.” That same year he won the Toronto Comic-Con’s competition for best recyclable costume.
From there, the hobby took off.
Most recently, John has been working on an Iron Man costume in his garage workshop, where he is sometimes joined by his two daughters.
“I’m really looking forward to Halloween because I have my Iron Man costume ready to go, and I’m going to stand in my garage with a bowl of candy and hand them out to kids.”
Although cosplay is meant as an escape, this costume has brought to fore the issue of discrimination within the community. Because John is a Black man and Iron Man is a white man, he often gets comments suggesting that he shouldn’t or can’t be the superhero.
Thankfully, John says, “we have a whole community that will stick up for us now.”
From left: Eric John, Augustus John, Denardo Riley, Leomar Bondswell at Gus’ home recording their podcast 'Blerd Society' (Black-Nerd Society).YADER GUZMAN/The Globe and Mail
He has found a “safety net” in what he calls the “Blerd society” (a play on the words “Black nerd,” popular among this community) – a group of people “to talk to that will have your back.” “Blerd Society” is also the name of a pop culture podcast that he, his brother and three friends started this year.
John is thrilled to see superhero franchises such as Marvel and DC incorporate more multicultural representation into shows and movies, such as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, starring Canadian actor Simu Liu. He dismisses the backlash and claims of “pandering” from so-called “avid fans.”
“There are kids out there who are different from other kids, who are looking for something to inspire them to be better. The sole white saviour thing doesn’t work any more.”
John plans to wear his latest project, a black and gold version of Iron Man, for Halloween this year.Yader Guzman/The Globe and Mail
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Aruna Dutt