- "Cosplay in America", a 272 page full-color hardcover book features photographs taken at six American conventions with 260 cosplayers representing 30 states of the country will be available in comic book stores and other retailers in Feb 2012.“Cosplay in America” is social anthropology at its best. “To me, Cosplay represents America. Walk into any convention in the country and you'll see people from different backgrounds, different races, different shapes, sizes, gender, everyone!” says photographer Ejen Chuang.The term “cosplay” – short for “costume play” - was coined by Nobuyuki Takahashi to describe what he witnessed at World Con, a sci-fi convention in 1984. Costumes become dramatized projections of the pervasive cultural influences around us – animated characters, video games, comic books, graphic novels, and myriad pop culture phenomena. Cosplay is a conversation about human development and the individual artistic expression happening all around us.Whether you are the voyeur looking into this world to revel in genius transformations or you are the individual in pursuit of dynamic reinvention, Cosplay provides an experience where fantasy and reality collide in the shape of popular culture.Cosplay in America is a 272 page full-color, hard cover book on sale Feb 2012 and available to pre-order now from bookstores (ISBN : 978-0615349060 ) and comic book stores (DEC111343) with a list price of $40.00 USD. More information + images available at www.cosplayinamerica.com "Cosplay in America is a gorgeous tribute to the people who attend anime conventions... the layout is slick and the photos are lovely. Chuang did what I hope more people will do in the future, portray cosplay as art" - BoingBoing.net"Ejen Chuang's photographs do what similar photo books weren't able to do : show cosplayers as real people who like to dress up as fictitious characters. Chuang treats his subjects with respect, and honors their passion for the anime, games and manga that inspired their costumes" - About.com"Not just the most elaborately dressed or the sexiest, what you see is a cross section of costumed America ... each one is set in front of same black backdrop which lets you focus on the cosplayers and how much work they put into their costumes. Ejen's message is clear : they're the artist. He's just the photographer." - Madeline Brand Show (NPR)ABOUT : Ejen Chuang, native of Houston, TX is a Los Angeles-based photographer specializing in production stills for productions.