10 Questions with Panda Valentine

Sit back readers, it is time for another interview with a cosplay sensation.  You may know her as Vampirella, the Goblin Queen, Emma Frost, or even Star Sapphire...it is time fo my interview with the always beautiful, Panda Valentine.

1.  What is your name and where are you from?

My name is Panda and I’m from all over the place.

I was born and raised in Australia, in the rural north west of New South Wales. My high schooling was done on the East Coast of Australia in Sydney. At 20 I moved to San Diego, California, USA and in September of 2010 I moved to Rhode Island.

2.  How did you discover cosplay?

I like think that cosplay discovered me. I had an interest in sewing my own clothing from a young age. I loved making up outfits that were unique and different than the off the rack, store bought clothing that everyone else was wearing. Costuming was a pretty natural progression from there.

3. What characters have you cosplayed in the past?

To date, in chronological order:

Pan from Dragonball GT.

Emma Frost – Uncanny X-Men.

The Scarlet Witch – Avengers.

The Goblyn Queen – Uncanny X-Men

Vampirella – Independent

Star Sapphire – Green Lantern.

Zatanna Zatara – Various DC Titles.

Medusa- Queen of the Inhumans – Marvel Knights.

SuperWoman (Lucy Lane) – Super Girl.

I also have a Sharon Carter from Captain America and SHIELD and a Black Canary from DC that are complete costumes but have yet to see convention floor time.

4. What sites have you worked with?

I’ve not worked with any sites and I am not associated with any website in particular. I’ve done a couple interviews here and there and have a cosplay.com profile but that hardly counts.

I’m not opposed to the idea of working for websites at all, it’s just something that hasn’t occurred in my life yet.

5. Who is your favorite character to cosplay?

Vampirella, thus far. She is so much fun. People always want me to bite their necks!

6. Do you read comics? If so, what are your favorites?

I do read comics, absolutely. I’ve read a little bit of everything in the 20 years I’ve been reading comics but I always come back to Uncanny X-men. I have a lot of love for the stand alone series like Kingdom Come and Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E, though.

7. Are you a gamer, if so what is your favorite game and on what system?

I am so very much guilty of being a Gamer girl. My current addiction is City of Villains, Going Rogue (All hail, Emperor Cole!) but before that I played Everquest for almost 10 years.

I’m a fan of the Final Fantasy series on whichever Playstation console they are out on. My favorite was Final Fantasy 8, mainly for Quistis, the spunky redhead with a whip. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love a hot redhead in glasses, brandishing a whip and asking you to call her “teacher”?

8. What are your future plans in terms of cosplay?

Black Canary and Sharon Carter for sure. I’m also planning Savage Land Rogue which will be worn at SDCC 2011 and hopefully Psylocke.

I’m also hoping to branch out a bit from purely comic book cosplaying in the near future. I’d love to dress up as Ghost Widow or Black Swan from City of Villains and maybe Christine’s Think of Me dress from the Phantom of the Opera movie someday.

9. Where do you like to show off your costumes the most?

San Diego Comic Con in person and on my Facebook in the online realm. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=820205600

10. What would you say is your favorite genre to cosplay?

I’ve only done super hero/ comic book cosplays so far if you discount Pan, which is easily done because it was thrown together in a weekend and worn to a tiny little convention in Australia where I was 1 of 2 people in costume.

Super hero cosplaying treats me right, so I’d have to say that until I find something better, that is definitely my first love.