The Show Must Go On!

At Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) 2015, a cosplayer hobbled over to Colleen Kelly Burks’ fan table, cradling a brown boot with a peeling sole.

Burks dug through her supplies for a solution, but all she had to offer was a roll of silver duct tape. Nevertheless, she wrapped the boot as best she could, added a matching patch to its twin, and sent the cosplayer skipping back to the floor, grinning ear to ear. Later that night, Burks quietly added brown duct tape to her Amazon cart, and Cosplay First Aid was born.

Every SDCC cosplayer has an emergency toolkit: gaff tape, bobby pins, setting spray, and enough ibuprofen to survive a long day at the San Diego Convention Center. However, when something goes wrong — as it always does — the most useful tool in cosplayers’ back pockets isn’t a makeup palette, a prop, or even a portable fan — it’s each other. 

Armed with an arsenal of safety pins, super glue, and nearly 50 years of costuming know-how, Burks has become a lifeline for SDCC cosplayers in crisis. Her fan table, officially dubbed Cosplay First Aid in 2022, saves hundreds of ‘fits from falling apart every year, from little quick fixes to full-blown rebuilds. In 2025, Burks logged more than 200 repairs across the four-day con, so many that she had to recruit a second Cosplay Medic just to keep up with demand. 

“I know the heartbreak when a costume or prop breaks or tears,” Burks says. “Using my past experiences and knowledge to help patch or repair a cosplay gives me a sense of accomplishment. I love making people smile.” 

Burks may have the actual toolbox, but the instinct to help a fellow fan runs through many cosplayers on the floor. For Shawn Thorsson, who usually ringleads large-squad cosplays, teamwork is an absolute necessity for conquering the con. 

“After you’ve gone through a few rounds of herding cats and chasing down all of the nuts and bolts to get a dozen matched outfits to show up all at once … there’s nothing I can’t fix with a bit of gaff tape and CA glue or a scrap of foam,” he says. 

When Thorsson is packing for SDCC, he’s not only thinking about his own needs, but also the rest of his group’s. With so many people to keep track of, disaster could strike at any moment. His approach: “Game out all of the ‘What could go wrong?’ questions in advance and pack accordingly. One way or another, the show must go on.”

Whether it’s sharing supplies, playing handler for your group, or helping a stranger salvage months of hard work, these small acts of generosity are what turn a crowded convention center into a community — as Burks puts it, “a family within fandom” — held together by hot glue, helping hands, and a collective love of cosplay.