Scott Crawford is a familiar face at conventions in the Northeast and Midwest. If you don’t know his face, you may at least recognize his costumes. I’ve seen him dressed as Aquaman and Superman, but I’m sure there have been others.
He apparently makes costumes for a living, earning more than $2000 for some of them.
The Columbus, Ohio, Dispatch profiles Crawford, who’s careful to note he can’t legally market costumes based on well-known comics characters:
Copyright lawyers are his Kryptonite. Crawford’s work remains restricted without a licensing agreement from the top comics companies such as DC and Marvel.
That hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his passion, however. Next week, he expects Superman suits to be soughtafter commodities as Superman Returns opens, just as his costumes were last month with the opening of the latest X-Men movie.
The Dispatch also talks to DC Comics Publisher Paul Levitz, and entertainment lawyer Christine Valada, wife of longtime writer and editor Len Wein.
“Creating costumes is such an institutionalized part of fan conventions,” Valada told the newspaper. “DC and Marvel give out money for the best re-creations of their characters at top conventions. But they are very sensitive about companies associating their product or service with their characters.”
