Thanks for the overwhelming response you all gave me with my first featured cosplayer I did on Mystique’s World of Cosplay. I’m happy to introduce you to the next pick I made of a talented artist to be highlighted here on my website. Say hello to Pepe Bozzo who is Khal of Atlantis.
John Wick Cosplay; photographer Brilan Imagery
I had always intended on being able to interview almost anybody I chose, anywhere, but I was pleasantly surprised to find local talent here in central Florida and quite abundantly, too. This provided me with the unique opportunity to meet Pepe and insert myself into his life and get to know the real person. I’m not a stalker…I swear…no, really. HA! After the interesting write up I did on Damaris, by knowing her, I still want to provide my readers that kind of realism. The best part is I made a new friend that shares many of the same passions as I do, especially with cosplay. Do I see a future group cosplay in the making?
I got to tell you one thing which isn’t very friendly on my part is that I’m jealous of him and of that face! The camera loves this guy and he looks like almost anybody he portrays, as you can see with just the few images shown so far. I do, of course, give him credit as a terrific artist and as an actor and costumer, which helps him enormously with his accurate depictions of characters he chooses.
So it wasn’t hard to figure out why he chose the name Khal of Atlantis as his cosplay alias since Khal Drogo from Game of Thrones and Aquaman from Atlantis in The Justice League are his two most well known Cosplays.
I’d like to start by giving a shout out to all the Berserk manga fans out there who probably knew or hoped this was coming. Pepe and I, before we knew each other, did the same cosplay which both got a lot of attention from the Berserk community. That cosplay is of Skull Knight and was a difficult one indeed. I did it the most time consuming and most expensive way, where Mr. Atlantis here absolutely nailed it under a time crunch and with familiar cosmaker methods of EVA Foam, Latex, paint and everything in between with a much lower budget.
Cosmaker Extraordinaire
When I asked him to hook me up with some WIP (work-in-progress) pics for this writeup he regrettably told me “I don’t have many, I need to start taking more pics of the process.” But as I scaled through his Instagram profile I found several well represented photos of cosplay builds in development that worked perfectly here. I told him I had the same problem with lack of pre-shots of a costume fabrication and we both agreed to make an effort to take more.
EVA Foam is his main choice of media to work with as is many other cospayers, but Pepe seems to take it to a whole other level. There were several cosplays I had to ask him what he used, and when he said EVA Foam I was surprised because the end result looked too perfect and I thought I should be able to tell, like his Iron Man and Iron Patriot full armor. His (and now mine) favorite EVA foam supplier is TNT Cosplay Supply. This is where most of the materials comes from to perform his magic.
An important part of a true cosplayer is the makeup test and wig fitting test that need to be done before a full reveal. This is where I found several WIP pics I could use from Pepe’s collection of photos. He understands the importance of knowing ahead of time exactly how to make a character happen by the multiple tests and fittings to get it right. Nothing is worse than a wardrobe malfunction while trying to be in character at a Con.
This Cosplayer’s Inspiration is Everything
Judge Dredd comes to life straight out of the comics…
What inspires this Peruvian the most is…well…everything. A good sign of a true artist is to take anything and everything he/she encounters or pursues in stride and being able to translate it all into their work. I’m all about the visual aspect to my reference point, but as you’ll see a little later here, Pepe is also a musician as well as a visual artist. I asked him where he get’s his reference from while planning and working on a cosplay and he told me “all of it”, from comics, to video games, manga, anime and movies. I also asked him if what he does for a living translates at all into his artwork and he emphatically replied, “No…” Work is the last thing he wants to think about while performing his mad skills in a cosplay project. As a computer technician, I would say that it does help him some, however. One needs to be smart and tech savvy, as he is, to know how to attempt to put a hinge, servo motors and other electronics for his Iron Man helmet’s face plate to open and close and have lights.
So, let’s get started with my chosen pics that I’d like to present to you here:
The Best of Khal of Atlantis Gallery of Photos
Khal Drogo of Game of Thrones
Aquaman from The Justice League
John Wick Cosplay
Geralt From The Witcher
Jafar From Disney’s Aladdin
Cyborg Raiden From Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Video Game
Judge Dredd Cosplay
Predator Cosplay
Iron Man and Iron Patriot Full Costume Armor
Batman Beyond
“Spiderverse”
Group Cosplays
Out of Cosplay
Pepe and his Husky Kali
Dog lover, metal head, musician, video gamer, movie goer and fitness guru are just a few things that occupies Pepe’s time when not planning or creating his next transformation. I know, however, he must always seem to be thinking about cosplay as good as he is with the craft.
But for now let’s talk about these things listed above that are important parts of his life, and one of the most important is his dog.
Not just any dog, but a sweet girl husky named Kali that he had since a puppy. Huskies are his favorite breed of dog and when I asked him why, he confirmed that they’re silly, fun, pack minded, and how great of pets they make. Huskies are always trying to be included in everything which makes them terrific play mates and pets. They’re bred to be sled dogs and bark the loudest to be noticed and get picked to be part of the pack that gets to pull the sled. I love huskies, too, as they remind me of a friend’s husky when I was a kid as it gave me my first impression of how a good dog can be as a loving pet.
If you follow Pepe it’s no secret about Kali as he shares pics of her a lot on his social media platforms. Kali get’s her own gallery of photos here too:)
Jammin’
His love for heavy metal music and him being a self taught musician combines two more out of cosplay attributes to his life. You gotta hear him rip on the bass and also even hammer on the drums! Multi-talented musician, indeed. Him and I discussed some of our favorite heavy metal bands, and I connected the most to the classic heavy metal bands from my day like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Ozzie, just to name a few. I couldn’t pinpoint his favorite band as he chuckled when I asked for him to tell me and he said, “…too many to count…” I did find that Ne Obliviscaris, Amon Amarth, Napalm Death and Wintersun are bands important enough to see live and share on his Instagram account.
Being a gamer was no surprise as you can see through his cosplays, as he brought to life some of his favorite characters in Geralt from The Witcher and Raiden from the game Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Going online and playing games straight off his PC is a quick go to method to get his game on and he’s currently into MechWarrior and of course The Witcher for the 20th time.
Staying in shape by dieting and working out regularly at his gym is part of his weekly routine. Exercising is nothing different or new as he used to be a personal trainer before he got into cosplay. I’ll be picking his brain on how I can get into shape better, that’s for sure. Personal trainers don’t only give you a work-out plan, they also include what to take into your body for maximum health and performance. So our next meal outing together will need to be well thought out, especially if he’s getting in complete form and strength for an upcoming Con.
Near and Dear to His Heart
Pepe’s Sweetheart, photo from Mayhem Magazine
I could have mentioned her anytime during this article, but I feel she needed her own section because that is how important she is to Pepe. This is Victoria Bradley who happens to also be a wonderfully talented Cosplayer as well. Spoiler alert as to who my next Featured Cosplayer is going to be. Her alias is Vicarious Cosplay and her passion for the art is uncanny! These two make the perfect couple and have several couple’s cosplays to date and many more already in the works. I asked her to tell me something about Pepe that I can relay to you all here, and this is what she said…
“Pepe has sparked hope in me when we first met. He treasures our time together and makes me feel like a queen. When he loves he loves full heartedly. I always tell him he’s my weirdo, because we can laugh and do crazy things together. For example there is this moment when he was taking a picture (what I thought was a picture turned out to be a video) I had a dinosaur head on and went ‘AHHH’…so ever since then we ‘AHHH’ to each other. It’s these little moments that make me love him. On top of it I found a Cosplayer. His work is outstanding for being a procrastinator.” [I guess that means he loves the Con crunch being a procrastinator…Hee Hee]
Couple’s Cosplay
Khal of Atlantis Popularity Rises
Mayhem Magazine cover September 2017
It was only a matter of time that a Cosplayer this good would get picked up and featured in several publications and media outlets.
- We’ll start by mentioning him as an actor who played a role in the film Tulku Dorje: Dead and Reborn.
- His musician credits from Encyclopedia Metallum website where he’s listed as being a few bands as either playing the drums or Bass
- Mayhem Magazine September 2017 Cover and feature
- Cosplay contest winnings: GAAM Show 2017 Judges award, Holmat (Holiday Matsuri) Best Group on Mastercraft for Berserk, Best Group MegaCon Tampa Bay 2017 GOT, and Castle Cosplay Contest Best Couple
- Pepe’s Instagram
- His Facebook
- Of course his debut here on JPs FX Creations Featured Cosplayers
- Costumers With A Cause volunteer, where bringing hope to children in special circumstances is the primary focus
So Much More To Khal of Atlantis
Aquaman (Pepe) and Viper Pilot (me) at MegaCon Orlando 2018
I know I said earlier that I’m jealous of his face, but as you’ve seen with his Predator and Iron Man cosplays he has no problem covering his head up with a mask or helmet for an epic costume. Anything to get into character, because the best part of cosplay sometimes is playing a role that a terrific wardrobe helps facilitate. As fun and important as Cons are to attend, as an excuse to play, taking the time and expense for professional photo shoots are vital to a Cosplayers experience. I learned that from going through Pepe’s photos as many of them I chose were from planned pics with talented photographers. I’ll be taking lessons from Khal of Atlantis on how to get my name out there as a serious Cosplayer. He’s so good with every aspect of being a talented Cosplayer including the attitude of just having fun and relaxing with it. When you’ve done as many characters as he has, it should just come naturally like it does for him.
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite cosplay of his, but if I absolutely had to I would pick his John Wick portrayal. Something about the subtleness yet perfectly accurate job he did made it so effective. A totally cool character to pick as well. His poses and stern looks he gave for the camera were Keanu Reeves all the way!
One question I wanted to ask the most is what his dream cosplay would be and the answer was a good one and I think would be perfect for him…That cosplay is the dragon armor from Dracula Untold. He has to do this and I’ll be pestering him constantly ’till he at least starts building it…hehe.
Check out more Featured Cosplayers
#8 Meredith Mills is The Lost Princess Cosplay
#7 Kat Caraway is Her Majesty Kat
#6 James Perkins of JP’s FX Creations
#5 Erica Melisandre is Red Enchantress Cosplay
#4 Justin Grubb of Turbo Time Cosplay