2009 has been a busy year, which means your Halloween costume budget might be tight and you could be stuck putting something together at the last minute. Luckily, there are many outfits in comics that require little to no effort to throw together on the fly.
Superheroes have just as much need for simple wardrobes and easy-to-find costume components as we do, so here are five such ensembles that can be easily thrown together from items in your closet and minimal craftsmanship.
1. DR. MANHATTAN ("Watchmen")
Dr. Manhattan offers two alternatives—the new movie version with a black pair of Speedos, or the classic blue nude, which requires slightly less work but could get you arrested. A large-sized container of blue body paint and a little black for detailing should have you on your merry way to freaking out everyone at your Halloween festivities this season.
2. BUFFY SUMMERS ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer")
Buffy has too many responsibilities stalking supernatural forces to be concerned with high fashion. Her classic tank top and black tights should be recognizable by any fans of the Joss Whedon series or its comic book sequels from Dark Horse.
For added authenticity, any sharp piece of wood or appropriately silver-colored weapon should tie this ensemble together nicely.
3. CONNOR KENT ("Superboy")
The ready fall-back option for any male comic book reader should always be Superman's binary clone who died in "Infinite Crisis" only be reborn in "Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds." Smartly adorned in nothing more than jeans and a black T-shirt, which can easily be decorated with a big, red "S."
4. SCOTT PILGRIM ("Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life")
Do you own jeans and virtually any color of T-shirt? Splendid! Then you too can appear for Halloween as Bryan Lee O'Malley's movie-bound sensation from Oni Press.
Ambitious slackers can probably scoop up a pair of fuzzy animal ears and a raccoon tale too pull off O'Malley's famous "Super Mario Bros. 3" promotional homage. Otherwise, Scott should be the easiest comic book slacker for real-world slackers to appear as this Halloween.
5. GIRL ALIEN ("Girls")
I actually don't personally recommend this costume, since it's likely to get you arrested if you go out in public. Nevertheless, this is without a doubt the least expensive costume in comics to pull off.
The Luna Brothers created these alien egg-layers for their Image series without an ounce of clothing to speak of, so should you find yourself in dire straights and with a particularly accepting crowd at your Halloween party, dressing as a Girl will not cost you a dime or single minute of cutting, stitching or painting.
Have you made your Halloween costume plans for 2009 yet? What are you going as? Any helpful cost-cutting tips for fellow readers? Share your suggestions in the comment section below or on Twitter!
