The best cosplay and costumes from Tempe FanCon 2026

Tempe Public Library, already a haven for book lovers and pop-culture obsessives, got exponentially more nerdy this past weekend.

On Jan. 31, hundreds of Valley residents turned out for Tempe FanCon, the library’s free annual event celebrating comics, fandom and all things geek.

Naturally, that included cosplay. Dozens of attendees suited up in superhero-grade spandex, donned handcrafted homemade armor or went all out with full-on fursuits.

Costumes have been a geeky staple of Tempe FanCon since its debut in 2015. More than a decade later, local cosplayers remain a major presence at the event, showing up in colorfully dressed droves to show off their creativity or compete in FanCon’s annual costume contest.

Some of Arizona’s top-tier cosplayers debuted their latest looks. Phoenix’s AmberSkies dressed as the Human Torch from Marvel’s First Family, the Fantastic Four. On the other end of the good/evil spectrum, Tucson’s Kyle Appel debuted a new Doctor Doom costume built around detailed 3D-printed armor. Both also served as judges for the costume contest, which featured several standout competitors.

To wit: Mesa cosplayer Popstarparfait appeared as Ralsei from the popular RPG video game “Deltarune” in a largely crocheted costume with hand-sewn ears that took the better part of a year to craft. It earned second place in the contest’s adult category.

“I don’t know the exact number of hours,” Popstarparfait says. “But I worked on it for nine months.”

The top prize in the adult category went to Arizona cosplayer Eltaninisntrecorded, who recreated the look of Elizabeth from Guillermo Del Toro’s Netflix film “Frankenstein.”

Another standout costume came from Chandler’s Ash Meetze, who transformed into Serial Designation V from the animated web series “Murder Drones.”

The character is a fan-favorite worker drone turned lethal enforcer and Meetze’s costume captured that edge with striking detail. The look featured sprawling, spreadable wings with an impressive wingspan.

Other efforts stood out for their fun and ingenious simplicity. Gilbert resident Melissa Waite and three friends turned plain cardboard boxes into Thomas the Tank Engine and his pals, wearing the hand-painted creations as oversized headpieces that boasted DIY charm.

The low-tech builds landed big laughs and first place in the group costume category, proving that a clever idea can be just as attention-grabbing as an astounding armor.

Here’s a look at the best costumes and cosplayers we saw at Tempe FanCon 2026.