Parkersburg teen wins first place at Tsubasacon

Photo Provided
Audrey (Tobi) Cox of Parkersburg, second from the right, and other participants in the annual Tsubasacon anime, gaming and cosplay convention in Charleston.

Photo Provided
Audrey (Tobi) Cox, 14, Parkersburg, as Carl Grimes from “The Walking Dead.” She won first place in the Runway Division at Tsubasacon this past weekend in Charleston.

Trending

PARKERSBURG – A Parkersburg girl won first place in a cosplay contest at the Tsubasacon convention in Charleston.

Audrey (Tobi) Cox, 14, the daughter of Mic and Lindsay Cox, won first place in the Runway Division. The competition was held Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“I was really surprised,” Cox, who competed as Carl Grimes, a character on the AMC horror series “The Walking Dead.” The show is about a mysterious virus that turns people into flesh-eating zombies upon their death and the only way to stop them is to blow their brains out.

Carl is the son of Rick Grimes, the sheriff who awakes in a hospital unbeknownst of the zombie plague and the prime character of the original series. Carl dies young in the show.

“He was my favorite character,” Cox said.

The annual Tsubasacon is an anime, gaming and cosplay convention. It started in 2004 in Charleston, was held several years in Huntington before returning in 2019 to Charleston.

About 2,000 people participated.

Cox did all her make up and costuming, including the special effects to make it appear she had no left eye. Her mother, Lindsay, helped her find a hat and a shirt that resembled what Carl wore.

Audrey has been involved in cosplay for about a year and a half. Cosplaying as Ben Drowned, a Creepypasta character, she won the junior division in a contest in March at the Toy Expo at the Parkersburg Art Center.

Her parents are supportive and also happy with the first-place award received at the Tsubasacon.

“We are extremely proud,” Lindsay said. “We were over the moon, really.”

“The Walking Dead” premiered Oct. 31, 2010, and ran 11 seasons. Carl was bitten and dies in Season 8.

Audrey has been watching the episodes and is in Season 8.

Audrey said her next competition will probably be the Toy Expo in 2027. A special effects make-up artist may become a career, but she hasn’t decided.

“I don’t know yet,” Audrey said. “I would like to.”