Christchurch Armageddon has gone off with a bang

This year, he went as the character Senku Ishigami from the anime Dr Stone.

His first Armageddon was in 2017 in Auckland, and that was the first time he and his friends cosplayed - and he's been doing it ever since. He tries to attend every year if he can find the time.

Elliot is always thinking ahead to what his next cosplay will be.

“I really want to do Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon. 

"I want to do a full build with leather and everything, which is going to be a bit complicated.” 

Elliot says it can take between six months and a year to craft one of the more complex cosplay costumes. 

Armageddon started back in 1995 as a small Doctor Who meet-up, but slowly grew into an event to trade trading cards and talk about all things nerd.

Now 30 years on, Armageddon is the largest pop culture event in Aotearoa, with expos in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, selling hundreds of tickets online and some on the door as well each year.

Armageddon constantly brings celebrities from all over the world to speak at the events and conduct photo and signing sessions with the fans. This year in Christchurch fans met Tyler Hoechlin, from Superman and Lois, and Matthew Waterhouse, a former Doctor Who actor known for playing Adric, as well as many more talented people.

Amageddon was a smash hit in Ōtautahi this year, with all walks of life attending the convention, from children to grandparents, cosplayers and furries. The event had a large variety of stalls and different nerdy things like swords and trading cards, along with books by small New Zealand authors.

With people coming from all over the South Island to attend Armageddon, accommodation places benefitted from the event.

Elliot says Armageddon is somewhere everyone can fit in, and he looks forward to going for many more years to come.