Chaos has erupted at the Bendigo Pop Culture Expo after popular cosplayer William Dangles was arrested for allegedly taking the phrase “screen-accurate” far too literally.
Mr Dangles, whose costume consisted of light blue body paint with a darker blue circle of colour and a dot on his forehead, protested that he accurately represented Doctor Manhattan from the 1986 graphic novel "Watchmen".
Arresting officer Andy Cuffs said, “Look, we’re all for self-expression, but there’s a line between artistic accuracy and public indecency — and that line is usually a pair of pants.
Mr Dangles explained, "It's a perfect copy of the character from the Graphic Novel, or snort, the 2009 Zach Snyder movie."
Officer Cuffs said, "Look, you can't walk around with just body paint, especially with kids around. And we've some additional questions on his claim he was re-applying body paint to that area.
Organiser Mylar Sleeves gave his view. "Yeah, okay, there is a lot of Doctor Manhattan in the Watchman comic. But there are also several scenes where he's wearing blue speedos. There's a whole chapter where he's mostly rocking a three-piece suit. You could have made a costume from those parts; no one wants to stand up from leaning at a comics table and cop an eyeful of Manhattan.
Despite the controversy, organisers say attendance numbers were strong, with several locals admitting the incident was “the most exciting thing to happen at the Showgrounds since a bull escaped the rodeo.”
