In her riveting new book, Fandomania, photographer Elena Dorfman examines the pop culture phenomenon of "cosplay," in which participants dress up in costumes--and live part of their lives--as characters from video games, animated films and Japanese graphic novels. The exploding cosplay subculture flourishes at convention centers, college dorms, private clubs and in homes across the country. Dorfman puts herself quietly behind the scenes of these fan-based events to create a remarkable collective portrait.

Plain Janes dressed for the astral ball and warriors without a cause, ornate to the brink of goth-baroque... Enjoy or squirm before Elena Dorfman's pictures to your own level of comfort, bur know thaf here is a celebration of beauty, nor travesty. --CARLO McCORMICK