The cosplay community is all about giving back. There may be no better example than these unsung costume medics.

At New York Comic Con’s first cosplay contest, in 2006, the costumes were “almost like whatever you could find at a Halloween shop,” Asuncion said. He was one of few contestants.

After 9 years at Comic-Con, Cinema Makeup School is the go-to emergency room for cosplayers in need of a quick costume repair or make-up touch up. The Los Angeles-based school is centrally located ...