After work Friday, I rushed home to make last-minute costume adjustments and found Stacy in Spiderman's arms! She claimed to be checking him for structural weakness, but it looked a lot like dancing to me.

When the silver claws were dry, it was ready for a test-run.

The larger black ribbed pipe slid over the bent pvc that was attached to the backpack, and spiderman rested on top of that. 

I scooted backward on my butt, carefully strapping on the backpack like Sigourney Weaver in Alien. 

With the straps holding, I pulled my legs under myself and gingerly stood up.

It worked! Spiderman was positioned pretty far above my head, and his position was far enough back that I wasn't being pulled over.

It looked great! The arms were strong and upright, but had a little sideways movement that twisted as I walked. I had two claws holding Spiderman above my head and two more poised menacingly in front of me.

The greatest thing about the costume was that my arms were both free. I could walk around with a beer and a camera!

Spiderman was far above my head, which, I'd learned in years previous, was important in a drunken crowd.

It would limit me to rooms with a tall ceiling, but I'd already checked out Empire and Cal Expo. I was pretty sure I'd be fine if I could get in the door.

A few more laps around the parking lot and I was satisfied that the costume would hold together! I couldn't wait for the first contest to start!

The next test was whether or not the costume would fit into my trunk. It did, in six easy-to-assemble pieces. I was sure to pack plenty of extra zip-ties, the vital ingredient which caused so much grief in my Jenga costume from last year.

I was waived in past the line outside, did a little limbo to get under a catwalk and was inside.

I scanned the room for any other larger-than-life costumes and was relieved to see that I was the only one. I made my way to the bar, got a bottle of courage, and made myself comfortable.

The DJ took notice and made an announcement: "HAS ANYONE SEEN SPIDERMAN? IT SEEMS THAT SPIDERMAN IS MISSING". This got huge laughs.

The costume contest was set to begin at midnight, with several sexy stage acts keeping the crowd entertained. This photo shows a schoolgirl acrobat with a flaming jump rope. 

Please continue reading page 7 of the Doctor Octopus costume.