The English print edition of Cosmode, the Japanese cosplay magazine made its debut at Anime Expo 2008. However, with the demise of its US publisher Broccoli Books at the end of 2008, that first issue was also its last. But that doesn't mean that Cosmode disappeared. Since then English editions of Cosmode Online have been published regularly; in fact, now it's up to issue #8.

With anime convention season now in full swing, it's a good a time as any to turn your costume from okay to "oh wow" with a few tips from the pros with a free preview of Cosmode Online #8. In this 12-page preview, you'll get a look at some amazing examples of cosplay inspired by Trigun, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Yu-Gi-Oh GX, as well as makeup and wig styling tips. You'll need to register first at the Cosmode Online website, but once you do, you'll have unlimited access to this free preview. If you like what you see, you can sign up to access the full edition of issue 8 for $4.49, or pay $29.99 for a 12-issue subscription.

Even if you aren't interested in cosplay, Cosmode Online is worth checking out for the way they've reproduced a Japanese magazine online, and rather than replace and re-typeset the Japanese text with English words, the interactive magazine gives readers the option to hover over the Japanese text block to read the English text presented in a pop-up box. The pages of the online mag "turn" like a paper magazine, and offer several options to zoom into various segments of the page to get a closer look.

With the recent demise of Anime Insider and Shojo Beat, are online-only magazines like Cosmode Online and Ikki the wave of the future?