And this is just a small sampling of all the amazing, sexy, crazy, and brilliant costumes in our full collection on Flickr. If you want to see more of your fellow io9ers partying down cosplay-style, then check out the full io9 Halloween Costume gallery on Flickr. See you next year!

This picture is great for two reasons. One, classic Trek pose. Two, this was taken at a party for physics researchers and students. Pierre-W proves physicists know how to party!

Tmoogan is a smokin' Comedian. He even got the facial hair right!

Is it possible that Andrewswright is the coolest dad ever?
From mjollnir999, a snapshot of a party where everybody dressed up just right.
Bonus points to oy.veh for adding special effects to this shot of the Ghostbusters hunting ghosts in some kind of office . . .

Thank you, vulcanized75, for keeping Starbuck alive in our hearts. Somebody seriously researched that tat.

I am in awe. Seriously, grendl64, this is fucking awesome.

Steampunk and loligoth are two great tastes that go great together, right sexyphlegm?
It's Sweeney Todd vs. Captain Mal! A cage match I'd like to see, and now I have, thanks to Gaambit.

Oh my! It's the ghost of Teddy Roosevelt! Operaghost1 says he's going to split the Republican vote by reviving the Bull Moose Party.

M1khaela knows what gets Teen Wolf excited - meeting a girl from the Anti-Sex League! This coupling is full of 1980s meta-goodness.

All month long we're running the io9 Halloween Costume Show in a Flickr pool. Want to show off this year's duds, or gems from Halloweens past? Show us what you've got! The one rule is that you can only post pictures of yourself - or yourself with friends. Next week we'll post the final round of standouts from this Halloween weekend, but there are a ton of great costumes that we don't get to feature - so check out the whole set on Flickr!

Don't forget to take pictures of yourself this weekend and post them for all to see!

Frankenstein, from patherring.
Asari commando from Mass Effect, from Dynamite Laserbeams.
The monster from Buffy episode "Hush," which is possibly the most scary thing ever. From boozysmurf.

Steampunk mechanic in search of giant bolts (aren't we all?), from walkerspace.

Jack Skellington apparently has a digital camera, at least according to lbthai76.

This is one of the most bizarre and original costumes yet - Sarah Palin in The Birds, from NikiSublime. Nicely done.

Poor Tank looks lonely. Is he, bluerobsn?
Sweetums, also from boozysmurf!

It's almost Halloween, but you still need an idea for a DIY costume that will be the envy of all fanboys and girls across the galaxy? Lucky for you, Star Wars fans are a crafty bunch and they have plenty of tips for everyone from the most-advanced to the laziest costumer.

For those of you wanting to create a more authentic look to your Boba Fett costume, here's a handy video tutorial on how to weather his cape using a pizza cutter, cardboard and spray paint!

For the younglings in your life, here's a super-easy craft tutorial on how to make an adorkable DIY Kids' Yoda costume by Craft magazine's Susan Beal:

I used an Empire Strikes Back Yoda action figure for inspiration, and carried him around the fabric store to loosely match fabric colors to him and his outfit. The central piece, a simple brown robe, is altered from an adult T-shirt, and the other elements (a hat, snake, belt, and walking stick) are all quick sewing projects using basic templates.

If your Padmé Amidala costume is ready to go but you're not sure how to make your face look less like you've been wrestling with Acklays and more like you're ready to make out with a Skywalker, then this is exactly what was used on Natalie Portman in the films!

Check out these Padmé Make-up Pointers from Revenge of the Sith Make-up Supervisor Nikki Gooley:

Make-up by Nikki Gooley
Foundation: Make-Up Forever Face and Body foundation was applied in shade # 03. Concealer: Gooley used Shu Uemura Mark Concealer with Yves St Laurent Touche Eclat Concealer in # 03 under the eyes.
Powder: Gooley applied Visiora 003 Powder.
Eye shadow: Stila powder shadow in Barefoot Contessa # 33 was applied all over the lids. Then it was worked it up into the socket and blended out with Stila in Moonlight # 38. On the top lids, the lashline was lined with Stila shadow in Java # 8. Gooley then dabbed her browbones with Calvin Klein Eye Gloss.
Brows: Brows were filled in with Stila Convertable Eye Color Liner in Teak.
Mascara: Gooley used a classic favorite, Maybelline Great Lash in Black.
Cheeks: Stila Convertable Cheek Color, a cream blush in Peony, was dabbed on the apples of the cheeks and blended up onto the cheek bone.
Lips: Stila Lipstick in Jo was applied, then blotted. Gooley then used Elizabeth Arden 8-Hour Cream over the top of the lips. Gooley says that although it's usually used as a skin cream, she loves using it on lips because it gives them a nice, natural sheen.

Don't forget to give your dog a chance to show off his Sith or Jedi pride too! Craft magazine Senior Editor Natalie Zee Drieu made these cute Ewok, Darth Vader and Princess Leia dog costumes from felt, cotton fabric, yarn, and ribbon!

The trick about making quick Halloween costumes and especially ones for dogs is that you don't have to be perfect. Time is of essence here and we are all busy crafters. Since most of the costumes will only need to be worn for a few hours at most, cutting corners is definitely okay in my book. If you don't know how to sew or need to get it done in a snap — fabric glue, hemming tape, and sticker Velcro works wonders! Also, I used existing doggie jackets as pattern templates. Using these help me fit the dogs better and I didn't have to worry about doing too many fittings or wasting time creating patterns from scratch.

For the truly last-minute Star Wars costume, you can always print out and wear these vintage and prequel masks right now! Or do a mash-up and be a Sith Luchador!

• Vintage Star Wars masks
• Revenge of the Sith Masks
• Clone Wars Masks
• Star Wars Lucha Libre Masks

While you're in the Halloween crafting spirit, here are some handy templates from Starwars.com to print out to make your own Spooky Sith-O-Lanterns! Or try your hand at sculpting a Halloween Yoda Pumpkin.

Get more inspiration for your own Star Wars costume by checking out the Rebelscum Halloween Costume Contest Gallery!

Once you're finished with your costume, be sure to post them to the io9 Scifi Halloween Costume Show!

Bonnie Burton is a Senior Editor for Starwars.com. She is also the author of the books "Draw Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and "You Can Draw: Star Wars." You can find her 24/7 on Twitter & on Grrl.com.

[Diesel Sweeties]

Sad news for the playful and clever collection of CG pals cast in Dreamworks Monsters Versus Aliens. While taking a conference call, Jeffey Katzenberg explained why the monsters needed to be put down:

I'd like to tell you there's a perfectly rational, clear and easy answer as to why not, but there isn't. There was enough of a consensus from our distribution and marketing folks in certain parts of the world that we would be pushing a boulder up a hill.

In my humble opinion, nobody knows how to market animation anymore, except Disney/Pixar. This makes me sad because I was dearly hoping for an Insectosaurus stuffed animal, and it was all but impossible to find. Still haven't seen it in stores. But besides the marketing the movie fared pretty well in theaters and was wildly entertaining. So this is sad news.

Sadly this will be the last time we spend with our dear Monster friends, in this brand new Halloween special clip, on Tonight! That is until they get their own TV show...

[via Slashfilm]

Frankenstein Conquers The World

Because, sometimes, a monster has to save the world from a Godzilla-esque other monster, who's threatening (where else?) Japan.

Dracula The Superhero
We'd love to say that we can't blame Dell Comics for trying to cash in on the Batmania of the 1960s by turning Dracula into a superhero, but... Well, it's Dracula as a superhero. Even worse, it's a modern-day Count Dracula as a scientist who accidentally swallows some formula that allows him to transform into a bat and then decides to fight crime in a purple jumpsuit. Seriously, in what world is that a good idea?

Supporting Team Spirit Is Some Kind Of Good-Doing, Right?
Maybe werewolves were meant to be working for a common good. Exhibit A:

Frankenstein's Monster... Hunter
Ignore the shortlived attempt to turn the character into a superhero from the same people behind the Dracula superhero (Although we're slightly charmed by the secret identity "Frank N. Stone"); the best comic version of Mary Shelley's creation is undoubtedly Grant Morrison's sullen hero from the Seven Soldiers series, packing heat and a grim demeanor as he dispatches demons, alien invasions and deals with his former Bride, who just so happens to be a reanimated agent of a secret government agency investigating weirdness. Freaks have never had such a strong defender as this son of Victor Frankenstein.

Zombies Can Do More Than Shuffle
It's hard to make a case for zombies being good guys; they're mostly unthinking forces of brain-eating chaos, as opposed to particularly malicious. And yet, who could argue that this didn't improve their life just a little bit?

Werewolf By Night
His name is Jack Russell, people. Whoever said that the 1970s wasn't the age of Mighty Marvel Bad Ideas?

Buffy The Vampire Slayer In General
Vampires with souls, sarcastic werewolves in bands and demons with perfectly justifiable fears of bunnies. Joss Whedon's calling card may have specialized in making heroes out of monsters - even Dracula helped out the Slayers in the Season Eight comic series - but he made sure to keep them interesting even after they'd seen the light (Metaphorically so, in Angel's and Spike's cases, of course).

Dracula Saves Hallowe'en

Any movie that has a plot where Dracula has to save Hallowe'en because the classic horror monsters are seen as funny rather than scary already has our love, but where The Hallowe'en That Almost Wasn't goes horribly wrong isn't even the Munsters-esque treatment of the characters, but the casting of Judd Hirsch as Dracula. There's just no way to find that man scary, sadly.

We Ain't Afraid Of No Ghosts (1)

'Nuff said? No, wait...

We Ain't Afraid Of No Ghosts (2)

Definitely 'nuff said. Paranormal Activity would've been so much better if it'd been Casper visiting instead...

These jack-o-lantern stencils from Camp Blood make me beyond happy! We've seen Star Wars, Dr. Horrible and Firefly before — but at last, something new to slice into your pumpkin's face. We're still looking for other new ideas. Please, if you find a Dollhouse pumpkin or a McG-faced jack-o-lantern, send us pics before you smash it to bits!

It's horror time, which means galleries, triviagasms, essays and reviews about everything from classic horror writers to the scariest villains. There will be a special weeklong smackdown series where you vote for which monsters would win in cage matches. And we'll bring you reviews of scary movies and TV to watch this week.

When you finally figure out your costume, post a picture of yourself in our io9 Halloween Costume Show pool on Flickr - we'll be featuring the best of those this week (pre-Halloween) and next week (so you can send us shots from Halloween night!).

So get ready to get scared - or at least a little freaked out.

The always wonderful Bonnie Burton of The Official Star Wars Blog was at last night's LucasFilm Halloween Party and snapped some great photos of the creative costumes crowding the floor.

You can see more photos from the party at Bonnie's Twitpic.

Sushi Family
Mugatu
Monsters vs. Aliens
Waldo
Venusian Alien from It Conquered the World
Zombie Snow White and the Seven Dwarf Skulls
Pinata
Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers
Up
Spinal Tap Takes the Stage
Retro Monsters and Robots
Best Costume Lineup

Instead of Superheroes: Disney Mash-Ups

As much as I love a well-dressed Clark Kent with the Superman T-shirt peeking out from underneath his white button down, we've all seen it before. And sadly, the Watchmen idea is a little played out by now as well. I'm sorry, but the 1,000 Rorschach comic con cosplayers pretty much solidified Rorschach's status as this year's Joker costume. So mix it up, literally. Be a Disney Marvel Mashup like Mickey Venom here. It's clever, timely and most likely the most original costume you'll see all night.

Instead of Sexy Princess/Sexy Beloved Childhood Icons: Undead/Evil Princesses And Villains

Another Halloween, another batch of slutty Disney Princesses and beloved childhood characters getting sexified by the masses. Look, just because they make the costume, doesn't mean you have to wear it. Sexy Snow White and Rainbow Brite are TIRED. We suggest that if you're going to sexify a cartoon princess, do it with edge, twisted princess style — like this overhauled evil Alice get up from horrorland. You could even flip it around and be the baddie, we're actually kind of excited about sexy Maleficent, at least we haven't seen her around the block as many times as Snow White.

Instead of The Joker: Cesar's Joker

We get it, you really, really, really liked Dark Knight's Joker. Well so did millions of other people, which is why the streets are perpetually flooded with Jokers every year, The Office even poked fun at the Joker masses. This year if you must don the old purple suit, at least go retro Cesar Romero style. Don't forget the pencil-thin mustache.

Instead of Bloody Doctor: A Real Science Experiment Gone Wrong, District 9 Style

Every year one of my friends in the medical profession always half asses it with an old pair of scrubs and some fake blood. This is not scary, nor is it interesting. Put a timely spin on this look with a "Prawn" hand! Slap on a "property of MNU" and this amazing arm extension and BAM you're Wikus from District 9. Just remember to say "fook" a lot. Alien hand available on ebay.

Instead of Sexy Cat: Sexy Avatar Cat

Throngs of unwashed, mewing "sexy cats" prowl paws first through our city street every year. But this year, we beg of you, update your kitty ears and tails into a James Cameron approved sexy cat, an Avatar Na'vi. Plus 1,000 points if you wrap it in with Arrested Development's "never nude" shorts.

Instead of Darth Vader: Sexy Vader

While we all love a good Chewy and Han here and there, I'm a little tired of seeing poorly constructed Vaders. Give the old costume a whirl this year and throw a pair of heels on the Dark Lord.

Instead of Leia: Zombie Leia

Same thing that applies to Vader also applies to the tons of Leia costumes, switch it up, take her from beauty to undead lovely with a zombie twist!

You can see all the amazing costumes posted so far in our Flickr pool, and add your own! Halloween is just a little over a week away, so it's time to try on your costumes and show them off to us. See our Halloween Costume Show on Flickr.

What the hell is this? It gives me a dark, fuzzy, confusing feeling. A Yeti pervert? Posted by Johnejpowers.

Former io9 intern Andrew Liptak made this distressed Clone Trooper costume.

It's DJ Phantom Limb vs. DJ Hank Venture! Oh hell yes. Picture by Ines Maskell.

Cutest mind meld I've ever seen - and I've seen a lot of them, let me tell you. Your cutenizer, please, Byronotron!

Tinkerbell! Need I say more? From auburnkt.

DiY Tony Stark nuke heart! Created and worn by Justin.Brown.

This adult Halloween costume shows an alien in a prison suit, holding a green card. Get it???!!!! The second illegal alien hat has a dark mustache and baseball cap over space alien features. And you can tell our space friends are pissed.

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles explained that it had been receiving many complaints about the costume.

Jorge-Mario Cabrera, the director of communications for CHIRLA, said he initially thought the costume was a stab at harmless satire. But when he saw the Green Card, he realized it was an swipe at illegal immigrants.

Even though the costumes have been pulled from Target, the "drama" might be increasing the outfits attention. A Halloween costume supplier Ricky's in NY commented that the costume was doing pretty well and they had to order additional shipments. And William Gheen the president of Americans for Legal Immigration, even intends to purchase the costume and called the critics hyper-sensitive.

[CNN]

On October 28th, NBC is airing a Monsters vs. Aliens Halloween special, Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space. Our heroes will return to Modesto when a new alien presence is detected just before Halloween. It being Halloween, they naturally find that the city's pumpkins have transformed into mutant aliens and are wreaking havoc on the town.

The video below contains five clips from the special, in which we witness the pumpkins' alien origins, learn what Susan dresses as for Halloween, and watch the Missing Link try to impress his fellow trick-or-treaters.

[Collider]

All month long we're running the io9 Halloween Costume Show in a Flickr pool. Want to show off this year's duds, or gems from Halloweens past? Show us what you've got! The one rule is that you can only post pictures of yourself - or yourself with friends. Every week we'll be rounding up some standouts, but there are a ton of great costumes that we don't get to feature - so check out the whole set on Flickr!

I utterly love these cute, matching homemade Dalek costumes. This is girl nerdery at its finest. Posted by xfanatic501.

Nick Philippi gives us his best numberless henchman of Monarch impression. Just in time for the new season of Venture Bros!

This is just holy crap weird and awesome. It's a World War II Aviator Gremlin. Created by Kory Bing, who posted more great costumes in the pool too.

Halloween is an emo time, as Crow knows. From Tasayu Tasnaphun.

We have been feeling tragic all week that atomicglassworks never got a picture of herself in this gorgeous "shipwreck" dress. How lovely is this?

Here is atomicglassworks in her She-Ra incarnation.

DynamiteLaserbeams created this costume of Tali'Zorah nar Rayya from Mass Effect. Wow.