7MMO
Moderator
The Dungeon Crawler Carl books have really popped off this year. With the release of the eighth book in the series, the first graphic novel collection, and an official TV series announcement, there's a lot for Matt Dinniman fans to be excited about in 2026.
In addition to the actual story, there's been a ton of new Dungeon Crawler Carl merch available this year. And now that Halloween is approaching, there's even an officially licensed Carl costume at Spirit Halloween.
Update: The Dungeon Crawler Carl Costume is already sold out everywhere. Check your local Spirit Halloween to find if any stock is still available near you.
The Spirit Halloween is known to parody a lot of popular media with its costumes each year, but this version is actually officially licensed. So instead of being called something like "Dungeon Bomb Guy" or "Fantasy Boxer Shorts Man," the name is just simply "Dungeon Crawler Carl Costume."
The costume itself is actually pretty good and true to the Carl you'll find in the early books. It's got his classic heart boxer shorts, his enchanted gauntlet, and even a stick of dynamite to complete vibe. At $59.99, it's an easy out-of-the-box options for anyone looking to rep their favorite LitRPG book series this year.
The only problem with Spirit Halloween costumes, in my opinion, is that they are usually made of very flimsy materials. If you're looking for something that looks more legit, it's pretty easy to replicate this entire costume with higher-quality products or craft a DIY version with stuff you may already own.
How to Build Your Own Dungeon Crawler Carl Costume
Carl is a pretty simple character design, so a lot can be done with a little. If you're hoping to just buy all of the individual parts on Amazon, I've done most of the work for you here. In general though, here's everything you need for a base Carl costume:
- A war gauntlet (or a fingerless glove)
- A sleevless black jacket
- A hooded cape
- Heart boxer shorts (can be done with stickers)
- Knee pads (spikes are optional)
- A black bandana (or cloth)
Outside of those six key items, there are some things you can do to make it feel more like Dungeon Crawler Carl and less like a biker vagabond. The biggest upgrade you can possibly make to the base design is to add in a shoulder cat, but you can also add patches to your jacket or sport a pair of Bea's pink clogs. Carl spends most of the story barefoot though, so shoes are optional.
Costume Tip: If you want to make the cheapest possible Carl costume, consider making some of the items yourself. A sleeveless jacket can just be a black hoodie with the sleeves cut off. Heart boxer shorts could just be white with heart stickers added. A war gauntlet could just be a fingerless glove with spikes glued to the knuckles. It's easy to get creative here and still make something fans will recognize.
Adding Princess Donut Makes Any Carl Costume Better
Whether you buy the Spirit Halloween version of the costume or make your own, there's one key element that is going to elevate the whole look: Princess Donut. It can (and has been) argued that Princess Donut is actually the main character of the story and if she were real, she would honestly be upset that the Carl costume doesn't include her at all.
Princess Donut is a tortoiseshell Persian, but it's surprisingly hard to find a good plush that fits her image well and an official product isn't available just yet. The easiest solution for a costume is to just grab a shoulder cat plush from Amazon and make it work, or repurpose an existing cat plush you may already have.
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