Scandals, political gaffes and rivalries are inspiring Halloween costumes this year, from elaborate store-bought designs to do-it-yourself disguises that need little more than a stapler and a wicked sense of humor.

At New York Costumes, a President Barack Obama mask is slightly outselling a mask of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, said store manager Tony Bianchi.

Big Bird is sold out, flying off the shelves Romney vowed to defund public broadcasting in a presidential debate earlier this month, said Bianchi and also Ereka Dunn, spokeswoman for Ricky's, another New York costume store.

"Everything is television-driven or scandal-driven," Bianchi said. Costumes go for as much as $250, he said.

Sales of the Joker, the Batman movie villain, dropped below the newer villain Bane this season, likely a result of being outdated than blowback from the deadly Colorado theater shooting by a gunman dressed as the Joker, salespeople said.

Ripped-from-the-headlines costumes are popular among do-it-yourselfers who lack cash but have a wealth of ingenuity.

One costume creator featured online made a mask to look like "The Beast Jesus," the famously botched fresco retouching done by an aging parishioner at a Spanish church. A photograph of the costume posted this month reportedly got 750,000 hits in two days.

(Read by Emily Cheng. Emily Cheng is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)