A Celebration of All Things Geeky

I’m a fucking geek.

Thoroughly. Unrepentantly. Fanatically.

I love a variety of geeky things from Star Wars to Lord of the Rings, from comic books to comic conventions. I love super hero movies, both live-action and animated. My book shelves are filled with science fiction and fantasy, both classic and contemporary. And while I don’t dress up myself, I admire and appreciate the artistry behind good cosplay.

In the last decade or so, all of these have gained popularity with the general public. Geek culture has slowly permeated pop culture, and those of us who worship at the altar of Geek have become more accepted.

While there has pushback from people who cling to the idea that geekiness should make one a social pariah, and from geeks who don’t like the idea of “outsiders” joining their once exclusive and hallowed fellowship, I’m glad to see so many of the things I love being celebrated by new fans and more people in general.

The more, the absolute merrier!

No place and event is more representative of this explosion of geek culture than the San Diego Comic Con.

***

I was lucky enough to go to the San Diego Comic Con in 2010 and 2011.

The first time I entered the exhibition hall, I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of booths and displays of things I loved.

2010 was the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. Much of what I first saw were displays of various Star Wars memorabilia, life-sized statues of characters, scale models of scenes from the movie (the one depicting the Battle of Hoth was my favorite!) and Star Wars cosplayers reenacting scenes from the movie and posing for pictures.

Moreover, there were crowds of fans, many of whom were parents with their children, all watching and appreciating what they were seeing.

What struck me the most, however, was that everyone was smiling.

I can’t consciously recall being anywhere else where everyone I saw had a smile on their face.

What also blew my mind was there were 150,000 people in attendance that year – and every single person seemed happy, like there was nowhere else they’d rather be. We were all there in celebration of our various fandoms, united by our love of and passion for traditionally geeky things.

At Comic Con, we were all allowed to be our geeky selves without fear of criticism or social ostracization.

At one point, I stopped and thought, “These are my people! It’s like I’ve been lost this whole time, but, now, I’ve finally found my way home.”

It was deeply comforting, and I may or may not have gotten a little misty-eyed at the thought.

***

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to go back to SDCC in ten years. And as mainstream as many aspects of geek culture have become, there’s still a large portion of the population that decries all things geek. Sometimes, this resistance comes from people I don’t expect.

When I first got to grad school, I sought out other people who shared my geeky interests. I was met with mixed results. I made a few friends who were happy to talk comics and graphic novels, and who sometimes tagged along with me to my weekly run to an awesome local comic book store I’d found.

Others were off-put by my geekiness, especially my love of comic books. What surprised me, however, was a lot of this resistance came from people in my English Literature cohort. All of us were book nerds. All of us were accustomed to spending hours isolated in a library reading and researching. In fact, most of us were happy doing so.

However, many of my classmates saw my love of comics as some sort of intellectual flaw. They clung to the outdated idea that “comics are for kids.” Clearly, they’ve never read anything by Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Garth Ennis (I loved Preacher so much!), or Robert Kirkman.

Moreover, I was looked down upon for writing my master’s thesis on comic books. Many people in my cohort were writing on Shakespeare, Milton, Hemingway, Elliot, etc.; authors whose works I enjoy and who made substantial contributions to the English Literary Canon. However, as much as I like these authors and their works, I just didn’t have anything significant to say about them, nor did I feel passionately enough about their work to make them the focus of my thesis.

My topic? Totalitarianism and the illusion of choice in the Nuclear Age as portrayed by the seminal works of Alan Moore (V for Vendetta and Watchmen).

This was met in class with blank stares, disapproving frowns, and one enthusiastic smile from my friend Dajanae, who was writing her thesis on horror movie tropes (just one of several reasons we’re friends).

***

As difficult as it was to face scrutiny for my geekiness from some of my academic peers, being a geek is far more of a hindrance in the dating world.

Many women my age are off-put by my love of comic books and the fact that I’m a grown man who still plays video games. Moreover, when I try to explain why I still love these things so much, their eyes often glaze over and I can feel their sudden desire to be elsewhere.

Yes, or course, there are women out there that are geeky in the same ways I am, but they’re difficult to find. Rarer still are women who share my geeky interests who are also attracted to me (I have the sex appeal of Danny DeVito’s Penguin from Batman Returns).

In my adult life, I’ve only met a handful of geeky women with whom I’ve been compatible. Most of them were unavailable, however.

That being said, I did go on a date with an amazing girl who managed my favorite coffee shop. We initially bonded over a discussion of horror movies, podcasts, and comic books. Eventually, we went on a date to my favorite comic book store.

I was so wonderful to be on a date with someone and not feel compelled to hide the things I’m passionate about. I was free to be myself with her. And knowing that she enjoyed those things as well and reveled in how geeky we could be with one another…it was a dream come true.

Sadly, that never blossomed into a relationship due to reasons I won’t go into (unrelated to anything geeky). But it gave me a glimpse of what’s possible…and made me want it all the more.

***

An important defining aspect geek-hood is being passionate about things.

As geeks, we LOVE the things we’re fans of. Ask a geek to tell you about their favorite superhero or why they love something like Doctor Who, and be prepared for a dissertation on the topic.

Not only do we love what we do, we want you to love it, too. And we’re prepared at a moment’s notice to present you with the overwhelming evidence we feel you’ll need to become a fan of our favorite thing, too.

Being passionate about the things we love runs contrary to what seems “cool” these days.

I’m not sure when it happened, but in order to be cool, it seems you must have a general disdain, or at the least, aloofness, for everything and everyone. Yes, even for the things and people you actually like. However, in order to maintain a cool façade, you’re only allowed to express your appreciation for something in small doses and in negative terms.

“I guess that doesn’t suck,” is the cool person’s version of “I fucking love that!”

To me, that sounds like a miserable, nihilistic existence.

Give me loud and proud geekiness any day.

***

Can I confess something?

I have this dream where one (or more…hopefully more) of the novels I’m working on eventually gets published and, later, optioned by a film studio or a streaming service to be made into a movie or show series. Leading up to the film or show’s release, I’ll get to travel all over the country to attend comic conventions, do book signings, and make panel appearances to promote it.

Not because I want to be famous (honestly, I don’t see the appeal), but because that will afford me the opportunity to make a living by interacting with people who are fans of many of the same things I am.

When I was at SDCC, I struck up dozens of conversations with people next to whom I was waiting in line for panels and signings. Though the topics differed based on what we were waiting for, the conversations all went more or less the same: “I love this. You love this. Isn’t it great how much we both love this awesome thing? Yeah, we can totally be friends.”

What’s great is, I wasn’t the only one that had this experience. I saw this happen all over the San Diego Convention Center. So many people bonding over things they were mutually passionate about. “Amazing” and “life-affirming” don’t quite do it justice.

What’s more, that I was in a wheelchair was never an issue for anyone. In fact, most people were kind and considerate, moving aside so I could get by or see something better. No one seemed to see me as a disabled person. Instead, they saw a fellow geek, someone else who enjoyed and appreciated the things they loved.

It was a refreshing change from the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) stares and walk-on-eggshell interactions of my everyday life.

***

The San Diego Comic Con and other comic and fandom conventions are declarations of geekiness. They are the havens for “true believers,” the gathering grounds of geekdom. They are the altars upon which we give thanks for all of the great works of science fiction, fantasy, anime, manga, for all things Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation, for heroes both god-like and human, and where we pray for intergalactic starships and warp drives, for working teleporters and light sabers, for George R.R. Martin to finish writing the Song of Ice and Fire series, and for Patrick Rothfuss to finally write the final book in the King-Killer Chronicles.

Cons like SDCC are places where all things geek are celebrated, where we’re free to be our geekiest of selves, and where we accept and are accepted by others for doing so.

Rarely have I ever felt so accepted so readily and completely for being myself.

***

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