Geek Chic

Comments (0) By Andy Wright Wednesday, Mar 24 2010

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Comic books were once the domain of nerdy kids who pored over them after school instead of playing outdoors with their peers. Attending a comic book conference was akin to renewing a virginity vow. But the medium has been adopted by the cool kids, with Hollywood adapting text after text for the big screen. Just look at the celebrity appearances lineup at this year’s WonderCon: Jake Gyllenhaal, Nicolas Cage, and Ali Larter all sit on panels at the three-day event. While it’s exciting to see comics reaching a wider audience, it’s the sheer geekery of the culture that will always hold the most charm. Sure, Jerry Bruckheimer is putting in an appearance, but so is author Peter S. Beagle. Who’s he? Oh, just the guy who wrote The Last Unicorn, the best book ever written about a unicorn on a mythical quest with a drunken magician that was turned into an animated film with songs by America! Then there’s the panel entirely devoted to utilizing forensic psychiatry to suss out the mental illnesses of the inmates of Arkham Asylum, where Gotham City’s bad guys end up. And the whole conference is brought to a close with a screening of the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Geeking out has never been so cool.
April 2-4, 2010