For almost a year now, every first Saturday at my place, we've been having an event I made up in response to the wives' monthly Book Club. I call it's Comic Book Club, and it was simply an excuse for my friends and I, most of whom haven't picked up an actual comic book in around a decade or so (if ever) a chance to geek out about our favorite subject. Comics Books.
As simple as that sounds, it's really something none of us get to do much. We held our first meeting at local comic con, which was actually the first time a few of our group had ever actually been to one. So what I did after that event, was to hold the day's event at my house regardless of who showed up. If it was just me staring at my Star Wars collection, it was just me. If one other person showed up, we spent the afternoon talking about comics. Either way, by hook or crook, I would host the event, send out emails a few days (sometimes the night) before and get the place ready for company. Sometimes I had snacks, sometimes I had water. Didn't matter. The point was a place for the guys who ordinarily lead busy lives a chance to to just be what we are. Nerds.
Little by little, this has taken on. We've had a lot of different people show up, some not part of the original group, but part of our inner circle. Never the same people twice, except for one regular. Honestly, these are the one's that kept the event alive. The original gang would hear about what they missed, and next month, one or the other would try to make it at some point during the evening. Sometimes, I'd have a guest in the afternoon, followed by a different guest in the evening. I even had friends attend via webcam, which I set up via Google Hangout for each event. Last month or the first time, all the original gang (and for some inexplicable reason, my mom) showed up to watch The Wolverine on my tiny, outdated "dumb" TV. (My complex has a freaking surround sound theater, but I wasn't prepared for a movie that week, and hadn't reserved it.) And it was, in short, great. They've all been great, really. And all based on the simple idea that we get together, with no shame or reserve, for the express purpose of talking about comics, sci fi and, inevitably, movies.
Yeah, we have topics each month, and books we're supposed to read. We've really only actually gotten to read one series, which I happened to find online (most of us actually read it there.) And we go off topic. A lot. We were supposed to be discussing Guardians of the Galaxy and instead went into a deep discussion of how far behind I am on Doctor Who. (I'm a completest. What can I say. Jamie, get me some jelly babies and reverse the polarity. Yes, I'm that far behind.) We've talked about movies, TV, Batman, X-Men, Star Wars, added some blacklights I had lying around, pulled out the relevant comic book toys I still have (which is ALL of them) and all to the soundtrack of a collection of movie themes I put together and, last week, I added my tablet to the this display area around the table where I run a YouTube playlist of popular comic book movie themes, or whathaveyou.
So I thought I'd share that with you, and maybe inspire you to try the same thing. Maybe it isn't comic books that interests your circle. Maybe it's card gaming. Or sci fi. I chose comic books, because it's the root of all our interests. So it draws a more diverse crowd. We actually schooled a group of younger guys who attended one event, who really knew only about the movie adaptations of their favorite characters, but not what inspired them. And a lot of other things about sci fi and movies they didn't know, either. We've really made an event out of this, and now people email me asking if I'm still having the event this month.
If you do give it a try, let me know and post some of your experiences here. I'd love to see if this is something we could make international.
As simple as that sounds, it's really something none of us get to do much. We held our first meeting at local comic con, which was actually the first time a few of our group had ever actually been to one. So what I did after that event, was to hold the day's event at my house regardless of who showed up. If it was just me staring at my Star Wars collection, it was just me. If one other person showed up, we spent the afternoon talking about comics. Either way, by hook or crook, I would host the event, send out emails a few days (sometimes the night) before and get the place ready for company. Sometimes I had snacks, sometimes I had water. Didn't matter. The point was a place for the guys who ordinarily lead busy lives a chance to to just be what we are. Nerds.
Little by little, this has taken on. We've had a lot of different people show up, some not part of the original group, but part of our inner circle. Never the same people twice, except for one regular. Honestly, these are the one's that kept the event alive. The original gang would hear about what they missed, and next month, one or the other would try to make it at some point during the evening. Sometimes, I'd have a guest in the afternoon, followed by a different guest in the evening. I even had friends attend via webcam, which I set up via Google Hangout for each event. Last month or the first time, all the original gang (and for some inexplicable reason, my mom) showed up to watch The Wolverine on my tiny, outdated "dumb" TV. (My complex has a freaking surround sound theater, but I wasn't prepared for a movie that week, and hadn't reserved it.) And it was, in short, great. They've all been great, really. And all based on the simple idea that we get together, with no shame or reserve, for the express purpose of talking about comics, sci fi and, inevitably, movies.
Yeah, we have topics each month, and books we're supposed to read. We've really only actually gotten to read one series, which I happened to find online (most of us actually read it there.) And we go off topic. A lot. We were supposed to be discussing Guardians of the Galaxy and instead went into a deep discussion of how far behind I am on Doctor Who. (I'm a completest. What can I say. Jamie, get me some jelly babies and reverse the polarity. Yes, I'm that far behind.) We've talked about movies, TV, Batman, X-Men, Star Wars, added some blacklights I had lying around, pulled out the relevant comic book toys I still have (which is ALL of them) and all to the soundtrack of a collection of movie themes I put together and, last week, I added my tablet to the this display area around the table where I run a YouTube playlist of popular comic book movie themes, or whathaveyou.
So I thought I'd share that with you, and maybe inspire you to try the same thing. Maybe it isn't comic books that interests your circle. Maybe it's card gaming. Or sci fi. I chose comic books, because it's the root of all our interests. So it draws a more diverse crowd. We actually schooled a group of younger guys who attended one event, who really knew only about the movie adaptations of their favorite characters, but not what inspired them. And a lot of other things about sci fi and movies they didn't know, either. We've really made an event out of this, and now people email me asking if I'm still having the event this month.
If you do give it a try, let me know and post some of your experiences here. I'd love to see if this is something we could make international.