A couple of months ago I was at a convention and Ken and I were interviewing this well known game developer for Geek Watch One. In the course of the interview he happened to mention his deep love for G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. I immediately caught on to what he meant. Like me, he held a greater affinity for the realistic portrayal of a special forces unit with next gen technology and tactics as opposed to the “red lasers vs blue lasers” that we saw on the animated series. As the talk progressed he shared with me knowledge about a game that was inspired by that world, but not officially of it… let’s call it “adjacent”. So, if I was strictly into comics and not one bit into tabletop gaming, this may be the lure that I would need to give it a shot. Much like the game Dead of Winter was made for the Walking Dead crowd. Someone may be a fan of the comic, show or both…heck, they may even play the video game, but here is another way to enjoy that fandom… and possibly feed a new obsession? 

That’s the beauty of our fandoms, isn’t it? I mean, a movie is no longer just a movie. It is a series of novels, it’s a comic, it’s a video game, it is an app. We have the opportunity to live in our worlds in so many different ways now. And, if you happen to have a fandom that is sorely underrepresented, I bet that there is a way to enjoy it that is similar, although not the same. And sometimes those allow for more personal interaction and creativity, which can make your fandom even moreso “yours” than the official property can.

So, be careful, gamer, comic person or avid reader. Your fandom might just have you multitasking before the year is out and your shelves bursting with swag that you’d never imagined buying before! Oh… and you’re welcome!