Don’t Call Them NERDS
Die by the Pen will be taking a two week hiatus, while Jared Gniewek explores the English countryside in pursuit of the historical Watership Down. This week, Kevin Gillespie fills in with his thoughts about his first trip to a comic convention and his own place in fandom.
by Kevin Gillespie
Chewbacca sits at the end of the row – a wide brimmed leather hat obscures his wild eyes – as he signs an autograph for a cotton-mouthed, tongue-tied fan. From beyond the gang of breathless fanatics, an impostor Chewbacca roars announcing his arrival. He stomps his way through the line bellowing through an electronic voice changer, waving his arms over his head. The real Chewie looks up from his hastily scrawled autograph and smiles, belting out a weak but gleeful roar of his own. The fan looks on, his sweaty twenty-five dollars clutched tight in his fist, his mouth soundlessly mouthing words like the face of a dying fish.
