The Journey Begins
To start off I have a small declaration to make. I’m a GEEK… and I’m proud of it. And truthfully, I can’t quite see myself as anything else.
My journey into geekdom started back in 1991, in Primary 5, when a classmate gave me a copy of X-Men #1 by Jim Lee and I never looked back since.
Well it wasn’t as if that was the first time I read a comic – I had read a bunch of DC (mainly Superman) prior to that and my uncle’s collection of Beano and Dandy comics. But none of them really left an impression.
Beano and Dandy were nice reads, just like the Asterix and Tin Tin series and Superman was well… super – maybe a little too much for my liking, but the X-Men were really something else. I guess the timing was just right to jump onto the bandwagon. Jim Lee – one of the greatest artists ever in my opinion – just began his run on the books and shook up and updated the X-Men by introducing new costumes and splitting them into the blue and gold teams.
His run would send the mutants into battle against Magneto, Omega Red, the Reavers, the Brood and a trip into the Mojo-verse. I took an instant liking to Wolverine’s feral nature…. and an immediate dislike to Cyclops’ wussy-ness.
The Dungeon Beckons
While comics were the first steps along the journey, it soon turned into a sprint the moment I was introduced to Dungeons & Dragons *hell yeah!!*. Of course at that time it didn’t have as many choices as we have today with the different classes and races available… But it was an amazing experience. Imagine my surprise whenI was first presented with a 20 sided die (d20) – That’s 19 sides of goodness and 1 side of utter despair.
Till today I still stand by it and say that no other game tests your imagination and strategic thinking and bonds you with your party mates than D&D. That was definitely a pivotal moment in my life. From reading about wizards and magic to actually being able to play a mage and cast fireballs… albeit in my mind, was simply awesome. Of course at that time video games were nowhere near the level that they are today…. 8-bit consoles can’t quite capture a fire breathing red dragon that was trying to kill us…. it’s also great training for kids who’ll eventually get married and have to fend off their wives for “spending too much time with their friends”…. you’ll be glad you honed your skills at such a young age.
The Journey Continues
And now years down the road I’m no less a geek. I’m even a geek for sports – diehard Liverpool fan baby! From reading fantasy novels like Lord of the Rings (yes, before the movies) and the Dragonlance series to playing Trading Card Games like Magic the Gathering to Mass Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) like World of Warcraft, I don’t see myself slowing down. In fact I’m lucky to say that my wife is a geek and might be my son as well…. I got him some geek-swag (yeah we’re cool like that).
In fact there is no better time to be a geek. The Big Bang Theory made it cool – a big jump from the ‘Revenge of the Nerds’ movies and of course HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ has got almost everyone talking. Harry Potter made a killing and Marvel Studios are doing great work bringing to like our childhood heroes. Yeah it’s good to be a geek, and there seems to be no better time than now!
Burn Baby Burn!
Keorfas
Journey Into Geekdom 