When I reached my early to mid thirties, something wonderful happened; all we Star Wars fans, Trekkies, Browncoats, etc. became cool almost overnight. No longer did we have to live in the shadows, reading our comics or graphic novels under blankets with flashlights for fear of being called out as nerds. We always knew we were hip, but now the world knew too.
I remember seeing Star Wars for the first time on the big screen in Bangladesh and being completely floored. I was only 8 at the time, yet I remember feeling like the sixties put us on the moon, but George Lucas opened up the entire universe to me. As I got older, my girlfriends had their Barbies and My Little Pony, but I had my Wonder Woman Underoos and Star Wars action figures, with a few Barbies on the side to play minor roles.
Fast forward to 2004 when I was a newlywed married to an ex-jock who loved Hoosiers, Bull Durham and the like (all fine films, btw!), yet I still kept what I thought of as my “Dark Side” a secret. It wasn’t an Earth shattering secret, but I grew up in a world where boys read comics and girls read Sweet Valley High. Slowly I was able to initiate Star Wars marathons, Superman binges, Firefly weekends, etc., but, yes, my husband teased me a bit.
I guess I need to thank Marvel for paving the way to acceptance and harmony in my marriage. After Iron Man, I had nerd “street cred” with my man. After Guardians of the Galaxy, I had a partner.
If you knew my husband, you would know why the above photo is amazing. This guy never even dressed with me for Halloween and here we are at a local Comic Con with him as Jayne Cobb and me as Batmom (she spends all her time dressing the kids and husband, leaving only scraps for her own costume).
These days I spend most of my time canning, gardening, building things to organize my life and introducing my two boys to the wonders of imagination through sci-fi books and film. I love it all.
Suburban Homestead Nerd 