Geek Fun June 02, 2003 - 2:35 p.m.

All night Saturday, way past closing, and a few hours yesterday, time was spent in the World of Geek. Afterhours bookstore antics are always fun.

Of course Chris and his friends were playing L5R while another group was playing D&D, which I'm not into either. Yeah, we're talking true geekdom here. In between stats and stories and fights of the imaginary kind, they talked about EQ. What kind of character to take where with what weapon and which spells, to get the epic quest completed or simply gain good EXP or plat. There's even a little comic talk thrown in the mix. Of course, movies were mentioned, which is where I can actually join the conversation, but only briefly.

This is how, though I've never played D&D or EQ, or read a single issue of X-Men, Spider-Man, or any other fanboy comic, I can still follow the conversation. I know what the stats mean. The lingo. The numbers. Certain spells and techniques. Even locations. I roughly know the back stories of heroes and who fathered/mothered particular characters and how different personalities like Venom came to be and the basic villains in a lot of the popular comics. I've even grown to pick up on names of artists, creators, writers of comics. Occasionally, I can spot a cover and know immediately who's responsible. (Mack, especially.. he likes little triangles.)

Chris always seems amazed when I have no problem going to the bookstore and just sitting there for hours on end. The conversation can sometimes prove interesting, particularly with our group of friends. And otherwise, the store is full of movies, cds, video games, books, and let's not forget, comics. One time I sat there and read four or five of the Buffy graphic novels they had in. They have, I think, all of the Sandman graphic novels, and I've always wanted to read that, so it will probably be my next read. As well as Origins... I wanna know Wolverine's story.

Saturday, after reading a few Buffy comics like Slayer Interrupted 2 of 4 and Dawn and the Hoopy Bear one-shot, I decided to pick up a couple comics I hadn't seen before. Not too many of course. I have this thing where I can't read a story that is already in development. It's like watching a movie that's already half way over. You've missed so much already that you're not able to appreciate the full impact of the story. A story half told makes not a story to be heard. It's like a long 'Aaa' without the 'choo'.

Arkham Asylum, issue one, was on the shelf. I'm always a sucker for a story about loons. Mental hospitals, straight jackets, drugs, mindless babbling with hidden riddles, never knowing when the sociopath will snap. It's all kinds of exciting. Mental hospital + beginning of story + Batman characters. Also, Ryan Sook art; he did some of the Buffy comics. Duh! I had to read this one. And I liked it, and I want to read more... but the second one doesn't come out 'till Wednesday. Faithful Batman followers may not have liked it, I don't know. Nor do I care. Having not read any Batman prior to this, I have nothing to base it on, other than some movies and what little I know of the other stories. I know there were several villains that were completely lost on a little newbie like myself. But I picked up on the main ones, like Joker and Riddler and others that I recognize though don't recall their names. Mainly my love for it, was a story about the bad guys. I always want to see more of the bad guys.

Miniseries are cool, and there are only six to this one. So it works out swell. Though I don't see myself buying these, as I'm already five issues behind on Scooby, four on Fray, and there are endless Buffy graphic novels that I need. But this is the luxury of the bookstore. Go. Hang out. Read a comic or two or a dozen that you may not otherwise be able to buy. Talk to people. Act silly. It's all great, useless fun.

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