“Heroes, Villains, and Me” is a weekly article on Geeky KOOL about the world of comic books and my reaction to it. “Heroes, Villains, and Me” is not a comic book review article. I will write about current events, speculation and rumors, or my own wacky thoughts about the world of comic books.
Most people at comic conventions are very KOOL people. The majority are excited to be around others who share similar geeky interests. But there are a few people that can almost ruin it for the rest of us. This is a small minority but often they receive a ton of attention. My advice is simple: Don’t be that guy.
I realize most of my readers will know the kind of person I am talking about right away. But in case there is some doubt, let me give you a few examples.
Comic book creators love to have their work recognized and appreciated. They usually will sign your comics and artwork for free of charge. They understand the fans give them their jobs. It is an honor for most creators to sign a book. Asking them to sign two or three items is usually acceptable and still appreciated. If you try to get a creator to sign more than three then you are taking advantage of them. If you bring a suitcase full of comics for one person to sign (and I have seen it multiple times), then you are that guy. I saw one guy drop off a huge pile then return two more times with equally mammoth stacks for a writer to sign. This writer reluctantly signed them all without complaining. Have some respect for the artist, writer, colorist, ect. and show some restraint. These creators would like to talk to and sign items for all of their fans and not just for you.
While I was covering Wizard World St. Louis Comic Con over the weekend, two more examples came to my attention. I was taking pictures of Cosplayers with their permission. Most Costume Play individuals enjoy posing for pictures with and for other fans. One set of Cosplayers told me a horror story about another person who was taking photographs of them. This individual propositioned these two ladies (one was fairly young and may not have been of legal age) to pose for “Cosplay porn”. He gave them a business card for a Photography company and it had a model who was scantily clothed. These ladies were fully dressed and were shocked by the gall of this jerk. He was taking advantage of a wonderful tradition of costume play at conventions. He clearly is one of those guys.
My third example occurred at the Geek Girl panel I facilitated at Wizard World St. Louis. Geeky KOOL’s own Valerie discussed how she used to watch Star Trek reruns with her father. This was an intricate part of development as a geek girl even though she hid it from her husband for a long time. After baring her soul to the crowd, one of the guys in the audience asked if she was a “Trekkie” or “Trekker”. Here we are hold a panel about how ladies are often outcast for being female in the geek community and this guy asks a question to determine which group affiliation she is in. Valerie had a priceless response to him. She turned it right back to him by asking him “how do you personally define it?” He responded by stating that Trekkies only like TOS (The Original Series) and Trekkers also like the newer stuff. It seemed to me this gentleman was clueless that he was being divisive during a conversation about bridging the gaps and coming together as a group. He was clearly that guy but didn’t understand that he was being that guy.
These are examples of being that guy. He (or she) is always a jerk but may not know he is being a jerk to others. Valerie had a term for that kind of guy and it referenced a feminine hygiene product in a bag. Wil Wheaton also has a term for this kind of guy and he will tell you not to be one. My advice, treat people like you want to be treated with courtesy, dignity, understand, and kindness. If you do, then you probably will not be that guy at the next convention (or at work or at the movies, or wherever).
