8 | On Our Radar hard time collaborating on a joint essay, and someone suggested doing a comic instead. I had never done anything illustration-wise beyond fanart, especially illustration to be printed, so I was incredibly nervous. I pitched the idea of Verity, the “chick” on the cover, and I’ve had a quite a few people tell me that they bought the book because the cover jumped out at them. I suppose you do judge a book by its cover then! The highlight of that will always be that someone cosplayed Verity at ChicagoTARDIS one year. 6. What do you dislike the most about your fandoms? I think the thing that bothers me the most is when people continue watching something even though the spark is gone for them. So what once was squee and excitement is now disdain and constant complaining. I know the feeling. A show might start off well, but after a few years, it’s not the same thing you were watching in the first place. I just cut my losses and move on to the next thing. Life’s too short for wasting
my time on something that’s no longer making me happy. What I don’t understand is why people continue to participate even though they know they’ll hate it. My main fandom for the past five years has been Doctor Who. Due to the premise of the show, the main actors will be replaced every few years. A fan can go from one season loving the show to hating it the next because the Doctor is played by a different actor. The fandom took a significant turn when Steven Moffat took over as showrunner with a new Doctor and companion in tow, something that’s happened before and will happen again. While I have immensely enjoyed the past two years, others have not. I respect their thoughts and opinions, but after a while, the negativity gets you down and, as we say, “harshes your squee.” To protect my enjoyment and my sanity, I’ve limited my exposure to fandom to a select few people that I know shares my enthusiasm. It sucks, but in the end, this is my escapism, so I have to do what’s best for me and my sanity.
7. And what do you love about them? The creativity. I love that surge of inspiration to draw fan art or write fanfic after something airs. It’s rarely done out of negativity, so there’s this sense of delight glowing around its edges. I love the writers, the ones who write the between-the-scenes fics, the fix-its when they don’t agree with a certain plot, the drabbles or the epic neverending multi-chapters. I love that you can go to a con and not only meet the actors of your favorite show, but you
can fangirl a fellow fan artist and be fangirled in returned. I love looking at cosplay tags on Flickr after a major con so I can see all the beautiful costumes, especially the ones that take a pre-existing concept and come up with something new and original. I love that I have “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” dubstep on my iPod so I can rock out to the sweet beats of Pinkie Pie as I’m working. So when the not-so-great side of fandom is getting me down, I hunt down a fic. Or doodle some fan art. Because I occasionally need the reminder that fandom can be a pretty awesome place.