The Geek Dealer – Confessions Of A Geek Dealer

When I was in law school, I gained a reputation of being a bad influence among my friends. The way they described it was they wanted to do work, study, or keep on top of their readings, but then I would come along. I was not an unwelcome guest nor an unfriendly visit, they all enjoyed spending time with me; however, when they would see me they experienced a small level of dread. Because they knew, I had something they both wanted but at the same time did not. Something that was bad for them, and something they knew they should not do. However, once I was around, it was very hard saying no because I could be quite assertive and persuasive. The ‘thing’ that they were afraid of wanting was geeky shows or geeky talk.

It is true, for students living on campus and are trying to do work, the worst enemy and worst kind of addiction to get is ‘geek addiction’. Whether it is television shows, comic books, anime, movies or trilogies of movies, my friends knew that I will be trying to get them all to watch it or talk about it. There is no one in Canada or England who will dispute this fact, or even question its validity. I am a Geek Dealer and revel in that classification!

It took a while for me to reach the rank I am in the Geek Dealing world. I first had to get addicted myself, and I thank all who helped broaden my palate. But the true challenge came when I decided to be more than just a junkie looking for a geeky fix. I decided I wanted to get my own geek supply, which resulted in me finding a regular comic book store, discovering websites devoted to sci-fi, TV or anime shows/movies, and then spread it around.

The first substance I attempted to geek deal was Batman, and that still remains my easiest and most frequently used supply. Whether it was talking about how much better Batman is to Superman, how amazing Batman: The Animated Series was or getting people to watch the animated movies that followed. My finest moment was at a formal dinner party at my house, that my parents threw, where I convinced all the ‘kids’ in attendance, who were in their mid 20s to early 30s, to watch Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and they all loved it. More recently, I have begun starting discussions about the live action films, focusing mainly on The Dark Knight.

Batman continues to serve me well, but I have lately become more ambitious and have tried to deal lesser known supplies such the television shows Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Game of Thrones, Naruto Shippuuden, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Young Justice. Thanks to the world that has been created as a result of The Big Bang Theory (the TV show, not the physics theory), it is a much easier climate for me to deal in.

My crown jewel, thus far, is Avatar: The Last Airbender. With the aid of certain friends, who helped deal alongside me, I have been able to get over 50 people addicted to that show with roughly 30 of those done by me personally. To my ever growing pride and shame, I was able to gather a group of 20 friends and made an outing to watch the horrible Last Airbender film on opening night. It is a source of pride in that I was able to gather so many people to go out together and watch something in shared love of the show, but I was also forever shamed because of the absolutely terrible film I took my friends to see. Thankfully, the spin-off series Avatar: Legend of Korra, has started and is just as wonderful as its predecessor. Therefore, I can carry my head up high again and resume my efforts to get more non-geeks addicted to this show.

Lastly, when out in a group, I ask people what kind of superpower they would want if they could have one. I wait before most, if not all, answer and begin discussing how ‘interesting’ their choices were and see how the conversation descends into a large geeky discussion.

So yes, this is my confession, I am Umar and I am a Geek Dealer! I am proud of it, and I will not stop until I become the Geek Kingpin of the West. If you do not want to be converted then I suggest you all stop reading. It does not matter how many times you tell me that you are not a sci-fi/fantasy/anime/comic book fan, I know that there is a little geek inside every single person. Therefore, I will not stop until I bring it to the surface, and I shall do that by introducing you to a variety of geeky media (either from the past or present), which I feel will get you hooked and capture your imagination.

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