Friendzone Fiona is a well-known meme that started in 2011 that poked fun at a situation that most of the socially awkward have experienced at one time in their young lives: the dilemma of being in love with someone who only sees you as a friend, or worse, like a brother. Know Your Meme describes the mechanics of this joke as “where the top refers to something a girl would say romantically followed by the bottom text confirming that she is just a friend.”

The joke was quite popular on sites like Memebase and Quickmeme. Months have now passed and although the meme’s popularity has died down, the issue of “the friend zone” has evolved and taken a strange turn. There seems to be more and more pseudo-memes popping up that changed the mood from comedy to guilt, rage and finger pointing at women. Here is an example of one…

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here is another…

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and another…

It seems like what started as a joke has suddenly become an avenue for some nerdy men to express not just their resentment of being friend zoned but passive aggressively casting all the blame on the women they were rejected by. Now, for all the men that have made or shared these memes and agreed with them, you must understand that 1) Ridiculing will not make her like you more and 2) You look like a douche. I don’t say that to bash, I say it as plain truth. People will see the meme you posted on Facebook and laugh at you more.

Now some of you feel hurt by what I said at the last paragraph. Fear not!  As someone who has seen many people trapped in the friend zone and personally experienced some crazy scenarios, let me share with you some nuggets of wisdom.

1) You Are No Knight In Shining Armor!

Admit to yourself  that you are a flawed, normal human being. If you really think of yourself as this “shining knight,” you might as well admit that the Twilight books are the perfect guides for romance. If you try to live up to this ideal, that you are above other men, or in this case, the a***oles your “princess” is dating, it will only lead to depression and low self-esteem. You are not Sir Galahad and women are more than two-dimensional fictional princesses. You are unique, awesome, imperfect human being. There will be times when you are a gentleman and other times when you act like a total a***ole. And if you are politician you can be both at the same time.

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2) Don’t Be A Jerk Clone.

Some individuals think that the secret of not being in the friend zone is to act like a jerk. They get this conclusion from seeing “good girls dating bad boys.” It’s not being a jerk but security that is the pheromone of attraction. Nothing turns people off more than an insecure individual. Learn to love yourself and be secure, and if it is too difficult of a challenge than there is no shame in seeing a counselor or therapist. I would recommend working out and similar items also to boost your self-esteem (and it does help) but I’ve seen butt-ugly guys get hot girls just by being secure and having high self-esteem.

3) First Impression Are Everything!

Women know right away in the first ten minutes of meeting you which zone you’ll be in. If you meet someone and think they are attractive, talk to them. If the flow of communication is excellent, flirt a little bit or give a compliment and invite her to your favorite coffee shop. By the way, never take her to a movie on a first date where it will turn into two hours of sitting awkwardly. Take her to a place where  you’ll be able hang out and talk.

4) Trapped In The Friend Zone.

For those that are trapped in the friend zone, I can only offer two solutions. One, stop being friends and prove to yourself and to her that you were never really friends in the first place.  Or continue to be her friend. If you have the self-esteem and the confidence that comes with it, you will eventually find someone, and nine times out of ten, someone better.

5) Conclusion or TL:DR

I can understand the hardship and heartbreak a nerd can go through when someone you care for and cares for you back doesn’t see you as boyfriend material. But blaming the woman will not help you. You may not be attractive in her eyes and you have to accept that. It’s not her fault if you aren’t her type. But there are many others out there that will think the opposite.

This is a great age for geeks and nerds. One of our writers wrote an article about how online dating makes finding the right person so much easier for the socially awkward. There are even geek-themed speed dating events happening at large conventions. Just be sure before you find someone who is happy to be with you, that you are happy with yourself first.

What do you think? Is there any advice you would be willing to add to this issue?

ORIGIN PC Announces Two Diablo III Promotions: Collector’s Edition Giveaway on Facebook and FREE Standard Edition with every System on Launch Day.

Miami, FL – May 15, 2012 12:01AM EST — ORIGIN PC is celebrating the launch of Blizzard Entertainment’s highly anticipated action–role-playing game, Diablo III. For launch day only, every ORIGIN high-performance PC will come bundled with a free Diablo III Standard Edition and on ORIGIN PC’s Facebook page you can enter to win the highly coveted, sold-out-everywhere DIABLO III Collector’s Edition. ORIGIN PC owners around the world will be able to return to Tristram to discover the dark secrets of the fallen star and begin their new quest to save the Sanctuary from the inevitable demonic invasion.

The Diablo III Collector’s Edition comes with:

• Diablo III for PC/MAC
• Behind the scenes DVD
• Collector’s Edition soundtrack
• The Art of Diablo art book
• Diablo Skull and 4 GB USB Soulstone
• Exclusive digital content:
• Diablo III Aesthetic Artifacts
• World of Warcraft Pet Fetish Shaman
• Starcraft II Battle.net portraits

Quote from ORIGIN PC
“We’ve been patiently waiting for Diablo III for as long as we can remember so to celebrate this glorious day we wanted to do something special with the ORIGIN PC community.” says Kevin Wasielewski, CEO/Co-Founder of ORIGIN PC. “I was addicted to playing the beta on my EON11-S laptop and I’m thrilled that we are sharing Blizzard Entertainment’s latest masterpiece by giving away free copies today!”

About the Diablo series:
Diablo is an action role-playing game released by Blizzard Entertainment on December 31, 1996. The setting takes place in the Kingdom of Khanduras and is located in the world of Sanctuary. Diablo has the player control a hero to battle the evil devil known as Diablo, the Lord of Terror. Underneath the town of Tristram, the player journeys through a wide variety of levels and ultimately entering Hell itself in order to face Diablo.The expansion pack, titled Diablo Hellfire, was released in 1997, but it was not created by Blizzard Entertainment and in 1998, Blizzard released Diablo for the Playstation. This marked the first console version featuring direct control of the main character using a console controller. This was soon followed by the very popular sequel, Diablo II, in 2000, and a third game, Diablo III, was announced on June 28, 2008, at Blizzard’s World Wide Invitational in Paris, France with a scheduled release date on May 15, 2012.

For more information on ORIGIN’s award winning desktops and laptops, please visit ORIGIN PC

About ORIGIN PC
ORIGIN builds custom, high-performance desktops, workstations, and laptops for hardware enthusiasts, digital/graphics artists, professionals, government agencies and gamers. ORIGIN PCs are hand built, tested, and serviced by knowledgeable gaming enthusiasts, industry veterans, and award winning system integrators. Every ORIGIN PC comes with free lifetime 24/7 support based in the United States. The ORIGIN PC staff is comprised of award-winning, experienced experts in the gaming and PC markets who want to share their passion with other enthusiasts. ORIGIN PC is located in Miami, FL and ships worldwide. For more information, please visit www.ORIGINPC.com or call 1-877-ORIGIN-Ø. (674-4460)

Connect with ORIGIN PC:
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/originpc
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/originpc
YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/originpc
Google Plus – https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/112051064460619865632/
Raptr – http://www.raptr.com/topic/originpc/wall

So I saw “The Avengers,” and I feel my last column on the film was justified. It was great, and I’ve seen it twice. My only complaint is odd food cravings, but if you’ve seen the film, you understand those.

If you haven’t seen the film, stop now, because this post is filled with spoilers.

Now I could gush on it, but I’d like to actually analyze why it worked, and what it tells us about geek/nerd culture adaptions. There are a few rules we can derive from The Avengers and other recent superhero efforts.

Trust Your Actors/Actors You Can Trust: Good casting is paramount in superhero films because they are about iconic characters. That may seem obvious, but you need actors that will truly inhabit the rule and let them go for it. Not every actor fits this – even very good ones.

The Avengers? Great cast doing their best and going for it shamelessly. It’s hard to figure out who was the most fun to watch in the Avengers (but I think Ruffalo takes it just barely over the rest of the spectacular cast).

Superheroes Need To Play In Their Genre: The first Dark Knight was noir. Captain America was a modernized period piece. Thor was cheesy-fun sci-fantasy with heart. Iron Man was a pure character story. These work because the superhero played in a known genre, a common language or approach that enhanced and communicated the experience.

The Avengers was a classic “get-the-team together” sci-fi story to take on alien invaders. Strong on character pieces and chemistry, but ultimately an identifiable genre.

Superheroes Need Character: One reason we love superheroes is the identifiable, iconic characters. They have catchphrases, habits, looks, even their heroic titles are iconic and show characterization. The best films doing superheroes had strong characterization.

The Avengers . . . well, that’s a given. It was in many ways a kind of superhero soap opera/character piece. Characters grew, evolved, bantered, interacted, and were themselves. You could have removed the action and still had a fun picture.

Superheroes Are More Than The Sum Of Their Parts: Any good film is more than the sum of its parts, and superhero stories are no exception. In fact if the parts doint become more, the story falls flat. When it’s a tale of superhumans and aliens, it is perhaps tempting to assume you can throwparts at the screen and make it work.

The Avengers didn’t do that. The various characters and elements and plot lines interacted to create something far more than a pile of ideas. The reason for things, the character interactions, plot elements, all came together to make something more.

Good FIlm Making Is Good Film Making: I don’t need to really go into that. This was well-shot and well-acted and well-written. Enough said.

So The Avengers worked. There’s alot of lessons to be derived – and I hope Marvel and others learn them. Certainy we can learn alot, and perhaps even apply it in our careers.

On the other hand, the Marketing wasn’t too hot (and I think that David’s writing on the subject was noteable), and I plan to address that next . . .

- Steven Savage

The creators of IDW Publishing’s Kill Shakespeare comic book series look to court controversy this month by bringing their take on Shakespeare and his characters to the birth country of the Bard himself this month on a two-week signing and convention tour of England.

“Colonists” Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col will be appearing at the Bristol Comic Expo as well as the Kapow! Comic Convention this month, along with a number of store signings in London, Manchester, Leeds and Stratford-upon-Avon. Series artist Andy Belangerwill be joining the duo for the Kapow! Convention and a London signing.  The trip to the U.K. is the final leg of their spring 2012 convention tour, which has seen them make appearances all over North America as well as at the Middle East Film & Comic-Con in Dubai last month.

To prepare for the tour IDW Publishing is proud to announce that they are releasing a fourth printing of KILL SHAKESPEARE VOLUME 1: A SEA OF TROUBLES.  Originally released in April, 2010, this is the first half of the series that pits the Bard’s greatest heroes against his most menacing villains in a quest to track down and kill – or save – a wizard by the name of William Shakespeare.

IDW is also proud to announce that Del Col and McCreery have received their second straight Joe Shuster Award nomination for Best Writing in a comic series.  The duo is pitted against such talents asJeff Lemire and Kathryn Immonen in the category.

“We’re quite interested to see what people in England think of our take on the Bard,” says McCreery.  “We expect some nay-sayers but we’re eager to show everyone that this project is just as vital a reflection of the Bard’s work as anything coming out of the Globe Theatre or Stratford-on-Avon.”

Kill Shakespeare has been in hot water before after Shakespearean scholar Kimberly Cox denounced the series as “bullshit” and said that “these guys really are helping to kill Shakespeare.”  However, the adventure series, which incorporates Hamlet, Juliet, Othello, Richard III, Lady Macbeth, Puck and others, has received high praise from media such as the New York Times, NPR, BBC, CBC and Fangoria.  The series has also spawned a 90-minute stage show that debuted in association with Toronto’s acclaimed Soulpepper Theatre company in November of 2011 and is scheduled to tour to various locations across North America this fall.

The current signing schedule includes:

Sat, May 12 – Sun, May 13 - Bristol Comic Expo
Wed, May 16 - Travelling Man (Manchester)
Thu, May 17 - Travelling Man (Leeds)
Fri, May 18 - Forbidden Planet London Megastore
Sat, May 19 – Sun, May 20 - Kapow! Comic Convention

Published by IDW Publishing, more information about the series can be found atwww.killshakespeare.com.  The graphic novel is available at all major comic and book stores and digitally through iTunes or ComiXology.

Prepare for Fireballs and lightning, and lots of armies smiting and a launch trailer about the famous King Rrat.

The time has come to gather your forces – mundane and occult, human and monster – and march forth across the continent and compel your rivals to submit. The world isn’t big enough for more than one grand wizard. Become the warlock to rule them all!
Paradox Interactive and Ino-Co Plus are happy to announce the release of Warlock: Master of the Arcane, a fantasy strategy game of conquest and magic.

In today’s launch trailer, the University of Ardania’s most eccentric professor regales us with the glorious tale of King Rrat. A tale featuring exploration, expansion, exploitation, and fireball casting rat mages, of course.

Warlock: Master of the Arcane is a new fantasy strategy game from Paradox Interactive and Ino-Co Plus. Set in the universe from the “Majesty” series, you are challenged to build an empire of steel and magic and unite Ardania at the point of a wand.

Warlock: Master of the Arcane is released today, May 8th via retail and all major digital distribution platforms for a recommended retail price of $19.99.

Try before you fry – play the Warlock: Master of the Arcane demo:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/203630/

The official soundtrack for Warlock: Master of the Arcane is also available.
Please click below to sample and where to buy:
www.warlockmasterofthearcane.com/music

Warlock: Master of the Arcane Launch Trailer – King Rrat

Control one of three different factions, learn dozens of powerful spells and command a vast array of troop types as you set out to make your wizard the one true ruler of Ardania. You must carefully plan your expansion and economy to build and support the armies you create. And don’t forget to harvest mana; you will need to cast enchantments on friend and foe alike if you want to defeat your enemies and hold back the hordes of wandering monsters.

Read the Warlock: Master of the Arcane Beginners Guide:

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?606556-Warlock-Master-of-the-Arcane-Beginners-guide-Released!

Watch the Warlock: Master of the Arcane Tutorial Video:

Read more
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WarlockMasteroftheArcane
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Warlockthegame
Forum: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com
Website: www.warlockmasterofthearcane.com

GENRES
Turn-based Strategy, Fantasy

RELEASE DATE
8th of May 2012

About the developers Ino-Co Plus

Ino-Co Plus is a small Krasnodar-based studio, founded in 2004 by a group of experienced game developers from various teams, brought together by the paramount objective to create games focused on the genre that they all know and love. The studio’s previous development project is Fantasy Wars, Elven Legacy and Majesty2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim.
Ino-Co Plus is currently working on Warlock: Master of the Arcane that will release on May 8th.
Read more: http://www.ino-co.com/en/

One of the best anime conventions, Anime Matsuri 2012, has come and gone and Angelwing has some great cosplay pictures to share with all of us! Also check out Angelwing’s experience at Anime Matsuri review here and our anime reviewer Noelle’s review also here!

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Anime Matsuri 2012 returned to The Woodlands, TX over Easter weekend this year. I felt so ecstatic about the return to this hotel and location. My first Anime Matsuri in 2010 was also located here and I had such a good time shooting. The combination of the architecture, river and trees all in the backyard of the hotel make me love this place.

A view of part of the hotel from fourteen floors above.

I started my first shoot of the day before noon. I knew about this tall cemented stairway and wall area. Nostalgia hit me when I saw this because the last time I was here was when I had a good Blazblue shoot in the same location two years prior. It was almost high noon so there was beginning to be less shadows and more sunlight hitting the walls. I wanted to place my subject in the shadows and use my flash to fill the light.

Cosplayer - Lovelyyorange as Lucy from Elfen Lied

I gave myself a break after my first shoot to give time for my boyfriend and me to unpack the car. There had been some hold on a lot of hotel rooms not being ready yet, but fortunately ours was clean and I made it just in time for my second shoot of the day. My next shoot was human versions of the main characters in The Regular Show. Along the sidewalk of the river in the backyard of the hotel, there is a short domed shaped tunnel. One of my favorite spots to shoot is at the end of this tunnel. The natural light that hits this spot in the large part of the day in combination with a little fill light from my external flash is just gorgeous.

Cosplayers - Rae & Raitenkuro as Rigby & Mordecai from The Regular Show

I had a photoshoot that was a little different than what I’m used to. Usually the age of the cosplayers I shoot were always in their teens or older. This time I had earned a little experience with shooting someone even younger. I lucked out because she was very photogenic. What was also neat is that they were cosplaying characters who are cousins and these two cosplayers are cousins in real life.

Cosplayers Hopie-chan & Chlo-Chlo as Maya & Pearl Fey from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

During my next shoot, I had this cosplayer come up to me. He noticed I was a photographer and he offer me a job to take pictures of Spiderman. I responded with “Yes, of course!” His next question was if I was any good, so I showed him some of my pics I had just taken. He said I sucked and fired me! I laughed because the cosplayer is actually my friend Ben who makes such a great impersonator of his character. He approves of this picture too. ^^

Cosplayer – Ben as Jonah Jameson from Spiderman

My last cosplay shoot of the day took place in a small Japanese garden behind the hotel. I did not know about this place from the previous time, so I was so glad I had found out about it. It seems like a popular place to be. At the time I did this shoot there was a professional photographer there with a client taking portraits.

Cosplayer - Marika-San as C.C. from Code Geass

I decided to try something new and shoot a fashion show for the first time at this con. This particular show was centered around Lolita fashion which I am a fan of. Anime Matsuri was able to get designers from Baby The Stars Shine Bright and Alice and the Pirates in the show. I did not want to miss the opportunity!

A model from Anime Matsuri’s J-Fashion Show.

After an almost three hour drive that morning and a full day of shoots and an empty stomach, I was ready to retire for the night.

Saturday morning arrived quickly. I was really excited about my first shoot. It involved the girls at FoxyCosplay and their costumes were Clare and Teresa from Claymore. It is a series I’ve been following shortly after the first chapters came out. The craftsmanship involved was magnificent. I could see my own reflection in it!

Cosplayers - Marika-San as Clare & Foayasha as Teresa from Claymore

Anime Matsuri also hosts Import Reactor, which is a car show that shows Houston’s top cars. They had something special this year. If you look at the three cars on the top of this picture, the middle may look familiar. I heard it was the actual Batmobile they used in the recent Batman movies! I wish I made time to see it up close.

My shoot before the contest was two vocaloid cosplayers that I’ve known for more than two years now. They are the cutest! We took most of our shots under a bridge.

The girls even brought beautiful violins as props to use during the shoot. This particular pose was my favorite. Thanks to Tricia for suggesting it!

Cosplayers - Melody & Riko as Len & Rin (White Magnet) from Vocaloid

It was time for the cosplay contest. It was hosted by Matt Mercer. I was excited because photographers got a front row seat aside from the judges table being right in front of us. The previous cosplay contests that I have been at I’d either have to stand or sit on the floor, which I’m not complaining about because I still got to photograph the contest up close, but this was nice. I put on my Canon 70-200 L f/2.8 lens and enjoyed the show through my camera’s viewfinder.

A Final Fantasy IX Tantalus group skit at the Anime Matsuri Cosplay Contest 2012.

There were a lot of entries and I was really impressed with the overall quality of costumes. I have been going to anime conventions since 2004 and it’s an amazing thing to see over time how cosplayers are getting more and more talented at what they do.

A portion of the winners in the Anime Matsuri Cosplay Contest 2012.

My last shoot of the convention was with FoxyCosplay. This was the only night shoot I did at this convention. I wish I did more though because this convention area is the most wonderful place to shoot at night. About a block or two from the main hotel area, they have this beautiful fountain that changes color. Using my Canon 50mm f/1.4, I ended up getting some really satisfying shots here.

Cosplayer – Foayasha as Pandora from Saint Seiya

Anime Matsuri 2013 will be returning to the gorgeous Woodlands on March 29-31, 2013. My experience there was very enjoyable and I can’t wait to shoot there again next year!

Click here to check out the rest of my gallery of my favorite photos of the convention. You can see the whole set of my Anime Matsuri 2012 photos on my website here!

If you are interested in following my work, I have a Facebook page here!

I call myself an Elder Geek.  You know my kind, the seasoned old professional nerd with a few decades under his belt who never left being a complete geek as he worked his way up the career ladder.  In fact you may be like me, or you will  be in the years to come . . . or decades.

(If it is decades, well, thanks, now I feel old)

There’s something very important to me as a “seasoned nerd” that I want to share with you.  It’s the joy and duty of “passing the torch.”

I owe a lot in my life to the geek/nerd/fan scene – practically all of it.  It’s how I met my friends, it’s how I found my career, it’s how I got exposed to so much in the world.  To this day it’s how I meet new people and get inspired to try new things (which helps now that us nerds, geeks, and others are chic).

Because it’s done so much for me, because I meet so many wonderful people, because it opens up so many opportunities, I make sure I pass it on.

I work to help cons run.  Cons are such a major part of life for our scene, I want to help people join them, run the, take them over, pass them on, and create new events. (Heck, I did a book on it.)

I work to help other communities run.  Web and writing and all the others out there.  These communities are how we grow, connect, use our talents, and create long-term projects.

I work to help people career-wise.  The entire nerd/geek/otaku scene is filled with talented, creative people.  The scene gave me my career ambitions (thanks to video games and computers), so I pass on the inspiration and opportunities.

I work to hook geeks and nerds and fans up with each other so they can meet, connect, and bond.  I met so many friends back in the early ‘zine and pub days, and I know the power of good networking.

You can do this too.  You can do it now if you’re an Elder Geek.  If you’re on the way to becoming one (and oh, you will be), you can start helping now.

We’re lucky to have this massive interlinked world of crazy-creative cultures.  We’ve got a legacy of cons and newsletters and fanfic and everything else.  We have decades of history and power and talent.

So start passing it on, start mentoring, start reaching out to the younger geeks, the new nerds, and help them hook up with our world.  Someone did it for you, someone did it for me, so let’s go and do it and bring aboard!

When we do this, we preserve our legacies.  When we do this we reach out and help others.  When we do this, the depth and meaning of what we love and do  is strengthened.  When we do this we get outside of ourselves and into something larger.

So go on.  What’s your legacy?  What are you passing on?  You’re gonna be an old nerd like me, so get on with it!

- Steven Savage

Zivix and Reverb Publishing are bringing the definitive live music event to console gamers’ homes everywhere in just a few weeks.

The kickoff date for your own music tour has just been announced! Zivix LLC, a developer leveraging innovative technology through peripherals, real musical instruments and entertainment software, and in association with Reverb Publishing, announced today that its upcoming music creation sandbox game, JAM Live Music Arcade, is set to launch on both Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation® Network the week of May 16th.

JAM Live Music Arcade was recently featured at SXSW in Austin and fresh from the PAX East show in Boston, where would-be Jam Masters from around the world got to remix some of their favorite hits on-the-fly. Be sure to check out the launch trailer here:http://youtu.be/jeqldm7rTJs

JAM Live Music Arcade is a completely new approach to the music genre with a real-time live music sandbox “JAM Mode” that allows the player to immediately build and customize their very own tunes, as well as a bonus “Arcade Challenge Mode” that plays similar to traditional music games. Starting with any one of the 30+ licensed songs featured in the game (including hits from Modest Mouse, Fallout Boy, Fatboy Slim, Owl City, Rise Against, Atmosphere and more), players jam with and remix all aspects of the song – guitar, bass, drums, synth and vocals – to experiment with the song and re-create it to their own personality. All of this is done with any one of the numerous compatible guitar gaming peripherals – the entire band is in your hands! Accessible and easy to get started, yet deep and almost endless to master, everyone can touch real music across a broad range of sonic tastes. JAM Live Music Arcade offers an immersive level of musical interaction that’s inspiring, powerful and contagious.

JAM Live Music Arcade joins Reverb Publishing’s growing roster of titles, which includes the massively successful Dungeon Defenders, as well as the upcoming Sanctum 2, Primal Carnage, Jeremy McGrath’s Offroad, Black Knight Sword and much more. For more information about the game, please visit www.jamlivemusicarcade.com. Also, be sure to visit https://www.facebook.com/JamLiveMusicArcade and ‘Like’ the page for a chance to win lots of great prizes. For more information about Zivix LLC, please visitwww.zivix.net. For more information about Reverb Publishing and its initiatives, please visit www.reverbpublishing.com.

Another Free Comic Book Day has come and gone, leaving comic fans a break of time between the next issue of their favorite title and conventions. If your visit to the local shop–in my case Humungo Comics in Pottstown, PA–made you dream about a life behind the register in the shop, then Our Valued Customers: Conversations from the Comic Book Store is right up your alley.

Available for purchase at Amazon