The Saga Continues…

As a member of the nerd community, one of the largest events for the summer is about to take place in the city of San Diego.  Comic-con International in San Diego has grown over the last decade into a convention for all the nerds and geeks interested in the hobby of comic books.  With that, it has exploded with the move of that genre of stories into the motion picture and television industries. This one convention has become a starting point for the display of upcoming movies and teaser trailers for thousands of fanatics to get a first look.  For these fans, this is the center of their year and the anticipation grows in the weeks before.

This year, something different took place before the convention. It is called Course of the Force.  It is a lightsaber relay from Santa Monica to San Diego that was created by a venture between Lucasfilm and a growing company called Nerdist Industries. Nerdist Industries functions as a nexus of nerd culture on the Internet. These two groups have come together in support something more than just the convention. They are using Comic-con to raise money for a worthy cause.  It is the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The relay alone has already raised enough money for the charity to make over a thousand wishes. The relay is just the beginning. There are various shows and events along the route of the relay including a concert at the end of the race. They are also holding an eBay auction for a variety of collectibles including Star Wars items that are signed. It is a great way to include the fans and allow them all to raise money for a charity that helps children.

All of this is important to note because it is recognized that there are some on the Internet who have come to see the convention as a breakaway from its original purpose for comic books.  To them, it has come to be a commercialized event for the movie industry to show off their product. I tend to disagree as this is a convention environment for people with like minds to gather and share an experience that will never be forgotten by the nerd community. I will admit that it has grown and many of the panels show off the television and movie products, but it is the fact that this convention helps to celebrate something that most might have scoffed at before. Nerds love all kinds of things, even the by-products of comic books.

I hope that all will take a chance to check it out online at least. The website is courseoftheforce.com. Enjoy the fun as much as you can and as much as you want. A whole new world has opened with this direction and nerds can find a way to make the world a better place.

In the end, I believe that this charity relay is a step in the right direction. It will bring attention to the community of nerds and connect them to those outside their world. We are not all just the cliché nerd hiding away from the world. It is time to celebrate for fans of comic books and the offspring of those great stories.

crudus animus

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