Growing up, I surrounded myself with nerd culture and science fiction. I always wanted to be like the heroes I saw in movies, on TV, and in video games. I wanted drive the Batmobile, catch Pokèmon, and wield a lightsaber. If you are anything like me, you have probably wanted to do some of these things too. Now, you totally can! Well, you can do the last one at least. Right here in Western New York, you can learn to use a lightsaber. The American Force Academy (AFA) in North Tonawanda is a school for lightsaber combat specialists where you…
Author: David Theriault
The tabletop gaming industry is always growing. It’s no longer just “Monopoly” and “Battleship.” There are now countless creatives in the world who are developing new games or have ideas for games. If you’re someone who’s got the perfect idea for a new board game or card game, but have no idea how to actually get it made, then you should seek out Puzzling Pixel Games. Based in Lewiston, NY, Puzzling Pixel Games is a new publisher of board games and card games. Game developers, or those seeking to become one, can contact Puzzling Pixel Games via their website to…
One thing that has had a surprisingly huge impact on nerd culture, and pop culture as a whole, is horror. There’s a lot that horror has given us outside of increased heart rates and sleepless nights. Countless A-list actors got their start in horror movies, like Kevin Bacon in “Friday the 13th,” Johnny Depp in “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” and Jennifer Aniston in “Leprechaun.” It has given us some iconic characters like Michael Myers, Norman Bates, and Jason Voorhees. Many horror movies, TV shows, and books tell some incredibly memorable stories. Of course, the horror genre has some of…
The 91st Academy Awards are just around the corner, but there’s still plenty of time to get caught up on all the nominees you may have missed out on. There are a number of showings of this year’s prestigious films happening throughout the Buffalo area. The Amherst Dipson Theater is playing the Best Foreign Film nominee “Cold War,” the comedy-drama “Green Book” which is nominated in five categories, and the romantic drama “If Beale Street Could Talk” which is nominated for three awards. The Dipson Theater in the Eastern Hills Mall is going all in on the Oscar movies. Like…
What’s really cool about seeing the things a person collects is being able to see the passionate behind the collection. It allows a window into what they enjoy doing, the culture they grew up with, and who they are as a person. This is absolutely the case with 1811 Comics and Sweet Jenny’s in Williamsville. 1811 Comics, which I’ve also seen called “The Attic Comic Book Store” because it’s located above Sweet Jenny’s, is a whimsical experience. Walking up the stairs from Sweet Jenny’s into the comic store emanates a similar feeling to Charlie stepping into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory…
Tabletop gaming is a huge part of nerdom. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, “tabletop” is an umbrella term for games that are typically played on a table or flat surface like board games, card games, dice games, miniature-based games, and others. Tabletop gaming is a crucial part to nerd culture as it once provided an escape for those who were bullied or seen as outcasts and allowed them to become whoever they wanted in whatever world they wanted. Now, it’s just as important for nerdom as it not only allows for that escape, but it’s also a…
We live in a world where comic books reign supreme. They are selling better than ever. The biggest movies and TV shows are based off of them. It’s difficult to go out in public without seeing t-shirts, bumper stickers, or phone cases depicting comic book characters. Comic books have become a modern mythology in which just about everyone knows of them and their stories. We can thank this modern day adoration of comics to the comics of old. We absolutely wouldn’t be able to have those Captain America t-shirts or Joker sneakers if it wasn’t for the survival of comic…
I absolutely love visiting comic book stores. It’s always exciting to check out what’s going on in the world of your favorite superheroes. However, most comic shops tend to have a lot of the same. Sure, there’s typically something that makes each place different, but one could go just about anywhere and find the latest big name comics like Batman and Spider-Man. There’s one shop out of all the comic stores that I’ve visited that’s rather atypical compared to the rest, and that is Gutter Pop Comics. Gutter Pop Comics on Elmwood Ave may have a shelf in the back…
Buffalo Game Space, the indie game developers collective, held an Adventure Game Roundtable on Saturday, November 17th, 2018. At this roundtable event, Point & Click Adventure game players gathered to play demos and discuss what makes them work or how they could improve. One game played, Dexter Stardust – Adventures in Outer Space: Night of the Hollow Moon, followed the tales of a dashboard hula girl salesperson traveling through space as an evil force rears its head. Another game,the Darkside Detective, was an 8-bit, supernatural mystery story starring a wise-cracking detective. Several others were played during the event. The wide…
I’ve always loved the idea of themed restaurants. I’ve been to a couple in the past, like one where the staff are allowed to be mean to you and can make you a paper hat with an insult written on it, and one that makes the customer feel like they are sitting in the middle of a tropical rainforest. Being a geek and loving everything in nerd culture, I’ve often wondered how fun it would be to eat at a nerdy themed restaurant. This desire was finally fulfilled by Say Cheese Pizza Company and the Comic Book Café on Grand…