By CHRISTOPHER KAZARIAN
Do you have a family member who is a Whovian? Or a friend who dreams of visiting Middle Earth? Or a coworker who is already planning on calling in sick on Friday, December 18, the same day the latest installment of the Star Wars franchise, “The Force Awakens,” is released?
Then you can proudly say you know a geek, a term that has become fashionably hip in recent years. Now comes the hard part—what to get them this holiday season.
Falmouth’s Cheryl Groves, who falls into this category of geeks, can provide some guidance. “I’m definitely hoping that Santa has some ‘Force Awakens’ things in my stockings for sure,” she said.
Having grown up in the 1980s, she became enamored with George Lucas’ first three films —“Star Wars”, “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi”—that set the mythology for Luke Skywalker’s journey in the ultimate good versus bad sci-fi narrative. “I wore out my VHS tapes watching them for an entire summer,” she said with a laugh. “When I was a kid I wanted to be a Jedi when I grew up. Then it went downhill from there. Anything with superheroes, science fiction, Star Trek, all of those things drew me in.”
As to what it is about this genre of entertainment that is so appealing, Ms. Groves put it this way: “I think, really, it is just that idea that there is something bigger and more exciting than the day-to-day, especially with something like ‘Star Wars’ where you take a central hero who is stuck in a rut and becomes suddenly surrounded by a fantastic set of circumstances where he can become the hero. I guess that is everyone’s dream—to be a part of something bigger.”
The appeal has become so big that it has spawned Comic-Cons throughout the country where fans like Ms. Groves can sidle up to their favorite actors who inhabit, and artists who create, those fantastic worlds found in comic books, books, TV and film. Tickets to these conventions are high on any geek’s holiday list. “Growing up a closeted geek, I think now these [conventions] are like a celebration of being a geek,” said Ms. Groves, who has attended Comic-Cons in Boston and New York where she has been able to meet John Barrowman and Eve Myles, both of whom starred in BBC’s “Doctor Who” series.
Her interest goes beyond collecting autographs. She owns Star Wars collector plates, action figures and Pez dispensers.
And she is able to bond with her children—Chris, 18, the gamer; Courtney, 15, the Trekkie (Star Trek fan); and Shannon, 14, a SuperWhoLock (a fan of “Supernatural,” “Doctor Who” and “Sherlock”)—through their shared interest in everything geekdom. Her 15-year-old daughter, Meghan, is the only outlier, relatively indifferent about it all.
So where can one shop for a gamer, Trekkie or a SuperWhoLock? Ms. Groves listed such online sites as the BBCAmerica.com, HerUniverse.com and thinkgeek.com. Locally, she recommended Newbury Comics in Hyannis.
On Falmouth’s Main Street, Blast From The Past caters to those like Ms. Groves, stocking its shelves with an array of superhero and Star Wars merchandise that includes everything from lunchboxes to bobbleheads, from comic books to wall art to general merchandise, like glasses.
“The first thing to know is when they tell you they like something with ‘Star’ in it, make sure you get the second part right,” co-owner Kevin Juaire recommended to holiday shoppers. “You don’t want to give a Spock [action figure] to someone who loves Darth Vader.”
The other common mistake he sees in his store is when customers think all superheroes are the same. “Find out what a person really likes,” he said. “It’s not all generic and bland. You can’t substitute Spiderman for Superman or Star Trek for Star Wars.”
Although his store specializes in vintage merchandise, he said it carries products featuring superheroes like Batman, Spiderman and Superman that have a universal appeal, even today. What he finds fascinating is that the same product “can be purchased by a 5-year-old and a 25-year-old. That is the crossover,” he said. “It is both a toy to be played with and a collectible to be put on the shelf.”
Sometimes those toys purchased as a child are stored in a closet, which is what Corey Peterson did before he eventually brought them out for his 6-year-old son, Ellis, to enjoy. “They were the kind of things I kept and shoved in a box,” said Mr. Peterson, who grew up in Sandwich and now lives in Newington, Connecticut. “His [Ellis] first exposure to Star Wars was my action figures that I gave him. It was kind of a neat way for him to get into it.”
Now Mr. Peterson and his son share an affinity for all things “Star Wars.” On December 18, that bond will deepen when he treats his son to an early Christmas gift, taking him out of school early so they can catch the afternoon showing of “The Force Awakens” together. “I’m very, very excited to say the least,” Mr. Peterson said.
Mr. Peterson had a similar experience when he was roughly the same age as his son—“Return of the Jedi” came out and shortly thereafter “my mom made me an Ewok costume when I was in kindergarten,” he said.
His interest in the franchise continued during his youth, attributing that to “the classic storytelling. The original ‘Star Wars’ holds up really well. It is good versus evil which always resonates with kids.”
As he aged, Mr. Peterson said his interest in the subject waned slightly. It was not until recently that he rediscovered his passion for the films, crediting his son for that rebirth. “Since my son has become a fan, we feed each other’s obsession about it which is kind of neat,” he said.
Much of the focus is satisfying his son’s urge to delve deeper into the Star Wars universe. He buys him action figures, LEGO kits and age-appropriate books. Mr. Peterson, whose sister Kimberly Anderson and father, Rob Peterson, still live on Cape Cod, will occasionally splurge on himself, purchasing a coffee cup, T-shirt or book that satisfies his cravings.
And so a fictitious world featuring light sabers, Wookies and Stormtroopers has helped tighten a bond between father and son. “My enthusiasm for it has rubbed off on him and his enthusiasm has rubbed off on me,” Mr. Peterson said. “And we both get really excited about it.”