Q: How does one become a nerd?

At what point in childhood does one transition from being "a kid who reads a lot of comics" to being an actual, terminal comics geek?

35 year old = "batman is so awesome!!" = not a nerd

35 year old = "frank miller is so awesome!!" = nerd

(*I did say slightly...)

Nothing wrong with being a nerd, really...

Isn't that too mainstream to be considered nerdy? I think that would just make you a Denzel/Meg fan-- something you'd have no embarrassment talking about in front of the water cooler. The ladies the next cubicle row over from mine talk about Lost and American Idol together, but I don't think they're obsessive enough about it to be nerds and it's nothing anyone would blink an eye over in normal society.

but the tipping point where a mild teenage interest becomes something more obsessive

Yeah, I'm reminded of that Dave Sim editorial where he compares comic book nerds to closeted gay society from back in the olden days-- we speak in secret codes that normal people feel they shouldn't even be privy to! I was talking to a friend of mine who's an English major last weekend and he expressed an interest in finding out more about comics, but described it as a world unto itself that he knew nothing about-- like there's something other about GNs and the comics scene that sets it apart from Peanuts or Calvin and Hobbes. My mom reads collections of comic strips all the time, but I doubt she's even read Maus despite her interest in Jewish history.

Yeah, the nerd thing is following characters regardless of who's handling them because you're so INTO the characters... it's slightly* less nerd-like to follow specific artists/creators.

I agree with this also. It feels somehow more adult to be interested in a writer or artist than a fictional character.

But the point really is, WHO CARES? Most people have NO special interests, you know? You can throw the term 'norm' back at anyone with equally effective disdain... chuck in words like 'hive mind' while you're at it. ;-)

I am at the 'snob' end of geekery, being interested in creators rather than ideas. It does feel more 'adult', though I didn't plan it that way. I must admit, so far as comics go, I was always more visually orientated -- I didn't follow writers much. I follow Moore today, but no one else, really. That could be seen as less mature, maybe -- ultra high-end snobbery would be placing total emphasis on writers, I think... I believe in the idea that a lousy script can be made somewhat palatable by lovely artwork while a brilliant script can be sunk by appalling art (ideally, a comic will be great on both fronts, obviously)... so I guess I value the art side of things slightly more. I'm digressing a bit.

Exactly. Passion about anything, as long as it's not overly obsessive or unhealthy, is a good thing. And the sports mention is dead-on. Fantasy baseball leagues vs. wondering when the Phoenix will return - both seem like vicarious adventure to me.

I recently got back into comics, and I'm sort of embarrassed about it, which makes me embarrassed with myself to be embarrassed about it. I'll tell someone that I'm obsessed with baseball with a "what can you do" shrug, but I find myself hoping that my coworkers don't see me going into the comic book store below our office (but that's also because it's called Jeffrey's Toys and Comics and has fucking dolls in the windows).

Another strike against (spandex) comics is the 'weekly fix' angle. Having to be at the comics shop every week - having a hobby shop where the staff know you by name - is pretty nerdy.

No, a lot of people really don't. Special meaning particular; a lot of people just have passive interests -- watch a soap or a footie game if it's on, read a book if someone lends it them, and that's it. I wonder why that is? I don't think it's an intelligence thing. I guess in some cases, if you have a really draining job, say, it can really sap you and leave you wanting just to relax in your free time. I mean, I'm not reading or doing much at the moment because my mother is ill in a way that somewhat incapacitates her and I have a lot of things to do... in fact, I'm wasting a tiny bit of my free time right now!

Hmmm... I think I probably strike people as being a nerd.