Mar 5

Mar 5 Our Geek Culture "First Times"

We thought it’d be fun to let you guys get to know our contributors a little bit better by exploring their first loves of genre fiction and geekdom:

ADAM PETREY, Writer & Director

First Comic Book: Spider-Man

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Magnolia

First Video Game Console: PS2

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: Dance or Die - Family Force 5

First Movie That Made You Cry: Bridge to Terabithia

First Song You Slow Danced To: Some Taylor Swift song

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: Hardy Boys

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: Spy Kids 3-D

ALEX OAKLEY - Actor, Podcaster

First Comic Book: a Calvin & Hobbes Comic Anthology

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Miyazaki’s Spirited Away

First Video Game Console: Gameboy Advance (purple see-through plastic)

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: Flood - They Might Be Giants

First Movie That Made You Cry: Old Yeller

First Song You Slow Danced To: Oh gosh, I can’t remember last week, let alone my first High School dance

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: Guardians of Ga’Hoole by Kathryn Lasky

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: The works of Stephen King

CK LOVE, Screenwriter & Content creator

First Comic Book: Batman - but the graphic novel that made me want to make art was Dave McKean's/Neil Gaiman's - Mr. Punch

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Polanski's Knife in the Water

First Video Game Console: I went to arcades / played lots of CDRom games, ie. MYST.

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: Don't remember

First Movie That Made You Cry: Moonlight and Valentino

First Song You Slow Danced To: Don't remember

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: Yukio Mishima's tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility.

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: Giacometti's sculpture Walking Man or Motherwell's painting At Five In The Afternoon or George Bernard Shaw's play Heartbreak House

COLBY MCHUGH, Writer & Podcaster

First Comic Book: Batman and The Outsiders Annual #1. I have such a distinct memory of walking into The Book Nook in Lilburn, Georgia for the first time. I couldn't have been older than about ten or so, and I was blown away by the hundreds and hundreds of old comic books that sat in long boxes all over the store. I probably spent an hour flipping through each of them, searching for the special one that called out to me.

First Movie That Inspired Me To Create Ar: Blair Witch Project It was the first time that I watched a movie and thought, "I could do that."

First Video Game Console:- It would have to be the Game Boy Pocket I was given for Christmas one year when I was around 6 or 7.

First CD Purchased With My Own Money: Hopes and Fears by Keane.

First Movie That Made Me Cry: Emotions have never been something I've been comfortable with, especially my own. Given that, it took a while for a movie to actually make me shed tears. That movie was The Road, the Viggo Mortenson film based on the Cormac McCarthey novel of the same name.

First Song I Slow Danced To: Edwin McCain's I'll Be

First Book Series I Fell In Love With: I'm sure the typical answer for many people around my age would be the Harry Potter series. I, however, wasn't allowed to read Harry Potter, which was (and still is) a large point of contention between me and my parents. The series that really captured my attention growing up was Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: Luckily, having three older siblings, all of which have great taste, was very helpful. They introduced me to what is still to this day my favorite band: Jump, Little Children

HUDSON PHILLIPS, Writer & Producer

First Comic Book: New Warriors # 1

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Pump Up the Volume

First Video Game Console: Original Nintendo

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: Simpsons Sing the Blues.

First Movie That Made You Cry: Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

First Song You Slow Danced To: Earth Angel

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: Not counting comics, I think I’d have to say Narnia.

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: Anything Shel Silverstein - in Kindergarten.I felt like Silverstein introduced me to so much - poetry, comedy, art, comics, and very scary headshots.

JACOB YORK, Writer & Actor

First Comic Book: Web of Spider-Man 31. Part 1 of Kraven's Last Hunt.

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: I always knew that I wanted to be an actor from when I was a CHILD, but the first time I really, truly recognized writing in a film was The Big Lebowski. Every time I watch it, I see something new. It's a towering work.

First Video Game Console: Nintendo Entertainment System, but I really came into my own on the SNES.

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: It was a tape, thank you very much, but it was ABSOLUTELY Snow: 12 Inches of Snow. You may remember Informer, but Lady with the Red Dress On was my jam.

First Movie That Made You Cry: I vaguely remember having a really strong emotional reaction to Dumbo. Baby Mine still makes me cry.

First Song You Slow Danced To: Maybe Save the Best for Last by Vanessa Williams? That's a pull.

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: I AM A G O O S E B U M P S B O I.

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: MC Hammer was my first favorite artist that wasn't my parents' favorite artist. In so many respects, I can see their influence, but hip hop (even something that is very poppy like MC Hammer) just hit my generation like a lightning bolt.

JORDAN NOEL, Director & Editor

First Comic Book: The only comics I ever really read were Punisher and Punisher War Zone. I have no idea what issue — my dad sold all that in a garage sale when I was in college. It’s ok, I’m not mad.

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Ernest Goes To Jail. Just kidding, I have no idea. Or am I kidding?

First Video Game Console: The original Nintendo Entertainment System as a Christmas gift from Grandma in 1986. She came over every day and played it. She was much, much better than me.

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: The first one I remember going into a store by myself to purchase with my own money was Music Box by Mariah Carey. I peaked at 12 years old.

First Movie That Made You Cry: Edward Scissorhands with my mom on a sick day home from school. I was embarrassed then, I’m not now.

First Song You Slow Danced To: Almost definitely The First Time by Surface. I begged my mom to buy me the cassingle for most of 1990. She finally did and I still know every word.

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: - Fell in love, like REAL love? Orson Scott Card’s Ender/Shadow series. No question.

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: - 1991 album by Vengeance Rising called Destruction Comes on cassette. I was 10 and it radically expanded my mind.

MONICA BEARD, Podcaster & Marketer

First Comic Book: Matt Fraction's Hawkeye

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: I rewrote the end of Bridge to Terabithia after I saw it for the first time

First Video Game Console: Playstation 2

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: Destiny's Child: Survivor

First Movie That Made You Cry: Not a big crier at movies

First Song You Slow Danced To: I don't do anything slow, baby

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: Um, the Magic Tree House books just like everyone else

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: Jurassic Park, the true love of my life

PETER STEAD, Screenwriter

First Comic Book: The Beano

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Probably Return of the Jedi

First Video Game Console: PS2

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: I don’t remember first but I love David Bowie’s Buddha of Suburbia Soundtrack

First Movie That Made You Cry: The Snowman (the Animated Raymond Briggs short)

First Song You Slow Danced To: Probably Jennifer Rush The Power of Love

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: All Creatures Great and Small, James Herriot. For a while, I wanted to be a Vet. But really, it made me want to be a Writer.

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: I’m going to say the internet

PROFOUND CLARKE, Writer

First Comic Book: We didn't have a lot of money, so I read in stores and bought playing cards mostly. The first comic I remember really having was The Crow Graphic Novel. I was obsessed with the Infinity War comics back then, remembering the cards connected to it.

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Pulp Fiction

First Video Game Console: SNES

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: Rage Against the Machine - Guerrilla Radio

First Movie That Made You Cry: Can't remember what movie. I do remember being very emotional watching a sequence towards the end of the anime series Robotech.

First Song You Slow Danced To: I would be making this up. Definitely do not remember.

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: Dragon's Blood by Jane Yolen

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: My brother introduced me to everything. Monty Python's Flying Circus when I was 6 or 7 is a good example of this.

SABINA GIADO, Filmmaker

First Comic Book: I've never actually owned a comic book. But the first comic book that affected me was the Bane arc in the Batman series.

First Movie That Inspired You to Create Art: Edward Scissorhands. It was the first time I saw the hand of the director, if that makes sense.

First Video Game Console: Way, way, way, way, WAY back in the day, my family likely owned an Atari. But we've been all PC since then.

First CD Purchased With Your Own Money: I'm likely the saddest person contributing to your team. I've never bought a CD. And between Napster, Vevo and illegal downloading, I've never bought music with my own money either (ouch, I know)

First Movie That Made You Cry: The Abyss.

First Song You Slow Danced To: I really can't remember LOL. It was likely a) not at all romantic and b) something completely wrong for the moment like hip hop.

First Book Series You Fell In Love With: - Harry Potter at the age of 13 when I read Sorceror's Stone.

First Piece of Media You Loved That Wasn't Introduced to You By Your Parents: Probably something introduced to me by my brothers then. And that was Snatch.

Did any major piece of pop-culture for you get left out? Fill out the survey for yourself in the comments below!