ABSTRACT
Fan culture at science fiction conventions (‘cons’) is, for much of the United States, exotic. People’s costumes are chosen more for the idealized possible than for the rules of fashion. Games played reflect the specialized knowledge available to fans. Writers are often featured, although at Star Trek cons actors and producer Gene Roddenberry are the largest draw. Commodities for sale, besides the usual food and drink, tend to be products closely associated with particular narratives, so that one can buy photographs of favorite scenes cut from a calendar, autographed pictures, insignia, roleplay games, and all the paraphernalia one might imagine a 15-year-old boy hanging from his walls in his parents’ basement. Speakers provide insider knowledge of production-how things were written, drawn, etc.—but also how to do it yourself; writers’ workshops are common. An innocent bystander who is not oriented to science fiction could perhaps be forgiven for finding fans both esoteric and obsessive. Only years of living in proximity to fandom could explain why one feature at a con might be a ‘superfan’ such as Jerry, who publishes a zine about other fanzines.1
