Growing up, I knew exactly what a fan looked like: they were tall and skinny white guys who knew everything about the lore of the Flash, Aquaman, and Green Lantern. As you all surely know, I’m describing Jason, my best friend’s older brother who happened to be in junior high school while us puny kids were still playing on jungle gyms in elementary. His junior high school sold 1991’s DC Cosmic Cards, and as the older brother to the neighborhood, he’d welcome us into his secret hideout to show us his weekly haul—I can still clearly see those cards like Guy Gardner yo-yoing an innocent stranger in the head or finding out the exact market price of the holographic Darkseid because he subscribed to Wizard Magazine. Jason is exactly what a fan looks like.
As a teenager, I knew exactly what a fan looked like: they were skinny Asian guys with glasses, okay so I’m describing my uncle. He believed that western comic books like Witchblade and Gen13 could be just as popular in Taiwan as anime. He got my dad to become a comic book reseller, and every month, a huge white box printed with Diamond Distribution would arrive to our house so we could turn it around and sell in Taiwan. And you bet I got in on keeping a copy or two for myself. My uncle is exactly what a fan looks like.
In my 30s, I had now lived in London for a few years, and I knew exactly what a fan looked like: black kid from Peckham, sweatpants and oversized hoodies who had to “collect the goods” every Sunday. Of course, I’m talking about my friend, spoken word poet Suli Breaks, who racks up millions of views with the same energy he hits the comic book racks.
In 2024, I knew exactly what a fan looked like: Nicole, a wonderful Companion member with short grey hair, a decade or two of teaching behind her while sitting in a gaming chair during one of our virtual event gatherings.
That’s what I love about Fandom, just how far reaching these stories and characters can travel. And at every level and every decade, just when I think I know what fandom looks like, it surprises me once again. And even if we look, speak, and act completely differently, these stories act almost like a universal translator giving us all a shared language and culture.
When Nicole submitted her story, we decided to keep her story in her native-language French, which is how you’ll also see it here. You’ll find an English summary at the end, and of course, we welcome you use your own favorite translation app. We did this because we felt that’s what fandom is like. People from all over the world, coming together, to understand each other.
New to The Companion?
Here’s the latest book update:
- Amanda’s introduction to the book
- Fabienne’s story about how one weekend dare ended up changing her life
- Moon’s story how these random TV shows can inspire her to become a firefighter
- Ellie’s story on what anxiety looks like and how your fandom friends are there for you
- Julia’s story on how cosplay led her to a career helping design ballistic armour
- Sign up to our free newsletter to get more of these stories in your inbox.
And if you can do me a favor, please share this newsletter with a friend who might be interested.
Today’s Featured Story from Purpose
« Oh capitaine, mon capitaine ! » Cette citation emblématique du film Le Cercle des Poètes disparus (réalisé par Peter Weir en 1989) résume parfaitement comment être fan a façonné ma carrière. J’ai été captivée par ce film dès la première fois que je l’ai vu, il y a bien longtemps.
Pour ceux qui ne le connaissent pas, il raconte l’histoire d’un professeur d’anglais qui inspire ses élèves à travers la poésie. Interprété par Robin Williams, John Keating encourage ses élèves à « cueillir le jour présent » (« carpe diem » en latin). Je me souviens parfaitement d’un jour où nous étions tous debout sur nos chaises au lycée, recréant la célèbre scène du film. Sans surprise, notre professeur de philosophie n’a pas du tout apprécié. J’avais dix-sept ans à l’époque et je me suis dit : « Si je deviens prof un jour, je veux être comme lui ! ».
Des années plus tard, je suis finalement devenue professeur dans un centre de formation professionnelle en France. Mes apprentis, âgés de quinze à vingt-neuf ans, alternent entre l’école et le travail en restaurant. Bien que je n’aie pas créé de société de poésie, j’encourage mes élèves à réfléchir de manière critique et à reconnaître qu’il y a bien plus dans la vie que notre vision occidentale du monde. Je leur dis souvent : « Découvrez le monde ! Et si ce n’est pas possible, explorez-le à travers les livres et les films ».
Ayant grandi avec Star Trek, la diversité et l’inclusion sont normales pour moi. C’est là que la science-fiction entre en jeu dans mes cours ! J’enseigne l’Expression et la Connaissance du Monde, et j’intègre la science-fiction chaque fois que possible. Je fais le lien entre Nietzsche et Terminator, entre l’ouvrage 1984 d’Orwell et le film I, Robot.
Quand j’explore les héros d’hier et d’aujourd’hui, j’introduis Stargate. Je leur montre « La Cinquième Race » - comme ils connaissent Thor de Marvel, cet épisode permet d’aborder la mythologie nordique. Pour l’intelligence artificielle, je leur passe The X-Files ou certains épisodes de Stargate avec les Réplicateurs.
Le thème le plus difficile concerne l’acceptation de l’autre. C’est là que Star Trek brille vraiment. Malgré le racisme et l’homophobie présents chez certains apprentis, Star Trek nous montre comment transcender les différences. Deep Space Nine, avec « L’Interdit », l’illustre parfaitement.
Encourager les jeunes Français à adopter la science-fiction n’est pas facile, surtout quand elle croise la philosophie. Néanmoins, certains deviennent passionnés, ce qui mène à des discussions profondes.
Je partagerai un moment que je chéris particulièrement. Il y a quelques années, un ancien apprenti m’a dit : « Madame, vous vous souvenez quand vous nous avez montré Metropolis de Fritz Lang ? Il a été diffusé à la télé, je l’ai regardé avec ma femme et je le lui ai expliqué. »
Ce sont des moments comme ceux-ci qui me rendent fière – voir mes élèves devenir des individus ouverts et tolérants est ma plus grande récompense. Comme le disait John Keating, nous devons cueillir le jour présent, et c’est exactement ce que la science-fiction nous permet de faire : ouvrir nos esprits aux possibilités infinies de demain.
Nicole, France
Editor’s Note:
When Nicole was 17 years old, she remembers vividly climbing atop her chair at school recreating the famous Dead Poets Society scene in high school alongside her classmates. Unsurprisingly, her philosophy teacher didn’t appreciate the performance, but at that moment Nicole realized if she ever became a teacher, she wanted to be like John Keating.
She is!
Now, Nicole is a French vocational instructor who smuggles science fiction lessons into her lessons—connecting Nietzsche to Terminator and using Stargate to teach Norse mythology. Her secret weapon? Using Star Trek episodes to combat racism and homophobia amongst her apprentice students.
Nicole’s proudest moment came when a former student told her he watched Metropolis with his wife and explained it to her—proof that fandom-powered education creates lifelong learners, one chair-climb at a time.
📘 Hardback and Paperback, Strictly limited
The Collector’s Edition was always limited to 500. About 100 copies are left, and once they’re gone, they will be gone forever.
If you’re like me, and like to keep Collector’s Editions pristine, we have a Paperback Edition available as well. The cutoff for orders will be between Thanksgiving and December (exact date to come).
🧑🚀 European and International Pins partial refunds
Quick update, for those of you who ordered pins and keychains, I recently reduced our prices for the period of the book pre-order.
All of the US orders had this price reduction reflected.
Some of our international friends bought the pins before this change, so if you bought pins within the last month and are outside the US, I have proactively refunded you the difference. This also means anyone in the world can now take advantage of the reduced prices to celebrate Purpose: Embracing Mental Health as a Fandom.
Add a few to your book order, or get the whole set. They’ll ship in the same parcel as your book in January 2027.
Already ordered a book but want to add some pins?
Make the purchase, email me at lawrence.kao@thecompanion.app and I’ll refund the shipping and pack them in with your book.
Just want pins?
Order them now, and I’ll ship them right away.
Hope you had a great weekend!
Lawrence
