Comics or Video Games: which medium is geekier?

[Extrocomp]

To be a geek is to be deeply interested in something that isn't a part of the mainstream, or that most people are casual about, because you know it's really cool, regardless of what the masses think.

Comics and video games have a lot in common. In past decades, they were created mostly for children but now have a large adult market. Many of them are created for a small group of very devoted fans. Some of them feature crossovers involving characters from completely incompatible universes just so the fans can see what happens.

So which medium is more geeky? Which medium is more worthy of being the object of obsession for people who need something to be obsessed about?

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Comics.

The video game industry used to be geeky, but now it's become massively mainstream. Hell, I think it outgrosses Hollywood. There are still geek pockets, but gaming, as a whole, is accepted.

Comics, however, are a niche product.

 

[TheGodBen]

Yeah, gaming is an accepted part of young male society to the extent that if you don't play games then you're considered weird. Comics, not so much.

 

[cultcross]

Definitely comics, gaming has become mainstream. If you see ads on bus stations for something, I don't think it can be considered geekier than comics.

 

[auntiehill]

Comics.

Video games are so varied and incredibly mainstream, while comics continue to be more of a niche market, and still considered to be uber-geeky.

 

[Shazam!]

Video games are basically the new comics anyway.

 

[byron lomax]

Comics in general are further from the mainstream, although certain types of video game are often considered just as geeky. A lot of the more imaginative, less testosterone-fuelled games are avoided by a large portion of the teenage male fanbase.

To answer your second question, definitely comics, as by and large they are more story and character-based, and invite more attention outside the actual activity (although games take up more time in themselves).

 

[clint g]

Comics are considered more geeky. As others have said, this wasnt always the case but now just about everyone seems to be a gamer to a certain extent

 

[Harvey]

Comics. Video games have gone mainstream. So have comic book movies, but not the comics themselves.

 

[firehawk12]

Yeah, if we're talking North America, then it's comics for sure. Even Comicon isn't even about comics anymore.

 

[clint g]

Comics. Video games have gone mainstream. So have comic book movies, but not the comics themselves.

That whole comic book movies thing is actually a pretty interesting phenomenon My guess is that it isnt really the comics that are considered geeky, but reading in general

 

[zakkrusz]

I think the hierarchy of geek-dom goes something like:

movies
gaming
music
computers
books
comics
anime/manga
cosplay
furries

 

[DBR]

I think the hierarchy of geek-dom goes something like:

movies
gaming
music
computers
books
comics
anime/manga
cosplay
furries

Books?

I'd put books above gaming, possibly above movies.

 

[Small White Car]

Books?

I'd put books above gaming, possibly above movies.

Nah...what do people read now? Harry Potter? Dan Brown? The Star Wars books still sell better than most other authors.

It's not the medium, it's what people read. And mostly they read geeky things. His placement is good.

 

[nx1701g]

Another vote for Comics. Video Games are the norm.

Now in 25 years...

 

[CommodoreKong]

I think the hierarchy of geek-dom goes something like:

movies
gaming
music
computers
books
comics
anime/manga
cosplay
furries

This chart is pretty useful:

 

[firehawk12]

Ah, I love that chart.

 

[TrekNut87]

Definitely comics. As others have said, gaming is pretty much a mainstream thing now.

 

[Cicero]

Comics. Video games have gone mainstream. So have comic book movies, but not the comics themselves.

That whole comic book movies thing is actually a pretty interesting phenomenon My guess is that it isnt really the comics that are considered geeky, but reading in general

I think it's more that comics material and - more significantly - comic fans give an opinion of geekiness. I can think of few semi-normal places more socially unpleasant than a comic shop. Only record stores - the home of music geeks - come close.

Ironically, given the above chart, superhero comic book fans are probably less geeky on average than non-superhero comic book fans (discounting humor strip reprints and Archie comics, which are still mainstream, like all comics until the mid-50s), because of the greater number of casual fans of the former.

 

[Extrocomp]

Hmm, according to that chart, general Comic Book Fans are less geeky than Video Gamers. That doesn't seem right, given the unanimous opinion here.

What is it that makes comic books so geeky? Is it the dominance of the superhero genre? Is it the complex continuity? Is it the upper case text? Is it the sound effects?