Congrats to my friend (and longtime FSM art director) Joe Sikoryak on completing his 10-issue graphic novel, When We Were Trekkies.
I’ve written before about Joe’s blog and our many decades of collaboration.
I’ll let him introduce this project, which is the culmination of a lifetime of fandom and creative effort (writing, illustration and memoir):
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When We Were Trekkies is a (mostly) true graphic memoir of conventions, cosplay, and coming of age in the 1970s. Follow the exploits of five bridge-and-tunnel kids entering a magical realm of starship captains, interplanetary goddesses, and comic book monsters. But first, they need to get permission from Mom to stay out past curfew.
Each issue presents the real-life adventures of teenagers braving street crime, toxic chemicals and skeptical reporters to meet celebrities and connect with other true believers. The story spans three years of groundbreaking events—including the very first Star Trek, Comic Art, and Famous Monsters cons in New York City.
The series was created by Joe Sikoryak, who draws on his own experience and well-documented history to recreate fandom as it was 50 years ago. Now you can relive all its nerdish spectacle and adolescent awkwardness. Every issue includes a page of references and a collage of period ephemera to help set the stage. While some details have been changed, the costumes, festivities and unbridled passions are completely authentic.
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Here’s a pic of Joe and his pals from 1974!
This photo by Neil Slavin captures the winners of the 1974 Star Trek Lives! Masquerade at the Americana Hotel. Judge Fred Phillips (of the Original Series) dubbed the three guys in the upper left “Best Aliens” of the show. Those three guys were Joe (the Klingon) and his high school pals—who became the basis for the memoir.
I’ve been following Joe’s work on this graphic novel for several years and I’m so proud of him for getting his vision out there—and enjoying the look at fandom from slightly before my time.
The only downside for me is that it has made him unavailable for my graphic design needs!
For more, here’s Joe’s Instagram and Patreon.
Congrats Joe!
And please, if you have any connection to Star Trek fandom, nostalgia for this time period, or just like good coming-of-age tales, check out the graphic novel. Thanks!
This is very exciting! I will hope to check it out. It captures an era just before my time, before Star WARS came and overshadowed the special magic Trek had over its fans. I also want to say, look at all the females in that photo! Long before cosplay was a thing, Trek welcomed everyone. The photo is the best thing I’ve seen on the internet in forever. Is that photo published in any of the issues?
Nice!