As a child, I don’t believe I ever fell in the category of a female nerd. I was always active and outside, rarely watching TV or watching a screen. There was no draw towards watching cartoons, except occasionally on Saturday morning Recess or Hey Arnold. I grew into my own category, made it into my own and then realized there are so many females who are not afraid to hide who they are..

Fast forward to high school, I became a “band nerd” and only really fit in with my friends in band at the time. I never really thought I would become a different kind of nerd, and belong to a community that is so welcoming. I never really thought a female could be a nerd, all through high school I was afraid to be different. I tried to fit in, but I have always been a tom-boy and had a more athletic build that my present self is very jealous of now. I like to believe it all started with Star Wars…

Star Wars was always being watched with my brother on VHS tape, yes that old school way of watching movies. We would borrow my neighbor’s original trilogy tapes and always remember to rewind and rewatch. I was thrown into this galaxy that I have only grown to love so much more after the prequels and animated shows. Star Wars has always been relatable for me, it is something that you can get lost in, but it also brings you back in with its love and loss. My brother would always be building Legos and then breaking them, but at the time I only watched the movies. Now, I am reading the canon books, graphic novels and reference books almost all the time. Engrossing myself in the world because it makes me happy and takes me away from the real world and learning to adult.

I never really thought I could dive into collecting something, until I met Kyle almost 5 years ago. We started out as friends, which obviously grew into more. But when we were still friends, he had a small graphic novel collection going and gave me Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe to read. I took it home, thinking I would not like it at all, but it was great to me. I had only read Maus in high school for an English Literature class, so I did not think I would like the humorous superhero side of comics. I was wrong.

From there, after about a year of dating and being dragged to comic shops, I picked up George Perez’s Wonder Woman run in graphic novel form. That was around time same time that I really got into the Daredevil show on Netflix and started watching MCU and DCEU movies, since I had never seen them before.

I fell in love with these characters at the same time as I was falling in love with Kyle. This nerd bond that we have together only strengthens our relationship. Now that we have officially moved into a bigger place, and a second bedroom for our graphic novel shelves and about 30 comic boxes, we have a place of our home filled with nerd-based love.

Those who know us, know that we are always together and hunting for Funko pops or comic issues on the weekly new comic book day, Wednesdays. I never thought I would look forward to anything like comic issues in the middle of the week, but it is more fun doing this tradition with the one I love most. We have come to know local comic store owners, creators and they have come to know our individual names as well as Noggin, sometimes.

Going to C2E2 last spring was the best moment of our lives, it was our first road trip together and first time that we went to a large convention not too far from home. The experience was so incredible, and we hope to go back this next month to take it all in for another year. Seeing females cosplaying as someone they love and relate to is inspiring to me and it has made me realize that there are no stereotypes in this community.

Indie comics are the main stories that I feel I can relate with the most. There are a variety of stories that have stood out to me, but the main and most recent one has to been Saga. I found myself reading the entire 9 volumes in a matter of a few days, I simply could not put it down. Definitely a must read for any person, regardless if they like comics or not.

Alright, let’s bring it back to the Noggin side of things. When Kyle first suggested we share an Instagram account together, I was hesitant. But today, we surpassed 500 followers. We are both in shock, and a recent post of a Justice League Dark cover by Clayton Crain, has us at almost 350 likes. What? How is this possible? Hashtags is how. We never thought we would use them or that they would get us this many likes!

Thank you to all of our followers thus far, we hope to expand on Noggin and take it to some new and improved levels with time. Let us know if you have any ideas, we accept the feedback and love to connect with people who are fellow comic nerds, or enthusiasts if you want to be more proper. I love talking comics to people and recommending or receiving recommendations for more comics to read.

Thanks for reading!