The Armageddon pop culture convention took place in Auckland this weekend, with the ASB Showgrounds ringing to the sounds of geeky pleasures, while also buzzing with pure commerce.
In the world of entertainment, the nerd has inherited the Earth. Hardcore fantasy show Game Of Thrones is arguably the biggest thing on television and Marvel's superhero universe films rule the blockbuster genre. Nerds are the new normal, and they have disposable cash to spend on their obsessions.
Armageddon started in 1995 with a small group of trading card and comic dealers setting up shop in a hall at an Auckland raceway, and now attracts tens of thousands of people to the ASB Showgrounds every Labour Weekend, with wide aisles becoming packed with bargain hunters, hardcore gamers and cos players.
The trading card dealers are all gone, and there are just a few comic-related traders still showing up every year, but Armageddon has attracted its huge audience, and huge revenues, by branching out into all sorts of nerd culture - stalls now feature replica weapons, t-shirts, foreign candy, action figures, high-end gaming accessories, original artwork, commemorative jewelry, small press publishing and dozens of other offerings.
There is an audience that is hungry for the product and keen to take something home from the show. Hundreds of thousands of dollars is spent on products at the show every year, while even more money is generated through the sale of autographs and photos with film and TV stars. And the occasional big-ticket item racks up impressive sales - last year a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, featuring the first appearance of Spider-Man, reportedly sold for almost $100,000.
Arkham City Comics owner Jeremy Bishop has been on the retail side of the table since the late nineties, and has seen geek culture grow at each new convention. He said the power of the geek dollar had grown as pop culture became more acceptable to the wider audience.
"You've got things like the big movies and the TV shows that are getting real audiences, and people are proud to enjoy them, and to call themselves fans of something.
"That's why you see more females at the show than you ever did before, and why more and more people dressing up as their favourite characters, because they're connecting with those characters, and they don't feel they need to be closet fans anymore."
For many fans, a souvenir isn't enough, and hundreds line up for hours and pay up to $30 to get an autograph from film and TV stars. At this year's show, the main stars were Richard Dean Anderson (MacGuyver) and Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who), and autographs could only be purchased with special tokens that were all sold out before the show even started.
Standing in a huge, crowded line for hours, waiting for a fleeting moment with a celebrity, might not be everybody's favourite way to spend a Friday afternoon, but hundreds duly lined up this weekend for that thrill.
Hunting the scrawl
Life-long Doctor Who fan Kyle Waaka - who travelled from Temuka to Armageddon purely for the chance to get Coleman's autograph - has signatures from seven of the twelve Doctors, and more than two dozen companions. He said the chance to meet the current companion was a "no-brainer".
"It's a connection to when I was a kid, and the stars of this programme were so far away, I never thought I'd get to meet them. I'm always nervous when I actually meet them, but it never feels embarrassing, it's just that you're in awe that you're actually meeting this person.
"And then you come to these things, and there are a lot of my kind, but there are also young and old, male and female, and they're all excited about the same thing."
The autograph market can see some signatures go for hundreds of dollars - especially if the subject is deceased - but the most Mr Waaka has paid for an autograph was $89 for a David Tennant/Billie Piper autographed picture. He said he had taken some ribbing from his family and friends about the amount he has spent, but he never regrets paying for an autograph.
"It's still a real buzz, getting a new one. And it's not wasted money, because I can always sell them on again and get my money back, and more. I never actually would, but that's what I tell myself when I pay for a new one."
Five things to know
1. The Armageddon show will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year.
