Barriers to Entry: Intimidating Fandoms
Welcome to GTA Radio on the Geek Therapy Network. Here at Geek Geek Therapy, we believe that the best way to understand each other and ourselves through the media we care about. My name is Josué Cardona, and I'm joined by Link Keller.
Link:Yo. Lara Taylor.
Josué:Hey. Marc Cuiriz. Yo. Right. So so this week, I was thinking about how I've been avoiding for years to watching one piece because it's like over a thousand episodes.
Josué:It's close to it's close to 1,100 episodes at this point. And the manga also has over a thousand. I was like, there's no way. And I and for years, I've I was like, there's no way I'm watching 700 episodes. There was no way I'm watching 800.
Josué:But then when I hit a thousand, I was like, oh. That sounds appealing. But still, it was like it was like daunting, overwhelming, but I but I but I did it. I've had some more time, unfortunately. I lost my job, so I had a little more time recently.
Josué:And I was like, you know what? I'm gonna find a job before I reach the end of one piece. I got there way faster than I thought I would with some with some free time. I caught up to the dub, so I watched like anyway, there was a whole strategy to it and a whole bunch of stuff I'll get into later. But that one was, like, daunting for me.
Josué:Some and and we'll talk about, like, how to use that in in in other conversations and, like, as an analogy for other stuff. But I'm curious, what is some fandom that you have wanted to get into? Whether you have whether you did or you didn't, that that seemed, like, so overwhelming or or, like, again, that maybe right now you're like, oh, I want to, but it's it's too it's too much. It's too many books. It's too too many years.
Josué:I just I just can't do it. What is what is one of those for you? But it's got their thinking faces on, but it cocked their head to the side.
Marc:I think for me, just in general, it's comics. Like, I wanna be able to get into comics. I wanna be able to read comics and, you know, just kinda start somewhere. But my thing is that, like, I don't know where to start. And I I know that, like, even if I just pick up a story and I try reading it, chances are it's going to reference something from another story.
Marc:And then it's like, I I wanna know a lot more about that. So then I had to try and find out the issues and and going into all that sort of stuff. And it it just it becomes one very overwhelming to, like, confusing as to, like, where do I wanna start in terms of, like, where do I wanna pick up stories? Like and then I'm thinking about, you know, different writers, artists, that sort of thing. And I'm just like, I I have no idea.
Marc:So, like, I mean, I've I've picked up some trade paperbacks before. I've read through a few of them just kind of like you know, because I had some free time at a Barnes and Noble. But aside from, like, those brief instances, like, it's something that I haven't really gotten into. But I know, like, if I if I, like, had the time or I had a better sense of, like, where to start, then I think I'd be more inclined to, like, okay. Let me just dive right in.
Marc:Because I know, like, once I start, I could just go. I'll just read and read and read. Like, I won't be able to stop.
Josué:So, like, which character which characters have you been interested in reading comics about? Well
Lara:Let's be clear. You're mostly talking about superhero comics because there's other comics that are, like, hard to get into because there's a lot of things, but, like, there's less of that there's 50,000,000 different versions of Batman. There's 50,000,000 versions of this. Like yeah. Yeah.
Lara:So
Marc:Yeah. And for me, obviously, Spider Man. But then there's, like like, Deadpool comics, the x men, just really like the whole Marvel universe because I for me, I'm more I'm more Marvel, but I and if I'm just thinking about specific characters, I think, like, Captain America, Spider Man, the x men, Deadpool, Those are just like the top four things I can kinda name off the top of my head. I'm like, yeah, I'd like to read more about those. I'll just like, learn more about those characters and the storylines and things like that.
Lara:I've got a solution for you. Instead of going to Barnes and Noble, go to a comic shop and ask your friendly neighborhood comic shop person. Hey, I wanna read this character. Where should I start? Usually, they're pretty good at, like, asking you follow-up questions like, what are you into about Spider Man?
Lara:What what kind of Spider which Spider Man are you talking about? You want Miles Morales? You want Peter Parker? And there's plenty of ways to jump on when things kind of reboot. Like, I think Ms.
Lara:Marvel has a new number one that just came out. You don't get all that other backstory, but it's a completely different story.
Josué:Yeah. I was in this position, like I don't know. There was a point where I was like, oh, I wanna start. It's also overwhelming. And then Marvel started a new line called Ultimate, the Ultimate Marvel Universe.
Josué:And so I started reading that Spider Man from number one. And it was cool because I was like, oh, I'm starting. But that was over twenty years ago. Mhmm. So the same problem.
Josué:They eventually got into the same
Lara:problem again. Morales came out of the Ultimate series. Right?
Josué:Well, yeah. Like, the Ultimate Universe doesn't really exist anymore. I got, like Yeah. Folded in. It's because they ended up having the same issue.
Josué:Mhmm. Because it just grew too it was too large. It was too too much. But, yeah. No.
Josué:That's a that's a good one. Comic books for sure. Absolutely. There's and and like Lara said, there are ways around that that we can we can we can look at too specifically. Mhmm.
Josué:How about you, Lara? What what is one that you either have never gotten into or or did, but you were.
Lara:I'm so old that I got into all the things before they got overwhelming. No. I'm not that old, I think.
Josué:Eighty five years of Batman. You were there day one.
Lara:Day one. I didn't start reading comics as much until I met Nina, and she's in the comics industry. So that's when I started reading comics and jumped in on where her suggestions were and kinda picked out books that I wanted to. I don't think it that was ever super daunting for me. I keep trying to think of ones like one thing that I think I've been hesitant I started and then kinda gave up on My Hero Academia because it is it's got a lot of episodes.
Lara:Not not one piece number of episodes, but there's a lot going on there. I started it and then kinda dropped off on it. I tend to like finish things rather than ongoing things, unless it's gonna be a unless I've started toward the beginning of it. I have a feeling something finishes, I'm like, okay, I don't have to worry about catching up to something. So I think that's kinda why I dropped off on My Hero Academia.
Lara:But then again, when Grey's Anat when I started watching Grey's an episode of Grey's Anatomy with my niece, I binged twelve seasons in a month and a half. So
Josué:Yeah. Graze is definitely
Lara:It's getting up there. It kinda needs to it needs to stop. It needs to stop. Yeah. Yeah.
Lara:Yeah. Trying to think of some others. There are lots of things that I have I'm deep into that other people are overwhelmed to try and get into, the Marvel movies, Star Wars. And I kind of take that same kind of like, well, what do you like? Like with Star Wars, it's like, well, what do you kind of, what do you want?
Lara:Do you want like a a western? Do you want like a a serial show that's really easy to get into? Do you want to watch all the movies from the beginning? Do you want to read comics or books? I could find you some, a good adventure somewhere.
Lara:But some of those bigger fandoms are are harder to get into from from scratch.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is ridiculous. That's why they're already talking about a reboot. Like, so that you can start over because by the time by the time they're done with the current set of movies, they'll have been 20 since
Link:Mhmm.
Josué:Since Iron Man.
Link:Yeah.
Lara:Well, that's fine.
Josué:It's fine. Issue. Yeah. Plus with all the TV shows. I remember the last time I like, that my mom really wanted to watch one of these movies.
Josué:She she, like, sat down with a notepad and, like, was like, what order do I have to watch them in? And which ones are important? And how are they connected one to another? It was like a whole page and a map and all things. That was before there were a lot of TV shows because now there's there's a lot.
Lara:Mhmm.
Josué:There's a lot of them. Okay. Okay. But a lot
Lara:of the TV shows now are kind of standalone that you can kinda some of them tie in like She Hulk. You could probably watch stand alone without having to watch a lot of the other stuff. Yeah.
Josué:Yes. But, I mean, yes, it
Lara:all depends. I know people that have I know people that have watched the well-being of that and had fun with them.
Josué:So We've we've talked about this. Right? Like, there are people who will go in and watch the second movie in a trilogy not having watched the first one and just enjoy it and have a good time. I don't understand these people at all. I don't wanna be their friends.
Josué:I don't want to know
Marc:Well I I played the second Assassin's Creed first, and, you know, I had a had a jolly old time with it, and then I discovered that there were actually a first one.
Lara:Different. I I mean, I Yeah. A little bit different. Don't know. I think there's a certain point with video games where there's, like, I didn't I I played Resident Evil two and did not play any of the other ones, and I'm like, I wanna get back into it.
Lara:But I'm like, there's so much going on in this world. And, like, it there's threads that I won't understand, so I'm not gonna play it.
Marc:Yeah. I mean, you have to even think about assassin's creed. Like, think about how it is now. You know? If someone wants to play it, like, there's so much of the story that's there that, like, someone
Josué:Mark, no one has ever cared about the lore except you, me, and a few other people about the lore of Assassin's Creed. Let's be serious. Yeah. Listen.
Marc:For for the the two people that are listening out there that care about those, like, very much.
Josué:For my for my two
Marc:Assassin's Creed fans out there. I I I I think in some cases, especially with video games, like, yeah, there it is different, but in some I think in there are cases where it's kinda the same, like, with, like, the Marvel movies where, you know, there's some parts of it that you could probably just watch standalone and, you know, have a good jolly old time or play it and, you know, be perfectly fine. And other times, there's, like, a deeper connecting story. Like, even from one to three with the all of Desmond's story, like, all those games are interconnected and they they tell one cohesive story. And so if you were to jump in and play, like, revelations first, you have no idea who Ezio is.
Marc:So you're like, what what's going on? So you'd have to, like, go back to you'd wanna go back and figure out, like, what what what am I missing here? Yes. You can still play the game and enjoy the game, but you're missing out on on key parts of it. But, like, you're just like, okay.
Marc:Why am I doing this?
Josué:There are there are and and I think that that's what I was getting at with the movies thing. Right? Like, somebody will go in and watch a second movie, and they can enjoy it. They'll just enjoy the ride. But then someone who has seen the first one or the 22 prior movies, it's like, there's a lot more for you there.
Josué:A lot that you'll enjoy. There's this payoff to having, you know, invested so much beforehand. Like, I was always curious about, like, what if I watch episode 1,000 of of of One Piece just to say that I did it? I'm just curious. What what is that?
Josué:But then having watched the rest of it and gotten to 1,000, that was special. That was special because it was it was a celebratory callback episode, and and it was it was satisfying. Right? Like, there was a a huge payoff. And and a lot of these things, of course, like, think that's the it's worth the investment.
Josué:Right? Like, you go through, and then there's there's additional payoff. It's not required. But, yeah, I think that's it. Right?
Josué:Like, to get that really good experience. Because some people yeah. It's like, oh, which was the best one? Okay. I'll I'll just I'll read the second book in the series.
Josué:That's fine. I I wanna read the others. I
Lara:just thought of another one. Doctor Who. I have not watched I mean, I did jump on with Jodi Whitaker, but that was one that I wanted to start from the beginning. Not the beginning beginning, but, like, the newer beginning.
Josué:So not the beginning.
Lara:Not the very beginning. Was like, forget all the old stuff. Let me just watch the the the newer stuff. And I could not I was like, this is a lot. I can't get into this.
Lara:And then I decided to skip it and just go to Jodi Whitaker. And I really enjoyed the episodes I watched. I didn't necessarily need all the other backstory, and I think that was a way to help me get that. But like you're saying, someone who's watched all of the the episodes is gonna get a different payoff than I did.
Josué:Doctor Who's so funny because it is set up for, like, oh, we're starting with a new actor, you know, like, there's New still a lot of more yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But starting with Jodie Whittaker is funny because it was such a restart that it barely makes reference to anything before.
Link:Mhmm.
Josué:And then right now, if you watched it till the end, it's immediately jumping to David Tennant's run with, like, the most, like, like, closely like, you need to have watched all the David Tennant episodes or at least a a good chunk of them to appreciate exactly what's gonna happen next, which is
Link:Mhmm.
Josué:Funny. Which is funny. Yeah. It's a good it that's a good example. But, there's a there's a lot.
Josué:There's so much doctor who that some of it doesn't exist anymore. Like, some of it isn't available because they used to broadcast it on the BBC, and the tapes are lost. So they're still recovering some of the episodes that were created. You can't even watch them all. So that's a
Lara:lot. That's a lot.
Josué:That's It's kinda overwhelming.
Lara:That's a lot.
Josué:It's sixty years now. Now we're on the sixtieth anniversary of the show. Yeah. Yeah. How about you, Link?
Josué:Do you have one?
Link:Yeah. I got a I got a couple of examples of stuff that I never really got into. I think probably the best example for me is the Wheel of Time book series. Mhmm. That's something like I have been a big fantasy book reader functionally my whole life, and that's always been like, it's there.
Link:You see it everywhere on shelves in, you know, Barnes and Nobles and Borders and secondhand bookstores. There's a there's always a couple of copies of Wheel of Time books, but I've never actually read any of them.
Josué:There
Link:are It's something that I know I There's a there's a lot. And Yeah. The author died at the end, and and Sanderson finished out the the cycle, which is cool. My my sister is really into Brandon Sanderson. I'm I'm trying really hard not to call him Brandy Sandy, which is what I refer to him as in my in my private life.
Link:The urge to talk about there. My my sister very much likes Brandon Sanderson's fuck. Likes his work and also very much likes The Wheel of Time book series and TV show. And she has been trying to get me into it. And I was just like, oh, I don't I don't know.
Link:I don't know. I'm sorry. Don't get your hopes up. It's maybe not gonna happen. But, yeah, that's something that is like I do think that I would really enjoy it.
Link:I just have never started.
Josué:Do you think you will?
Link:What?
Josué:Do you think you will?
Link:Oh, I don't know. Maybe. There's there's so much there's so much stuff that I wanna read and watch and play and don't. Yeah. Link, do
Lara:you want I finished reading Priory of the Orange Tree. Do you want that? Good job.
Link:I do. I do kinda I do kinda wanna read that.
Lara:I can send it to you.
Link:I mean, you can
Lara:I start that that daunting book?
Link:I am currently in the middle of a book that I set aside so that I could read a book this month in October. Fuck. What is it called? It's called the lones the lonesome night in October. The something fuck.
Link:It's it's just far enough out of my reach. I can't grab it. It's by Robert Zlackney, I think. But, anyways, it's it's like a fun Halloween spooky story, but there's 31 chapters. So I am reading one a day throughout this month.
Link:But, yeah, I've I did I'm reading that, and I'm playing Baldur's Gate, and that's all I have room in my brain for right now.
Josué:Mhmm. What what is the longest either book series or what's the what's the largest investment you've made in a franchise?
Link:Are you talking, like, time investment or, like, quantity of content?
Josué:Tell me, like
Link:Time I mean, oof. I so I I do not wanna expand on this further, but it would probably be Harry Potter because that was, like, a big chunk of my adolescence.
Lara:Well, I think for me, it would be Laurel k Hamilton, maybe, for me.
Link:I mean, that's that's big.
Lara:Lot of books.
Link:It's a lot of books. I have read them a lot. I've read some of the comics based off of the book, but I didn't didn't love the art style, so I didn't stick with that. If they made a show, I'd watch it. But Mhmm.
Link:Oh, I'm trying to think what else.
Josué:There's a Wheel of Time show, by the way.
Link:There is a Wheel of Time show. I know. And apparently, it's even gayer than the books, and I would really love it, and I should watch it. I have not yet. I have not.
Lara:If Kayla were here, she would agree that you need to watch it.
Josué:Still thinking?
Link:Yeah. Yeah. I guess I guess Game of Thrones, Song of Ice and Fire is the other thing that I got really into, and it had a large body of work to work through.
Josué:Yeah.
Link:But I I didn't end up watching any of House of the Dragon
Lara:Mhmm.
Link:Which if you had asked me, you know, ten years ago, would have been totally shocking to me. But now as I'm like, oh, yeah. Well, I'll get to it eventually, I guess.
Lara:I mean, at least it's different production team.
Josué:But it's still more. Right?
Lara:I mean It is more.
Josué:That is is more. Is that is one of those examples of, like, well, you know, you can you can just start.
Link:You could. You could just jump in then.
Josué:Possibly dragon.
Lara:You could certainly jump in there. You really don't
Link:need to be are people who who have done that. Mhmm.
Josué:No. Mark, remember that time we did a podcast when you had never watched anything Star Wars?
Marc:Yeah. And then I proceeded to watch all eight main films in preparation for the final one because I just decided on a whim to buy tickets to see it opening night.
Josué:By that point was was were Rogue One and Solo out by then?
Marc:Rogue One might have
Lara:Those were because they did the in between the movies. Yeah. So both of them would have been out by then.
Josué:Yeah. Those Rogue One
Marc:and Solo are I hadn't seen at that point. I just kinda stuck to the the main saga films. I've I've gone back and I've watched Rogue One. I still haven't seen Solo. And I've started on multiple I've I've made multiple attempts to watch, like, Clone Wars and Rebels.
Lara:Mhmm.
Marc:And time just kinda gets away from me, and then I forget about it. And then, it you know, it's it's one of those things where, like, I I I'm determined. I will go back and I will watch every single form of media about it. I'm just haven't gotten there yet. But it is one of those things where I do It's wanna
Lara:not it's not just that now. You've got Andor, you've got Ahsoka, you got the Mandalorian, you got the the boba cut. Mhmm.
Josué:The best part about this is that if you put them on a timeline, it is so confusing because you would have, like like, episode one, episode two, then most of Clone Wars Mhmm. And then, like, the last eight episodes happened during episode three.
Lara:Mhmm. Right? And then there are And then you guessed I I knew someone that took that, like, the last episode of Clone Wars and swapped back and forth and spliced it between Clone Wars and episode three. Wow. I did that I did
Link:that with okay. So the the oh, man. Feast Feast of Crows and Dance with Dragons Mhmm. In the Song of Ice and Fire series chronologically overlap, but they are separated by point of view character. Right.
Link:Which when they came out, must have been absolutely horrendous. But thankfully, I got into the series just a couple of months before Dance with Dragons came out. So I'm so mad at you. I know. Right?
Link:I'm spoiled. Except now, I'm I'm in the same crap boat as everybody else. But, there is a version where people took like the audio books and wove them together so that they were chronological and included all of the characters and they called that a ball of beasts, which I really loved that that combination. Oh, that's cool. Right?
Link:Feast for Crows, Dance with Dragons, that's a ball. Food and dancing, that's a ball. Yeah. Yeah. And that was a really fun way to engage with that story, having it woven back together.
Link:It killed the pacing in a lot of parts, but it made other things way better because you got to, like, see something happening, like, to a character and then get to see that character's perspective instead of waiting, like
Lara:Oh, yeah.
Link:Seven years or whatever was
Lara:in between those two books. I'm sure, yeah, that could make a lot of things make more sense. Right. Even though that it would be slow as hell to get through.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. With Star Wars, when they finished Clone Wars, it was like, oh, well, let's just let's answer the question. Where was she during the event of the movie?
Lara:Where was she?
Josué:Well, here we go. And just that wasn't that that long ago, Mark, that we we did that.
Marc:Yeah. That was, I think,
Josué:a couple years ago, but, like, the landscape is completely different now Mhmm. With all the shows that happened in between, and they jump in different times time periods.
Marc:Yeah. Like, I I've I watched Obi Wan. I watched the first season of the Mandalorian back when it first came out. I I was up to date on it, and then I was waiting for season two. And then, you know, again, it's time, and my brain just could not remember.
Marc:Don't go back and watch it. So
Josué:Like, Mandalorian happens after episode six. Mhmm. But Obi Wan happens before episode four. And it's like, all these things that just keep and the more they put into them, like, you need to, like,
Lara:space them out. Gonna put a movie 25,000 before. So
Josué:Yep. And one and one movie is coming after episode nine, a couple more seasons between episode six and seven. Also, just saying there's a show with 10 episodes between episode six and seven is so confusing. So it's it's it's quite it's quite, an investment. I can't imagine somebody getting into it new.
Josué:Right? Like, that's definitely I mean, before we just we still had the the argument of, where should you start? The prequel trilogy or the original trilogy? Mhmm.
Marc:Mhmm.
Josué:Now that question's way more complicated.
Lara:It it can be in it also like, there are probably plenty of people who can't are gonna have a hard time getting into it. But I see kids getting into it. When their parents are showing them things. It's more passive. It's around the house.
Lara:Plus, they also have now, like, what is it, young Jedi adventures, which is really cute and, like, good for the
Josué:little Jedi adventures is canon. Right? Yeah. I believe it's canon.
Link:Yeah. That that is a whole separate conversation.
Josué:Resistance is canon too.
Lara:Mhmm.
Josué:The cartoon series resistance. Right? It's also canon.
Lara:It's also canon?
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. The holiday special is not canon.
Lara:The holiday special is not canon. That I feel like that's
Marc:a missed opportunity.
Lara:Ewok Adventures and Battle for Endor are not canon anymore.
Josué:Yeah. Those are they keep making LEGO ones. Those are not canon.
Marc:No. Are you sure those LEGO ones aren't canon?
Josué:Yes. I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure. Oh, yeah. Star Wars can be can definitely be overwhelming.
Josué:But whenever somebody asks me, like, hey. How do I get into it? Awesome. Right? Like, do you wanna go in chronological order?
Josué:Is there a particular thing? Kinda like the
Lara:Let's just start with some movies. Yeah. Mhmm. Mhmm.
Josué:Well, kinda like you said, Lara, about the
Lara:What do you win?
Josué:Comic book shop.
Lara:Yeah. Mhmm.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like, getting someone who knows about it and can kinda get you started. Because with some of the these franchises, they are they have multiple entry points.
Lara:Mhmm.
Josué:And so, yeah, definitely depending on who I'm talking to, I'd be like, yeah. No. You shouldn't start. Like
Lara:Like,
Josué:there's not gonna go who are gonna able to do things,
Lara:especially just, like, do the movies, like, chronological. Right? Because it makes more sense for their brain. Some people, it's like, okay. I really do wanna start with, like, how it started and how other people were able to see things.
Lara:Right? And that makes sense for them.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. Depends. Like, for a lot of people, again, I I would, like, not recommend they start with episode four. Some people I wouldn't recommend they start with episode one.
Josué:It depends Mhmm. On on what it is. Ask me about doctor who. I will do an entire personality assessment. Yeah.
Lara:I remember you one time, you made a list for Ali on, like, what episodes he should watch to, like, jump into doctor who, and now he loves it. So
Josué:Yeah. Because you get yeah. It's like, I gotta I gotta give you a couple episodes to just, like, you know, what the palettes just make you, like, just interested, and then then you'll want more, and then you'll you'll want to jump around. It's it's tough. It's tough.
Josué:Comics is a hard one, Mark. That one that one and I mean the companies know it. So especially, like, if you're talking about DC and Marvel in particular, like, are points in history where they have rebooted everything. They do
Lara:Which actually makes it really easy to jump into if you catch it at the right time.
Josué:DC does these crisis events. It's how they've done it, like, in recent decades. And then after a crisis event, basically, the the the universe is reset. There's still stuff that comes back from afterwards. Like, after rebirth, rebirth was a huge success, and then and then it wasn't.
Josué:And they started, like, bringing things back from it was anyway, it gets confusing.
Lara:It does make it confusing.
Josué:Marvel has also done, like, full resets, but they used to do this thing that was they don't I don't think they do this anymore. Do they, Lara, where they used to do the point ones?
Lara:I don't know if they do point ones anymore, but I do remember they used to do them. And they used to have zeros too.
Josué:So, Mark, point one would be, like, they finish an arc, and then they're gonna start a new arc. So it's like, hey. It's it's Spider Man 1,030.1. They don't. Because it's a point one, you know that you can
Lara:I don't think that they have continued any numbers that high?
Josué:No. They don't. Nobody none of them do.
Lara:Well, no. DC does. So DC has the the a lot of the regular ones are like the Wonder Woman got to, like, five like, in the '5 or June. After they did rebirth and did number one, they then switched back to the the 500, 600. And I ran through a a run of that.
Lara:But, like, when you get to action comics and detective comics, they did, like, a special for action comics 1,000.
Josué:1,000.
Lara:And then they kept those numbers going. But those stories are individuals. There's individual books, and you can get the trade paperbacks of the ones, and it'll say the name of it, number one, the name of it, number two, by author. The so that it's not as confusing, but it's still confusing. Because, like, action comics number 800 is going on at the same time as like Superman number I don't know, like 20.
Lara:That kind of thing. Yeah. That those are not actual numbers. I don't know for sure. But like, that's kind of how it runs and that can get confusing.
Lara:But if you can find a writer that you like and somebody can suggest here is where you start with that writer's run, It's really nice to be able to do that. Yeah.
Josué:Like, if if if someone asked me, like, for a comic book suggestion
Lara:Mhmm.
Josué:I don't know. Off the top of my head, one of my favorite events was, Blackest Night in, DC, Green Lantern. So let's say, Mark, you go and you're like, okay. I'll check it out. There's a few trade paperbacks.
Josué:But then but then in some issues, you're gonna see there are crossovers. Yep. That that's my point. One shots. Right?
Josué:And a one shot is like a completely separate comic book that is in the event. It's like a side story in a video game. Right? It's like, you don't have to do this. You don't have to do this side mission, but it's there if you want it.
Josué:And then there's a crossover where it's like, the whole event is happening in in darkest you know, in in in Green Lantern. But there's one issue in Robin that crosses over, And it's it's in it too. Right? And so it can get it can get pretty pretty
Lara:And depending on the publisher and the editor, sometimes that issue that is a crossover gets put in the trade paperback. Or if you have a good editor, they will put, like, refer an editor's note. This is referring to this comic and this issue. If you want more information about this, get this specific issue, which is helpful.
Josué:And you could get a trade with all the one shots. That's something that happens as well. So it's like you can enjoy all of those. The point that Lauren and I are trying to make, and I think we're doing it well, is that it is it is not impossible. And there are ways to to move through it that are a lot easier than just coming into a long box and being like, where's which is the first one?
Josué:And then buying a whole bunch of individual comics. There are there are there are different options. And I think, right, like, as the the comics this is something particular to comics. They they release the individual comics, and then they release the trade paperbacks. And then eventually, they release omnibuses, which are, like, these huge collections of of comics so that you can get either, you know, a full run or a full event.
Josué:You can get all this kind of stuff. And then, thankfully, thanks to the Internet as well, you know, you can you can find these lists on how to what to read, what's important, what doesn't matter so that you can have a guide and then go through and and read what you want. So if you really, really want to, we can help you out.
Lara:And you could even get a standalone story that doesn't have any crossovers. It's his own story that is really nice to read. Like, that's a possum possibility too. So many ways to get into something that is overwhelming. But if you just stare at it, it's gonna be like, oh, shit.
Lara:I can't do that.
Josué:So one thing that helped me with one piece was that I saw a TikTok video. I saw a TikTok where a guy was saying, I know it's overwhelming. Here's a way to, like, jump forward 200 episodes. And the way he did it was he he said, okay. The first, like, two arcs are summarized in this movie.
Josué:And then watch this movie and this movie, and those summarize, like, the next two arcs. And then just watch this special, and you'll be basically caught up to episode 200 or something like that. And, like, that that was like, oh, okay. That's a good place for me to, like, step in. Like, I could like, I had I had the option, right, to start at number one.
Josué:You go to number two. Go to number three. But there was something about, like, oh, getting a head start that I can I can move forward? Plus, when you're talking about anime, there's there's often filler. So I'm very thankful for a website called anime filler list.
Josué:You look up whatever show you you want, and it'll tell you what episodes are canon and what episodes are filler. So if if your goal is to get through a story and and kinda move forward in a particular, you know, through a particular franchise, that is super helpful as well. Because something that I did not know when I was younger was that filler doesn't matter in the story. It's something that, like, I didn't realize that and and when I say it doesn't matter, I mean, literally, it doesn't it doesn't matter. Like, nothing of consequence can happen in a filler episode because you can't have any changes in the circumstances or in the main story that will affect what's gonna happen later.
Josué:And so these are really written as as side stories. They can be fun. They can be entertaining. But if your goal is to get through it and actually progress in the story, that is not so you can skip those. So, like, I started watching Bleach, and Bleach has, like, 45% filler.
Josué:See, that doesn't feel as daunting. When I when you look at the list of episodes, you're like, oh, 45% less.
Lara:Watching 55% of the stuff.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm like, oh, I I get to skip almost half of it. It doesn't matter.
Josué:That's that feels that feels a lot better. And and, of course, we're talking about anime and comic books and and if if Mark, if we if if if you will we wanted, you could go into two hours of how this works for Assassin's Creed. I know. Right? But the the the kind of the parallels I want to draw here were that I don't know if you guys can hear it either.
Josué:I mean, as well, when we're talking, but it's like, oh, we're talking about these comic books. We're talking about these different But but we could also apply this to, like, just getting shit done at home, in our lives, making progress. Right? Like, there are a lot of overwhelming things. Like, I've got a mess at my place, and there's a whole bunch of stuff that I need to do with my house that I am overwhelmed with.
Josué:And there are a lot of strategies that I know that I am struggling with, which have to do with dividing it into smaller pieces, you know, creating an order of operations on how to actually get through it and making it so that it feels it doesn't feel overwhelming, and it feels like I can like I can actually do it. So, Laura, I'm curious. Have you ever used any, like, an example, like, something like this that that seems overwhelming, some geeky pursuit that's overwhelming and used it as a, like, as an analogy with a client?
Lara:I cannot think of a time that I have off the top of my head, but I'm pretty sure that I have at some point, like, made an offhand comment about like, oh, it's like watching this many episodes of whatever or like being having having I mean, I have clients who have to read book piles that are overwhelming looming to get started on and talking about like, okay, well, let's try and pick one of those. Like, what seems readable? What's interesting? Or do we need to, like, randomly roll a die to pick a book and get started on that? But I haven't I don't know if I've specifically, like, intentionally done that.
Lara:I think it's a good way of using it, though, and saying, like, you know, what's a time that you were able to get through all of things, all of these episodes and something that seemed really daunting or read a giant 800 page book that seemed really daunting. So I think that's a good idea.
Josué:Yeah. It's funny it's funny because, like, the moment we brought up Assassin's Creed, Mark was on it. Right? He's like, well, you you don't understand, like, Desmond's story and you can't just jump into Revelations and right? And we talked about comics and Lara immediately were like, woah.
Josué:No. You just gotta you gotta go talk to the people that know you gotta go to the local comic shop. You gotta go talk to that person. Yeah. They they they got you.
Josué:But those are those are skills that like, we forget, I think, like, were they they come to us so easily through our hobbies, but we kind of forget to when we have to do whether it's our health, whether it's our, you know, what other life stuff we have to do. When when Mark and I did the the Assassin's Creed podcast for a while, I could not play through every game. So I went and I what I did was I watched playthroughs, like an entire playthroughs of each of the game as we were discussing them so that I could someone had played before, but I didn't remember that many details. So that was, like, one one, like, shortcut that I was able to to use to to, like, be able to get into the conversation and and and join in, and I was able to read stuff. And I and I always talk about how if your clients, your students are talking about something and you don't know, to Wikipedia, go to YouTube, look up videos about about what's going on.
Josué:And sometimes, I don't know, like, forget to do that in my personal life, like for stuff that I'm also struggling with. It's like, oh, how do I deal with finances? How do I deal my taxes? There's there's videos, like, now searching for for for work. It's like, oh, I know I know how to do this.
Josué:Just put stuff in a resume, just apply online. It's easy. No. No. No.
Josué:No. No. There's like there's pro tips, and there's there are recruiters, and there are people online who have suggestions on how to do that in a better way. And by looking at that and taking it as just like I would with any geeky pursuit of, don't know. I'm gonna study this.
Josué:I'm going and I'm gonna go in deep, and I'm gonna try, you know, try a few different tactics and and and see, like, how can I optimize this so I can get from point a to point b? I was thinking about that a lot this week with with with the one piece stuff. But, like, only because I had those additional like, I had a plan going into it. Even even for the story, like, even when I finished, I caught up with a dub because I don't I don't I don't like watching I'd rather not watch a sub. I will if I if I have to, but I'd rather not.
Josué:So I caught up with the dub, and then I started reading the manga so I can move even faster through it. It's like I had this whole plan laid out and I had everything ready to go so that I could accomplish my mission of catching up with with one piece. And, yeah, I need to get you know, I wanna keep thinking about, like, how can I do that on a daily basis? How can I how can I implement that in my my day to day? Have any of those any of those tips resonating?
Josué:Any of those, like, parallels resonating?
Marc:I think having, like, the like, a game plan of, like, how to tackle something is probably something that resonates with me the most because I feel like, oftentimes, what what prevents me or what holds me back from being able to do a task or carry out something that I find overwhelming or just daunting in general is that I don't usually have a solid game plan because a lot of the times it it might be dealing with something that I'm just I don't know too much about or just kinda given, you know, life circumstances and stuff. Like, I just don't have the time to actually prep. So I'm going in and I'm like, well, I don't I have no idea what I'm doing. I I don't what? How do I do this?
Marc:And I think having that opportunity to, like, have a game plan present of, like, okay. No. Like, this is step one. Step two. Like, this is how to go about doing it.
Marc:That to me lets me know, like, okay. Cool. I I know what I'm doing. And if for whatever reason I'm I'm struggling or I'm kinda confused, I can always refer back to the plan, like like, you know, and just kinda like, okay, no. Wait.
Marc:I I missed this part or oh, no. No. No. I I'm I'm okay. I'm on the right track.
Marc:I'm I'm doing it right, and so on and so forth.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because I maybe it's because I'm old, but I'm like, I I can't actually watch a thousand episodes of One Piece, but I want to enjoy the story. I want to get to I wanna get caught up.
Josué:I wanna I wanna be able to join those conversations. And to do that, I had to find, like, where I could cut corners or I could do a shortcut. I read a lot of places like, oh, it's faster if you just read the manga. It's just a lot faster. Right?
Josué:So I had to, like, balance one and the other. And I had a list of, like, where where the manga episodes line up with the with the TV show with the with the anime. And so, yeah, I had a plan and that was that was super helpful. I agree with that. Having a plan is helpful.
Josué:Also asking for help.
Lara:Mhmm.
Josué:It's help especially when something is extremely daunting.
Marc:I'm still working on that piece.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Go to your local comic book shop or the equivalent for whatever the situation is.
Lara:Correct.
Marc:Just go to the professionals. They know what they're they know their stuff. They know what they're doing.
Link:I highly recommend librarians.
Lara:Mhmm. Mhmm.
Josué:Yep. Same thing. Comic book shop person, the librarian, do the same. They're equivalent.
Lara:Mhmm. Mhmm.
Josué:Yeah. Someone in someone with the subject matter expertise. One thing this thought isn't as well formed, but I one thing that I'm struggling with right now is kind of the motivation for doing certain things. And, like, so my motivation for watching one piece was, I wanna I, like, I wanna get caught up by like, there's a lot of people talking about stuff that's happening there. I wanna I wanna be a part of that conversation, and that motivated me enough.
Josué:And, I mean, in in fandoms and in geek culture, I mean, that that motivates me a lot. Like, I gotta watch the episode tonight because by tomorrow, it's gonna get spoiled for me. It's too late already. I wanna be able to go on TikTok and not get spoiled. So those are, like, know, short term motivations.
Josué:But with with one piece, was like, oh, like, it's like an institution in anime, you know, and in in in in manga. I've I I gotta watch it. Like, I really I really want to do that. And it is like the payoff of for getting to the point where I'm at right now. It's so good.
Josué:It's so good. I get so many references. I feel connected to a community now that I wasn't connected to before. I'm I'm having trouble, like, getting that kinda motivation in other areas for other content as well. Now now the one piece is I'm caught up.
Josué:There's like a there's like a void right now. But yeah. But I'm I'm finding I'm finding trouble. I'm having trouble getting that motivation. And again, I'm I'm, like, kinda thinking out loud here because it was so clear about, like, what I wanted to achieve.
Josué:And and I've done that before. It's like, no. I wanna I wanna know I don't know. What was the last thing that I invested a lot of time in so I could get that same sense that I'm getting from One Piece.
Link:Monster Hunter.
Josué:Monster Hunter was one where I got really caught up in it. That that might be one where I got really I I definitely got really into it, and it was I think that's a a great example of, like, the payoff was was was great. Like, the more I invested in it, the more people were talking a different language to me. Like, I had no idea. And I tried many different games.
Josué:Although, that is a video game example where you don't have to play the previous ones to
Link:Right. No. There's the reason
Lara:the game itself is don't do. The reason
Link:it came to mind is I remember you talking about watching videos and gaining this, like, contextual knowledge about the game and how to play it and strategies within it. And I feel like that reflects on to you looking up, like, which filler episodes to skip and stuff where you're you're looking for that contextual information from people who are experts in it already and then applying that to your own learning.
Josué:This is this is a great reminder. We did an episode on headshots called mastery hunter.
Lara:Mhmm.
Josué:Yep. Because that was, like, that was my goal. I was like, no. I wanna master this thing. I wanna get I see what people are doing, and I don't understand how they're doing it, and I wanna get that good at it.
Josué:I wish I felt that way about, like, my guitar or other things
Link:Mhmm.
Josué:That I can master, that as well. Wonder what it is yeah. I wish you Link, that reminds me, like, I really wish I felt that motivation that I felt for Monster Hunter and that I have now for One Piece in other areas. Damn. I'm lacking.
Josué:I can have motivation. Mean, I Help me get motivated.
Marc:I mean, I I I can relate to that, Jose, because in the and I know like a couple weeks ago, we were kinda talking and I was I brought the like webtoon comics and things like that.
Lara:Mhmm.
Marc:And that was kind of the big things that I was struggling with too is that like, I would like just bulldoze through a story, and then I get caught up to the current thing. And now I'm stuck kinda waiting, and it's like, oh, man. Like, I'm or, like, in some cases, there are some stories that I'm reading that, like, the first season ended, and so we're waiting for season two. But season one ended in 2020. So it's three years later, and there's, like, very little to no updates as to when the next season's dropping.
Marc:You know, it's like but, like, because it was such a good story. And then, like, it's like, what do I go to after this?
Lara:Welcome to the world of song of ice and fire.
Marc:It's like it's like it's like, what do I do? Like, how how do I, like, how do I find the motivation to to invest it into a different fandom or a different story or a different game, movie, whatever? I kinda struggle with that too, especially when I, like, am playing something that's like or I'm watching something or reading something that's like it really, like, gets me or, like, it really, like, gets to me, like, emotionally or just makes me have all the feels or I just think it's like it's just really good and really well written. Like, when I when I reach the end of it, it's like, now what do I do? What do I do with my time?
Marc:I spent all this time and I invested so much of it into this one thing, and now what do I do? How how do I how do I translate it or transfer it to something else? You just kinda get stuck in limbo for a little bit.
Josué:I haven't talked about Jay McGonigal's book, Reality is Broken in a while. But but the premise of that book is that life sucks compared to video games. And what she means by that is a whole book explaining how the way that video games are designed is that they have a feedback loop and they're rewarding. Not as a title for this episode, but just the topic, the way I had described it was investment and the payoff that you get from it. And I think, like, with the Webtoons, right, it's like you are you're you're reading them like there are payoffs.
Josué:Right? Like like, there there are moments and and things that happen and and you you gotta wait for them to come by. Right? But you're caught up and and you you get those payoffs. I think probably part of the problem like, I've I think I figured like, I saw people enjoying Monster Hunter to a degree.
Josué:I was like, oh, if I can get there, like, that's that's worth pursuing. Like, I think I think I can get there. With one piece, it's like the community's all, like, so into it. Right? And it's like this is, like, huge sense of global accomplishment that everybody got to episode 1,000.
Josué:It's like, oh, I want I want that sense of completion. You know, there's something about finishing an arc, finishing a series, finishing something that or at least getting to those points that feels really good. Like, life isn't that easy. Right? There's, like, no guaranteed positive feedback.
Josué:There's no and it's hard to like, again, like, I'm thinking about, you know, looking for work right now. Even if you find a job, like, doesn't mean that things are good. It doesn't mean like you're playing a good game. So it is harder it is harder to
Lara:get more information. Job, you could still be on episode, like, five.
Josué:You get the job and you you realize you got, like, a
Marc:bootleg Mhmm.
Josué:Version and not the not the one
Lara:Or like every episode from now on is filler. Yeah. And you're waiting for the non filler.
Josué:It's like, remember remember the Disney movies that were, like, there would always be, like, the bootleg versions, like, the the fake cheap versions at the, like, at the supermarket. It's that kind of thing. It can be. So it's, like, it's it's hard to for for that kind of motivation. I don't know.
Josué:That's where my that's where my thought is at. But, again, good reminder that there are there are ways to optimize. Playing the games, getting through the story, reading the books.
Lara:Listening to all the podcasts, Mark.
Josué:Listening to all the podcasts. Go that two x speed.
Marc:No. It was all one x speed, baby.
Josué:One x speed.
Marc:Yeah. I listened I listened to it.
Lara:Cheat mode. Mhmm.
Marc:Nope. No cheats here. Just just pure authentic binging of every show, every episode. Can't tell you about a majority of those episodes anymore. It's it's been so long, but I did it.
Josué:Oh, alright. Well, I think we covered the pieces that that that I want to cover. I think I think the points are clear. There's some overwhelming stuff out there. We know from geek culture many, many ways to kinda get through them and optimize them.
Josué:And also, I mean, I think it helps to have the community along the way and have that motivation built in. So there are ways to to apply those same things to everyday life in other areas. So any any closing thoughts? I'll go I'll go one by one. Mark, any closing thoughts on this?
Josué:I I think,
Marc:you know, this was a a pretty good conversation, and it was one that kinda helped me kind of think, like, oh, yeah. Like, having, like, a game plan and kind of, like, transferring, like, the the motivation and the skills of, like, a particular fandom and trying to translate that into, like, kinda day to day life and and the tasks that, you know, everyday life has. I think that was, like, a a helpful kind of conversation, a good way to kind of, like, reflect on, like, hey. Like, what what works best for for you and making sure that you try to optimize that as best you can so that way you can, you know, do the things that you gotta do.
Josué:Yeah. Link?
Link:My closing thought is that asking for help is really cool and good and you should do it more often. And that you is not any one particular you, it's secretly me.
Josué:Lara?
Lara:I I do like what we have come up with, like, trying to come up with a game plan, trying to remember to ask for help. And if a thing looks big and scary, breaking it down into the smallest pieces, you can start with an episode, and then eventually it gets you to a thousand.
Josué:Yeah. Yeah. For me, it's a it's a good it's a reminder that even when something like One Piece, which has episode one all the way up to 1,000, that doesn't necessarily mean that doesn't that's not always necessarily the the easiest path or the shortest path. It makes it a lot easier to have a show that's already numbered and has a chronological order. But some things don't have that.
Lara:Mhmm.
Josué:And it can be a little confusing. So so looking it up and and getting some advice on how to do that and what to skip and what, you know, what actually isn't important because holy shit do we spend a lot of time on stuff that isn't important while we're trying to achieve a particular goal. We get we get sidetracked. Even if we like side missions, Lara, you know, sometimes that that's not that's not sometimes we don't we don't need side missions.
Lara:It's it's true.
Josué:To get to work.
Lara:Yeah. Yeah. One of the most important things I learned in grad school was when I have an article assigned to me, read the abstract, the introduction, and the discussion. Forget all the stuff in the middle.
Josué:Opinions by our host do not reflect the opinions of Kik Therapy as an organization or other members on the Listen.
Lara:You should go back and check the the science if it's not working for you. However, if you're in a crunch and you need to read to have a discussion the next day in class, it's a quick answer.
Josué:Mhmm.
Link:I I you know, another final thought. Don't don't let don't block yourself from doing something you wanna do because you're trying to find, like, the optimum way to do it. Like, aim for that, but it doesn't have to, like it doesn't it doesn't have to be the the unoptimum way of engaging in a phantom is just as good sometimes.
Josué:You know, one one thing that has helped me a lot in the past year is the easy access to stuff like ChatGPT has helped me get started because that's something that I have a lot of difficulty with, just like getting started. And so any daunting task, sometimes like that first step is is just really hard. And sure, episode one is probably the answer most of the time, depending on what it is. Some things in life are a little more complicated than that. And I I agree.
Josué:Like, having an optimal game plan, like, that's never gonna be the case. It it's guaranteed you're gonna have to change along the way anyway. But at least, like, getting your foot in the door, knowing where to start, is something that is probably the most helpful thing that I need to remember. Because it is like, it is one step at a time, but that first one, that first one can be really hard. Like a point one, good summary, a good, you know, recap can can help out.
Josué:Alright. Well, thank you for joining us for this episode of GT Radio. Join the conversation. Let us know what daunting franchises you've shied away from or tackled. Have you watched One Piece?
Josué:What do you think of assassin's creed and playing them out of order? Tell Mark, tell us, in any of our community spaces, which, there are links in the show notes. For more geek therapy, visit geektherapy.org. Remember to geek out and do good. I'll be back next week.
Link:Bye.
Josué:Geek Therapy is a five zero one c three nonprofit organization dedicated to making the world a better place through geek culture. To learn more about our mission and become a supporter, geektherapy.org.
