What is Dorkstock?
Dorkstock started in 2002 as a
mini-convention within Rock Con
dedicated to the offerings of John
Kovalic, cartoonist extraordinaire and writer of the award-winning*
comic book Dork Tower.
John Kovalic credits Scott Jensen with the idea for Dorkstock, but he
can't remember the details. What I found in my search for the
history of Dorkstock was that in February of 2002 a member of the Army of Dorkness (AoD), a.k.a. the
John Kovalic Fan Club, posted a message about Kubla Con in
Beloit, Wisconsin, USA, during which Kovalic would be a guest of
honor. The poster, one Kris Herzog (a.k.a. antiwesley), suggested
a "Dork Meet," and several AoD members liked the idea. We'd been
meeting at various gaming conventions such as Gen Con and Origins for
years, usually at the Dork
Storm Press Breakfast gatherings (because
it's easier to meet for breakfast than any other meal). In an
early February 2002 edition of his newsletter "Muskrat
Ramblings",
Kovalic suggested a "Dorky get-together, either in Beloit or
Rockford." In early March, Kovalic posted, "How
do people feel about holding Dorkstock 2002 in conjunction with Rock
Con this year?" Kovalic talked of the "dorky" offerings at Rock
Con:
Chez
Geek,
Chez Dork,
Warhamster Rally,
Apples to Apples,
etc. Rock Con, being near Chicago, Illinois, would be a
relatively central USA and easy-to-get-to place. A large
contingent of AoD members live in the area. Plus, a
Beef-A-Roo is
right down the road. How about it? Kovalic even offered to
make t-shirts. Needless to say, the AoD jumped at the idea.
I volunteered to coordinate the first Dorkstock, and I surprised myself
by being completely ready by Wednesday evening for a convention that
didn't start until Saturday morning. I am a very good
procrastinator, and my husband feared that I still would be awake at
4:00 Saturday morning preparing for Dorkstock. The first
Dorkstock went very well, and pictures and details can be found in the
Past Events section of this site.
Dorkstock events are very broad and can be just loosely connected to
the work of John Kovalic or any Dork Storm Press artist. Because
Kovalic is Art Director for
Out
of the Box Games (OTB), any OTB game is eligible for Dorkstock, not
just the games that Kovalic personally worked on such as
Whad'Ya Know?
(based on the
NPR radio program by
Michael Feldman) or
10
Days in Africa. Kovalic also has done
artwork for many
Steve Jackson Games,
such as the popular
Chez "fill in
the blank" series of games, the
Munchkin series
of games, and
especially the
Dork
Tower Board Game based on Kovalic's popular comic
book
Dork Tower (DT). Because
Aaron
Williams' comics
Nodwick,
PS 238, and
Full Frontal Nerdity are
published by Dork Storm Press,
Nodwick: The
Card Game is included among other Williams works. Greg
Hyland, talented cartoonist of
Lethargic Lad fame is
frequently included in issues of
Dork
Tower, especially
issue
#16 which featured Lethargic Lad on the cover; so games such
as
Ninja Burger are
eligible, too.
No Dorkstock is complete without Igor Bars, which were introduced in
DT #19: The Junk Food Issue.
I transcribed the recipe for the AoD because I didn't want to take my
comic book to the grocery store. Eventually, I became the "Igor
Bar Goddess" of the AoD, maintaining the Igor Bars website along with
the original Dorkstock website.
Since 2002, Dorkstocks continue to be held at
Rock Con in Loves Park,
Illinois, USA; and also at
Dragonmeet
in London, England, UK; and at
Kubla
Con in Burlingame, California, USA.
Written by Lori Ann Curley,
April 2005
*
Dork Tower
has won several Origins Awards:
2001 - Best Short Fiction; 2002
- Best
Professional Gaming Periodical; 2003 - Best Professional
Gaming Periodical, Best Graphic Short Fiction
Army of
Dorkness: a.k.a. The John Kovalic Fan Club
Officially, we are a group of John Kovalic fans who e-mail each other a
lot through our
Yahoo!
Groups site. The "Charter," for lack of a
better term, is for this group to discuss "All things dork...", which
we take in the broadest sense. While we are all united in our
fandom and admiration for the works of one John Kovalic, Cartoonist
Extraordinaire, this group has evolved into a close-knit community of
friends to discuss anything and everything.
Some of us of have met. We try to gather at gaming conventions
such as
Gen Con,
Dragonmeet, Dorkstock,
etc. However, we come
together as a community of friends to discuss whatever we need/want to
discuss. We announce the birth of children and the deaths of dear
friends and family. We celebrate job gains and commiserate job
loss. We wish each other happy birthday for those who choose to
share and/or celebrate their date of birth. We send positive
thoughts and prayers when someone is going through a tough time as when
John's father had surgery [in the summer of 2004]. When someone's
child/niece/nephew displays dork behavior (such as a little girl
wanting to be a character from "
Dune"
for Halloween), we are all proud
of our influence on the next generation.
We have splinter lists for very specific reasons. If a line of
discussion (usually pertaining to politics, religion, or our opinion of
the latest edition of our favorite game) devolves into a potential
"flame war", then we take the discussion to
Mud Bay, a list
specifically designed for flames. Those who wish to discuss
topics of a more adult (a.k.a. potentially sexual) nature, go to the
Adult
Dork Tower list. If you're trying to lose weight, you can
join
Dork Losers;
and if you live in the Madison, Wisconsin, USA,
area, you are welcome to join
Madison Dorks.
My husband does not understand the dynamics of this group,
either. He belongs to more traditional newsgroups where the
members are not as close, civil, or open about themselves. When
my father had a quadruple bypass, and when my mother battled cancer, my
friends in the Army of Dorkness were there for me, typing their
positive thoughts and prayers and anecdotes for how some of them
managed through a similar life challenge. (FYI: both my
parents are still alive and well, thank you)
On occasion, we will discuss the comic. John posts new comics to
his
website
for free. We discuss movies like
Star Wars, anything based on a
comic book, or
The
Incredibles. We discuss games such as
Dungeons and
Dragons,
Call of
Cthulhu, and
Chez
"fill in the blank".
But this is a very different group from other e-lists. We are a
community that spans several continents, but we are as close as a phone
call if necessary. We are inspired not only by the humor of John
Kovalic, but by the generosity with which he lives his life. We
welcome all kinds into our community, but be warned: we are
different, and in a very good way.
Written by Lori Ann Curley, November
2004
Go
to top of page
