A TRON comic book! It's an original story set six months after the events of the TRON 2.0 computer game. I almost missed this book, and chances are I'm not the only one. Be sure to visit your local comic book shop to pick up the third issue, hitting stands on January 17th.
The original TRON is a must-have in any geek's library, such that I included it in the curriculum of the film class I taught, to ensure its legacy is not lost upon the next generation of geeks. I shan't waste time preaching to the choir, waxing its clearly evident values — but I will share my two favorite tangential memories it inspired.
I once got to see this classic film presented on the silver screen, "enhanced" by a pre-scripted, MST3K-style commentary written and performed by the crew of The Truly Dangerous Company, makers of fine Star Wars spoofs. I've asked many times if the script is available for public presentation, but no dice thus far.
Better still was when I attended the (now-defunct) Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2003. I knew Bruce Boxleitner would be on hand to promote TRON 2.0, so I brought my 20th anniversary TRON DVD set for him, Cindy Morgan, and Steve Lisberger to autograph. (As I waited in line, even at this nerd Mecca would passersby would ask me what TRON was. Isn't that grounds for expulsion?) Though I never watch television, my hotel suitemate had the news on as we got ready for the show that morning, and the marquee at the bottom of the screen displayed among that day's top headlines: "Bruce Boxleitner's birthday!" Why the continued existence of a relatively obscure actor was deemed noteworthy, I'll never know. But after Mr. Boxleitner signed my DVD, I shook his hand and sincerely wished him, "Happy Birthday!"
Upon hearing this, Ms. Morgan, sitting next to him, stopped signing my disc, turned to her former castmate, and punched him in the arm: "It's your birthday?! You didn't tell me that!" To Mr. Lisberger: "Hey, it's Bruce's birthday!"
I embarrassed an icon. How cool is that?
Bruce Boxleitner is hardly obscure. He starred in Babylon 5! :)
True. And I read his novel Frontier Earth (though not the sequel, Searcher). But that's all fairly geeky stuff. To get any recognition from most non-geeks, I need to reference his Scarecrow & Mrs. King credit.
I too caught the Tron 2.0 comic buy sheer happenstance at a local shop, and then there was a terrible lag between issues 1 and 2, and I forgot about it, only to be surprised again when #2 came out, followed in rapid succession by #3.
As for the movie, I even had it on LaserDisc for a while, but replaced it with the anniversary DVD. I don't think I've run into any SF fans who don't at least know about the movie, but I've run into ones who've never seen stuff like The Day the Earth Stood Still, or Forbidden Planet, the '53 War of the Worlds, or even 2001. You almost want to take away their geek membership card when you hear that.
— Dayton