This week’s featured Geek Mama is Dementia, a longtime friend from my early days at DragonCon. She now proceeds over convention ongoings as the ConMother.

Introduce yourself:

Dementia von Grimm – Heh, most would say I’m the ConMother. Kind of the den or house mother of the con culture.

What do you geek out on? 

I’ve dabbled in it all, from VtM to IRC. These days, I’m pretty much across the board, from Godzilla to Game of Thrones to horror to retro nostalgia to ren faires.

Marvel or DC? and Why?

I’ve always preferred Marvel, not necessarily for any singular philosophical reason, but that was what I connected to as a kid. It was the X-men that grabbed my attention. Storm was the first strong black woman in mainstream comics, and as a biracial young girl with no ties to her culture, I just always found their worlds not only easier to identify with, while at the same time much more fun to escape with. I’ve grown up with these characters from puberty on, so this is a Marvel supremacy household.

Star Wars or Star Trek? and Why?

While I was always drawn to Lt. Uhura, Star Wars, even though I’m a casual fan, is where my heart lies. My younger brother was literally born on May 25, 1977, and he always got all the Star Wars toys I wanted as a kid. All my friends were into Star Wars (I always played Darth Vader), so that’s what I gravitated towards. Although, Return of the Jedi was just about a bunch of Muppets.

Were you a geeky kid or did you come into it later in life?

I was a geeky kid from the time I had my first pair of Coke-bottle-bottom glasses. From the first time I wore corduroy overalls and plaid button down shirts. From the first time I had to hide in my attic to be able to read my Dracula comics in peace. From the first time I would stay awake and risk getting in trouble by sneak-listening to Dr. Demento on the radio. From the first time I got made fun of because I didn’t care about Barbies or “girly” stuff. I’m what you call “OG”.

Are your kids into the geek stuff as well?

They are! I’m very proud that my kids, almost all grown now, have their own geek history. My oldest regularly plays D&D and held her own working (and being the walking encyclopedia) at Gamestop when girls just didn’t do that; my other daughter was the president of her anime club in high school, my son kicks ass at building battle robots, and they all have done kickass cosplays (being tried-and-true vets and raised around con culture). My oldest has a daughter of her own, and she already has her own lightsaber and batmobile!

Are you working on anything right now?

Actually, yes. I’m keeping it tightly under wraps. I’m turning 50 this year, and a big change is a-comin’. I heavily believe in growing and learning and evolving… I’m in the final stages, so you’ll have to stay tuned for more on that and check out my Facebook page where I’m currently selling off a lot of costume stuff: https://www.facebook.com/theconmother/

Big thanks to Dementia for answering these seven soul-searching questions!

INTERESTED IN BEING A FEATURED GEEK YOURSELF? HEAD OVER TO OUR GEEK OF THE WEEK APPLICATION FORM AND WE’LL BE IN TOUCH SOON!