Jason Kayser – illustratör

Much like a dragon-guarded mountain filled with stolen dwarf gold, Pop Culture is far more than just a side quest or afternoon's entertainment: it contains a veritable treasure trove overflowing with life lessons. If there's one takeaway from more than 40 years of Scooby-Doo mysteries, it's that the vast majority of life's villains are old white men using literal scare tactics to hold on to whatever privilege they have; Stranger Things taught us that any group of bike-riding kids are either running from or toward a vast governmental conspiracy; The Wizard of Oz proved that fashion can only take you so far; The Lord of the Rings showed us not only about the power of statement jewelry but that gifts come with strings attached; and Jaws was evidence that no matter how prepared you think you are, you should always expect the unexpected. This modern-day fable takes the best elements of My Dinner With Andre, The Big Bang Theory, and How to Make Friends and Influence People, to tell the story of three cosplaying friends sharing what they have learned from their favorite (and hated) movies, series, and games in a cafe after a day of walking the halls of a convention center. Live Like a Vulcan, Love Like a Wookiee, Laugh Like a Hobbit invites readers to a never-before-seen and slightly skewed look at the most memorable moments in films, shows, books, comic books, graphic novels, and video games. By the end of this pop-culture tour, fans of all ages will be given more inside knowledge than could ever be gotten at a comic convention, more self-help tools than can fit into any utility belt, more treasures than can be found in a cave of wonders, and more smiles than can be seen on any joker's face.