Marvel Fandom Feature – Ron Aspiras
For this edition of our Marvel Fandom Feature column, we showcase Ron Aspiras. Ron was nominated for our next feature by The Cosplay Parents.
Can you please share some background info? What do you do for a living?
When I’m not working I take time to try and follow up with any of my social media feeds and follow any current and upcoming geek related news that just feeds my fandom because I’m never full. Food is a different subject, but that’s for another interview. Besides that, I’m always on the hunt looking for places to eat and try any new delicacies or creative dishes that Los Angeles throws at you, for which there are a multitude.
Since this is the Marvel Report – what are some of your favorite characters?
I would have to say that I have always loved the character Spider-Man and felt that there was so much to relate to in his character. He’s a young-at-heart hero who aspires to always do great things with the best intentions, yet somehow even those good things are frowned upon. However, after watching the first season of Daredevil on Netflix, I was blown away! I haven’t had that same feeling of anticipation for each episode since I watched Fox’s “24” series. Although I was exposed to the 90’s cartoons featuring the X-Men and Marvel Trading cards, the Daredevil series was really the tipping point to my fandom because it influenced me to purchase my very first comic, which is the current series by writer Charles Soule and artist Ron Garney. Daredevil really intrigued me because not only would I consider him a very grounded character, he does not have major super powers except for his extraordinary agility and ability to “see” the world around him with enhanced senses despite his blindness. That, to me, is a feat in itself because I sometimes pull back and think about how and what I would be able to do without that sense of vision. So Daredevil defied that. He tackled almost any obstacle head on despite overwhelming odds against the villains he faced.
The Marvel Fandom includes people of all ages and from different walks of life. What do you enjoy about being involved in the Marvel fandom?
What I really enjoy the most are the fans being true fans. What I mean by saying “true” fans is that you truly appreciate and honor the work of those who put their material, pieces, and talent out there to share with the world. In essence, the writers and artists of these comic books are truly the foundations of what we love and adore. From these foundations and reading the books, appreciating the art, and having conversations about them, we create networks and friendships, and bigger circles to other people and fans that are just as passionate as you are.
I love that we have different social media outlets that allows us to interact with and communicate with the writers, artists, and some of the people who also work behind the scenes of our favorite film and TV shows. In addition to all of this, one of the things that really gets me hyped about the fandom is the countless times I go to comic conventions and you hear someone around you saying, “I am so glad to be here and talk amongst people who share the same language!” When you have that conversation with someone, there is a special bond, an electrifying feeling you get when the world is put aside for a moment, and you’re there in a zone sharing the excitement over the last season of Agents of Shield, or theories about the plot twists in the next season of The Flash, or even a shared sadness over the emotional parts in a particular episode. Note: I regret not having a tissue box watching “A Spy’s Goodbye” from Agents of Shield, but I digress.
What is your convention experience like and what do you enjoy about fan conventions?
I went to my very first comic convention, which happens to be San Diego Comic Con back in 2012. The best thing about cons is meeting the people. It’s about identifying with those who feel like they are your next-door neighbor. The language shared at cons is one experience where you treat a stranger like they have been your best friend in the first few minutes of meeting each other and you’re already finishing each other’s sentences and geeking out about the same things only to just let that inner child out and yell about the excitement in that short amount of time. It’s also about getting to know and meet the writers and artists. Without them, there absolutely would be no cons. There wouldn’t be the growth of fandom that we have today. I’m also a huge merchandise person. I drop loads of money on things from toys to T-shirts (huge fan of nerd shirts) at these cons.
In this day and age, who do you think are the most inspiring Marvel characters?
There are certain characters that have such a strong appeal to so many people because any fan can identify with any of the values they have or it’s something about their personality. Anyone like Phil Coulson from Agents of Shield, Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk), Natasha Romanov (Black Widow), Steve Rogers (Captain America), Tony Stark (Iron Man), Matt Murdock (Daredevil), Miles Morales (Ultimate Spider-Man), Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel), Frank Castle (The Punisher); any one of these characters have something about them that appeal to any fan. These characters bring some aspect of our personalities and our lives to the forefront through their stories. It is in these stories that we find ourselves amongst the dialogue or their world.
Ron can be found on Twitter as @raspiras8.