Comics Therapy is a weekly podcast that promises, “No Reviews, Just Analysis. Comics, our lives, and the big issues we all deal with.” The show is the work of two creators, Andrea Shockling and Aaron Meyers. What sets their show apart from some others is that they do not do reviews or cover other industry news; they prefer to discuss the recent works, and host creator interviews.
According to Andrea, the comics community is a relatively small one but filled with lots of fun people. “Many creators use Twitter as a way of interacting directly with fans, and we count a number of great writers, artists, colorists, letterers and editors amongst our friends. The rest of our online circle is filled with great people – super delightful comics readers and fans from around the world. The show was a way for Aaron and I to extend the conversations we were already having anyway – about character development, reoccurring themes, coping strategies for conflict in storytelling, and the way we relate to comics in our daily lives, etc. – and to get more people involved. It’s been a tremendous amount of fun so far.”
As a way to get the group further involved with each other, they thought it would be fun to host a gift exchange, and “spread some smiles amongst friends who are rarely in the same physical location” said Andrea. She looked around for a place to accommodate the group, and chose Elfster because she was able to share the invite on their Twitter page and their blog for their listeners. The open invitation options were essential for them to get the group going.
The wishlist feature is allowing all of the group members to share ideas and wishes, and has been fun for the group to use. Andrea finds the wishes to be, “very enlightening, and often quite amusing!” As the names are drawn and people are trying to hone in on the perfect gift, the anonymous questions and answers are helping everyone to decide just what to send their partner without spoiling the surprise!
Since Andrea already has a busy schedule, she was happy to find that Elfster was easy to use and simple to set up as the organizer. According to her, “if it felt like work, I wouldn’t do it.” Elfster is glad to be able to help this fun and creative group come up with a new holiday tradition. We hope the gift exchange is fun for all, and look forward to seeing them on the site again.
Tell us the story of your family or community and how you are using Elfster, too. You can reach us via Facebook or Tweet us @elfster.
photo credit: JD Hancock
