On Thursday March 17, teenagers are invited to celebrate the SuperWhoLock fandoms at our Mary J L Black library program. There will be a cosplay contest, fun fannish activities, cake, other snacks, and trivia. Registration is not required; just drop in from 6:30 to 8:00pm. You don’t need to know all about SuperWhoLock to attend – total newbies are welcome! Participation in this event is restricted to teens ages 12-19.
You may be wondering – who or what is SuperWhoLock? I wasn’t sure myself at first, but the teens soon looped me in. Online fandoms like to name themselves something catchy and straightforward so that other fans of the same show, celebrity, or book can find them. Doctor Who fans are called Whovians, The Mortal Instruments fans call themselves Shadowhunters, and fans of Taylor Swift are called Swifties. SuperWhoLock refers to three shows: the long-running American tv show Supernatural, Doctor Who, and BBC’s Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. SuperWhoLockians are fans of all three shows.
So what unites fans of these three different shows? Supernatural is a tv show about the adventures of two demon-hunting brothers fighting the forces of evil. Doctor Who features a time-traveling immortal alien with a human companion on adventures through all of time and space fighting the forces of evil. And Sherlock is about two men in modern-day England… fighting the forces of evil (in the form of criminals rather than fantasy or science fictional elements, but the pattern still stands). Even more significantly, I would argue that these shows feature families of choice: characters who make conscious decisions to spend time together and have strong emotional (but not necessarily romantic) feelings for each other. While the characters in Supernatural are admittedly blood relations, most adult siblings don’t choose to spend all their time traveling together in an old car, so I consider their bond to be something special. In our collection at TBPL, we have seasons of these shows available on DVD in addition to all sorts of official tie-in materials like audio books, prose, and graphic novels. However, fans of these shows can also find tons of other books and comics that feature close friends fighting the sources of evil.
Supernatural watchers will enjoy mysterious thrills in Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen, and The Demon Trapper’s Daughter series by Jana Oliver. Necromancing the Stone and Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride are more fun, fast-paced stories of the paranormal.
For fans of iconoclastic, memorable detectives, try You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin, or one of the many updated Sherlock stories available. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro is set in the present day with descendants of Sherlock and Watson trying to work together despite their differences. However, if you are interested in mysteries that include the science fiction or fantasy elements found in Doctor Who and Supernatural, try Jackaby by William Ritter. Described by the publisher as “Doctor Who meets Sherlock,” the Jackaby series follows an eccentric detective and his new assistant as they investigate supernatural goings on in 1892 New England.
Intergalactic travel more your style? The Prom Goer’s Interstellar Excursion by Chris McCoy delivers in spades and has the goofy asides and memorable aliens found in some favourite Doctor Who episodes. Every Doctor Who fan should read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (he even wrote a few episodes!), and Circus Galacticus by Deva Fagan is another action-packed trip across the universe.
Laura Prinselaar
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