No Marvel or DC on the blog today. No, I decided to throw something new in the mix. You see, I'm Dutch and no matter how American I may sound when I speak English, Dutch is what I am and I am freaking proud of that. So instead of verbally freaking out over some big shot American comic like I usually do, I thought I'd introduce you to one of my favorite Dutch comics ever: Dating for Geeks.

Dating for Geeks is different than all the other comic books I've reviewed, and that's not just because it's Dutch. This one is different because it's published every day in a newspaper. What you see here is the compilation of all the comics that were published in the Metro from January 2014 to, well, a few months later. I'm really bad with dates and that kind of stuff, but it comes down to this: Single Players is were it all started.
There is no one storyline to follow here. Instead, you get about four of them. We see Jasper try to find a date with help from Yvon, who works at a dating agency. We follow Jeff, who tries to pick up women with the worst pick-up lines ever. Then there's Edward and Renee, a geeky couple who just moved in together at the start of Single Players. Towards the end we meet Claire, who has way too much in common with this blogger and can't seem to find a guy. But the most surprising character of all is this one: the author and artist himself, Kenny Rubenis! It's a slice of life comic, and a good one too! All of these characters are huge geeks, so you'll see plenty of jokes about whatever fandom floats your boat. If you're a geek, you'll love them. If you're not a geek, you'll still love them.  Okay, Jeff is kinda icky, but you can't like them all.

True love is giving her full control over the remote control on Valentine's day!

My favorite characters have also become my favorite geek couple of all times: Edward and Renee. If I ever get a boyfriend again, this is what our future will most probably look like. #GeekRelationshipGoals and all that stuff, though I'm in reality much more like Claire, sadly forever alone and dateless.

"He hasn't seen the new episode of Game of Thrones yet." "Renee, where are you? It's dark and full of spoilers here!"

One of the comics strongest points is how relatable it is. I'm not just saying that because I'm a geek who fails miserably at dating. I'm saying it because this one, right here, this scenario literally happened to me when I went to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier in theatres - around the same time as this comic was published in the paper!

Translation: "Pffff, why do superheroes always have to take off their masks?" "Yeah, they never do that in the comic books! Why do it in the movies then?" Fangirling is universal I think ;P "Oh yeah. That's why".

The cool thing about this first book is that you can see the artist's style develop. You see characters change a little here and there, you see them turn into the characters you know so well now. It's like getting to know a good friend even better.

The artist has a very cartoony style, which I like. It's simple and clean. Simple and effective. It's also a unique style - you'll recognize these characters anywhere!

Apart from the comics that have been published in the paper, there are also a few extra illustrations here and there to break things up. Some are cute, some are funny, all of them are awesome.


I've read many comics in many papers, but none of them have ever been able to convince me to actually buy the book. Dating for Geeks has, for the simple reason that it's never failed to make me smile. I like the art, simple and pretty much perfect as it is. I like the jokes and I definitely like how it celebrates geek culture in my tiny country that's not always big on showing your geeky side. I see a lot of myself in this comic, and it makes me happy.

Dating for Geeks will always have a special place in my heart for one more reason: I started reading the comic when I started college. Every morning I'd pick up a paper when I arrived at the subway station and pretended to read it on the train to college, though all I really paid attention to was this tiny three-panel comic. Happy memories right there. I hope the comic book will make you happy too if you ever get the chance to read it.