Darren Maxwell
| Fan | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Darren 'Dags' Maxwell |
| Alias(es): | |
| Type: | |
| Fandoms: | Star Wars, Star Trek, Batman, many others |
| Communities: | Austrek, Star Walking Inc, Sci Fi Zone, Melbourne Science Fiction Club |
| Other: | |
| URL: | The Dag Page |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Darren Maxwell (nickname 'Dags') (13 May 1967 - ) is a fan who has been active in the Australian science fiction media fandom community for many years.
He recalls seeing the first Star Wars movie in 1977 at age 10, reporting that:
I went in as a boy and came out ... a NERD!
He discovered a local amateur theatre group called Starforce back in October 1984 and was introduced to science fiction fandom:
As soon as I walked in the door, I knew immediately this was the "social scene" for me.
He became its longest active member, for four of the group's five years of operation.[1] This was the beginning of a lifetime in fandom.
After joining Austrek in October 1984, he became involved in its social community at a meeting in January 1985.[2] He remained an active member, becoming involved in many aspects of its operations, including writing the club history that remains on the club's website. 32 years after joining Austrek, he was awarded life membership to the club on 27 August 2016. He still attends club meetings.
Darren was co-founder of Star Walking Inc, which was officially launched on 14 October, 1988. Twenty years later, still on committee, he joined his (otherwise retired) co-founders at an event to commemorate the club's twentieth birthday, and he subsequently retired from the Star Walking Inc. committee in October 2011 after 23 years' service (he returned after a two-year absence, finally retiring again after a collective total of 27 years' service in 2017).[3][4]
Podcasts and Fan Films
Darren was co-founder of the Sci Fi Zone. Launched on 31 July 2016 as a community discussion forum, he quickly oversaw its evolution into a series of podcasts that have involved many local SF fans and examined many topics, including reviews of science fiction TV and films, fandom, and aspects of collectible culture.[5]
He also appeared in Star Wars fan film, The Phandom Menace, and a number of Steele Wars podcasts.
Batmania
Darren also became addicted to collecting Batman memorabilia in the late 1980s, and his obsession became the subject of a documentary film, "Batman and Me, or... Pity Me, I'm a Batman Collector".[6] The film premiered on 30 June 2020 (online) at the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, and among the reviewers, the Guardian newspaper questioned whether such collector obsession was 'consumerism gone mad' or 'pop culture archaeology'; and suggested the ubiquity of such cultural appropriation by quoting Maxwell as observing: "I’ll walk down the street and see people wearing Star Wars T-shirts and Star Trek jackets. That never happened back in my day."[7] Film director Michael Wayne commented in an interview that
The film has fascinated those interested in the psychology behind collecting...
and he expressed admiration at Maxwell's willingness to self-reflect and confront this compulsion.[8]
Some Other Accomplishments
In 1994, Darren wrote An Evolution Overlooked, which examined the evolution of fanzines and The Captain's Log due to changing technology, This helped to inspire creators of The Captain's Log (including himself) to make the newsletter better.
He appeared as a team member for the "Star Trek versus Star Wars" game show on the Australian television program, Bert's Family Feud in 2008 [9] and made a second fan-related appearance on Family Feud in 2017.[10]
Darren wrote the fan history of both Austrek and Star Walking Inc. and is a Life Member of both clubs.[11]
He ran the organising committees for three media SF conventions: Con 9 from Outer Space in July 2012, Con 70 in March 2015, and Con 80 in March 2017.
Fortieth Anniversary
On 16 November 2024, he celebrated his fortieth anniversary of being an Austrek member:
Well, it’s safe to say November 2024 has a been a pretty big month within the context of the world, yet funnily enough it’s also a big month for me personally.You see, forty years ago this month saw this little Daggy officially become a part of Australian Science Fiction Media Fandom. Now that in itself is no big deal, but what’s perhaps more surprising is that I’m still here today! Even now I still regularly attend fan club meetings, parties ... and even the odd convention from time to time - whilst also continuing to contribute in some small way to this wonderful community.
So where did it begin? Although there were a number of lead in moments for what was to come, everything commenced at the Star Trek III chicken and champagne preview screening on October 14, 1984. To promote the club at this gala event were five female representatives from Austrek who were wearing their Wrath of Khan Starfleet costumes. Honestly, to a simple 17 year old Dags, their presence just absolutely blew my mind! As a result, I made certain to grab a membership form from the cinema ticket box.
A few weeks later in November my Austrek membership kit arrived in the mail - which in itself was an OMG moment as it was chock full of Star Trek goodies. Also included were some back issues of The Captain's Log which featured instructions on how to make a Wrath of Khan movie costume like the ones I'd seen at the preview screening. "Hey mum!"
But more importantly, with my new membership card in hand (number 526), I had officially joined Australian science fiction media fandom. Yep there I was, all brand new, bright eyed and bushy tailed.
It truly was the best of times.
As fortune would have it, I didn’t have to wait long to experience my first fandom event. Barely a couple of weeks after receiving my membership pack, early December saw the club not only holding their annual Christmas party, but just five days later was the Star Trek III premiere screening in the city which featured Austrek members attending en masse wearing a vast array of Trek costumes. Funnily enough, in what was perhaps a sign of things to come, I was actually the very first person to arrive at the meeting spot in the City Square. Needless to say, after having only been a part of the community for around three weeks, I felt completely at home mixing with the masses, making new friends and loving my new nerdy life. But there was more to come. In January 1985 I attended my very first Austrek meeting (which was actually reviewed in the February edition of The Captain's Log), and as of today I've made more Austrek meeting appearances than anyone else in the club's history. Geez, I would never have guessed THAT was going to happen when I first walked in the door!
Yet there's more to this story than just turning up to club meetings.
As some of you will know, my time in Star Trek/Star Wars/Sci-Fi fandom has not been spent sitting quietly on the sidelines. Aside from attending and supporting hundreds (if not thousands) of events far and wide, I’ve also co founded fan clubs; run my own science fiction conventions as well as being on the organising committee for ten more; edited fan club newsletters; assisted in running celebratory Sci-Fi dinner banquets whilst either being the MC and/or DJ; hosted and edited podcasts; appeared on TV shows representing fan clubs; participated in two Moomba parades; acted in and directed fan films; organised and hosted fan club meetings in different Australian states; been interviewed for TV, radio and newspaper articles regarding fandom; won a number of costume awards at fan club parties, banquets and even conventions; discussed science fiction media in multiple presentations in libraries; created opening ceremony music videos for conventions; appeared in costume for product and corporate events; performed the role of auctioneer in hundreds of club and convention auctions; done the really crazy thing of 'singing' (cough) and performing in cabaret acts at Sci-Fi banquets (yep I'll never live those down) and to top it off, I’m also a Life Member of two fan clubs – one of them being Austrek.
Phew!
Crucially though, despite many of my friends and peers having long since dropped out of the social (ie face to face) community as the years and decades have rolled on, I’ve continued to remain a consistent presence around the place. Granted, media fandom has changed significantly over the decades and sadly Sci-Fi fan clubs aren’t the powerhouse entities they once were, but so long as they continue to exist, I’ll still be there to support them - because as I’ve always said “why would I leave? I’ve got nowhere else to go!” 🙂 - Dags[12]
Gallery
Unless otherwise indicated, photos (below) were supplied from the Helena Binns Collection and used with her family's permission.
Darren (front row, left) and others at Star Trek 3 Opening Night in Melbourne, 1984
Darren (in Star Trek costume) and others enjoy refreshments after the Opening Night of Star Trek 4 in Melbourne, 1986
Austrek Xmas Party 1986, from left: unknown, Robert Jan, Darren
Austrek 'Court Martial' meeting (3 October 1987) - Craig Hooper (Starfleet) and Alison Wallace (Romulan) prepare for the court martial while Death (Darren) looms ominously
Austrek New Year's Eve Party 1987 - Front row from left: Sharon, George, ? and Pam; back row from left: Andrew McG, Darren Maxwell, and Andrew G (photo from Jan MacNally)
Austrek Xmas Party 1988 - Robert Gudgeon, Alison Wallace, Darren, Geoff Tilley, unknown, Jan MacNally, Fiona Kingdom
Austrek Xmas Party 1988 - Darren claims universal conquest
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References
- ^ Darren Maxwell, 'Memorable Moments' on "Who is Dags Anyway?", The Dag Page (Darren Maxwell website)
- ^ ibid.
- ^ Darren Maxwell (uncredited), 'A brief history of Star Walking Inc.', Star Walking Inc (archived webpage).
- ^ Darren Maxwell, The Dag Page.
- ^ Author unknown, 'The Complete History' on Sci Fi Zone website.
- ^ Author unknown, Synopsis, 'Batman and Me' website.
- ^ Luke Buckmaster, 'I bought these items and I couldn’t stand them': inside the mind of a Batman collector', The Guardian, 30 June 2020.
- ^ FilmInk staff, "Michael Wayne: Unboxing Batman and Me", FilmInk, 6 February 2021,
- ^ "Austrek Gallery" on Austrek website
- ^ Darren Maxwell, 'Memorable Moments' and "Other Achievements, from the 'Who is Dags Anyway?', The Dag Page (Darren Maxwell website).
- ^ Darren Maxwell, 'Who is Dags Anyway?', The Dag Page (Darren Maxwell website).
- ^ Darren Maxwell, Facebook posting, 17 November 2024 (Used with permission).