Happy Birthday, Joss Whedon!

Today is the 49th birthday of Joss Whedon, geek icon extraordinaire. Without Whedon, the world of geekdom would have had no Buffy the Vampire Slayer, no Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and no Firefly/Serenity. The mere fact that Firefly famously had only one incompletely broadcast series on TV, yet acquired such a following that a major studio was willing to produce a feature film based on it three years later, is testament to the kind of imagination, writing, and directing talents Whedon possesses. It’s worth noting, too, that without those talents Pixar might not have the stellar position in the world of animation it possesses, as Whedon co-wrote Pixar’s first feature film — I refer to Toy Story, of course — which was widely praised for the quality of its story and dialogue.

And, of course, now he basically rules the Marvel side of superhero movies. Avengers is the baseline against which all future team-up movies will be measured (including its sequel, which he’s helming, thank goodness!). And we are all eagerly anticipating the upcoming Agents of Shield TV show, because, you know, it’ll be like Buffy + Firefly but with superheros (not that Buffy wasn’t a superhero, but you know what we mean).

So please join all of us at GeekDad in wishing Joss Whedon a very happy birthday, and many more to come!