Meet the Geeks

So why did we do it? As a youngling, I plied my art, certain I would be doing this as a career. I was writing and drawing my own original comic books and man I was good at it. As all artists do at some point, I started to question my abilities, and the drive required to make it. I was living in a small town, on Canada's East Coast. The logistics of getting to New York from there, getting my work in front of the right set of eyes, of scrounging by until that could happen--- If I got my work in front of the right eyes, was my work good enough? As I watched my own father struggle to feed his family, I started to wonder if I could make it, hit the big time and work for Marvel or DC. Practicality set in. I really got hung up. In the "regular" world, any one can get a job and if you worked reasonably hard you could get work. I wouldn't get rich but at least I could make some money. University came around. The drive to create was ever-present. But I took practical co...

In 1978, I heard Kiss Alive II. I was nothing but a babe at the time, but the sonic bombast of the album forever changed my life. In 1982-1983, Todd was playing guitar, and blew my mind. From that point on I vowed to share a stage with him. While I was waiting for that dream to happen, I had hooked with Dan Saltel in a band we would call Salty Bear. It was this garage-y thing that I was quite proud of. But it was nothing quite approaching the technical ability of what Todd was doing with his band MiToMa. I mean, hell, they were playing Rush and Van Halen. Dan and I were getting better as musicians with a lot of hard work, but Todd was Todd. Todd was shredding. I was writing. Salty Bear was pure songwriting. What we were missing in musical ability we made up with in sheer integrity and experimentation. We might not have had the chops to play along with these technical bands, but we were crafting some different rock and roll. I will be honest, I don't think I...

Many of you have heard the story of how the Geeks got together, but there is a huge part of that backstory that needs to be told. Everything that became Meet The Geeks, the SeanGeek podcast, Star Wars The Evil Within --- all of that had it's start with Sandra Stewart. I met Sandra sometime after I auditioned for Clay's Star Wars The Evil Within film. I had likely gotten in by the skin of my teeth on the audition. And now here I was at a reading surrounded by these professional actors, writers, and Star Wars enthusiasts. I was nervous, out of place, and overwhelmed by what I was getting into. At some point, I was to meet Clay at his home. And there was Sandra. We spoke as I waited for Clay. In minutes she made me feel at home. She was able to break through the layers of fear and anxiety I had and make me feel worthwhile. I deserved to be on this film. As the filming schedule was in full effect I visited many more times and really got to know Sandra a lot better. I le...

On Friday, July 27th, 2018, I filmed my second (third?) live feed via the Meet the Geeks Facebook  page while I was working on a comic. The comic is a re-do of one that had been previously published back in 2007. I was originally going to re-scan and re-colour the original one but since I was already working on new strips I figured I would draw it again in the updated style. Re-drawing the comic also gave me a chance to address some continuity errors regarding the clothing that the characters were wearing and keeping everything in line. So here you can see a scan of the original comic. The comic also features what will be the first of a look between Corey and Clayton that will mean that trouble lies ahead. The Script Panel 1 Corey: Hey Clay! Check it out! We have a flagpole! Clayton: Huh! Too bad we don't have anything to hoist up it. Panel 2 No Dialogue Panel 3 Matt:(off panel) What? Hey! Wait! What are you... AHHHHHHHHHHH! S...

Bert and Ernie are probably the greatest comedy team in history. Their lasting legacy built on their puppeteers  Jim Henson and Frank Oz was pure genius. But what made this duo so special and why is their legacy so enduring? Ernie was the troublemaker, the instigator, the chance-taker, the silly one, the crazy one, the one swirling in chaos and a lack of rules. Bert was all about rules, routine, safety, taking care of things and being reliable. The were the perfect foils for one another, the ying to the yang, the order to the chaos. They each brought out the best of each other. Ernie taught Bert to be adventurous, to take chances, to laugh out loud, the skip the chores from time to time, to break routine. Bert grounded Ernie, teaching him to be reliable, to take the time to look after things, to be responsible. They were polar opposites but it was that middle ground that made each of them better, and provided the true comedy of their pairing. They weren't the first pairing to...