''Comic Geek Speak'' (CGS) is a

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

audio

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

that focuses on current mainstream and small-press comic books, featuring creator interviews, reviews, commentary on the comic book craft and industry, comic-related movie discussions and more. Bryan Deemer and Peter Rios began the Comic Geek Speak podcast in 2005 and the roster of hosts has expanded to include Shane Kelly, Kevin Moyer, Jamie D., Matt, Adam "Murd" Murdough, Brian "Pants" Christman, Chris Eberle, and Ian Levenstein. The hosts express their individual opinions in an informal way that many fans think resembles a discussion between friends hanging out at home or at the local comic shop, giving the podcast a unique point of view. Comic Geek Speak has interviewed over 400 creators including

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

, Terry Moore,

Jamal Igle Jamal Yaseem Igle
. jamaligle.com. Retrieved November 28, 2012. is an American

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's '' The New Te ...

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...

Dave Sim Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, best known for his comic book ''Cerebus'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political and philosophical b ...

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim. He serve ...

Matt Fraction Matt Fritchman (born December 1, 1975), better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an Eisner Award-winning American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of '' The Invincible Iron Man'', '' The Immortal Iron Fist'', ''Uncanny ...

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Poland, Polish-born Americans, American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkm ...

Freddie Williams II Freddie E. Williams II (born May 30, 1977) is an American comic book writer and artist. Williams entered the comic scene in 2005, when he began work with DC Comics on the comic series Robin and on the Eisner Award-winning series ''Seven Soldiers ...

Paul Pope Paul Pope (born September 25, 1970, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American alternative cartoonist. Pope's work combines the precision and romance of European comics artists with the energy and page design of the manga tradition. Pope's tw ...

Jonathan Hickman Jonathan Hickman (born September 3, 1972) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for his creator-owned series '' The Nightly News'', '' The Manhattan Projects'' and ''East of West'', as well as his lengthy stints as a writer on Ma ...

Denis Kitchen Denis Kitchen (born August 27, 1946) is an Americans, American underground comix, underground cartoonist, publisher, author, agent, and the founder of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Early life Kitchen grew up in Wisconsin, attending William ...

Sean McKeever Sean Kelley McKeever (born 1972) is an American comic book writer. Born in Appleton, Wisconsin he grew up in Eagle River. Career Since the end of his creator-owned teen drama series ''The Waiting Place'', which was published from 1997 to 2002, ...

, and David Petersen, among many others. Other shows have included top 5 discussions, debates, interviews with retailers, and spotlights on specific characters or publishers. The CGS hosts also regularly visit comic

conventions Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...

, giving day-to-day overviews of their experiences as attendees, interviewing creators as they promote their upcoming projects, talking to listeners, and even moderating or participating on panels. CGS's motto is "We Are Uniting the World's Mightiest Heroes One Listener at a Time". The motto stems from a listener contest, won by Chris Whittington. The podcast engages in interactive communication with its listeners via email, voice mail, and its own forum. Listeners can ask questions, suggest ideas for future episodes, participate in contests and are occasionally given the chance to guest-hosts a show that touches on a specific topic of interest. CGS recently celebrated their 1,000 numbered episode that was recorded on January 9, 2010. Peter Rios has since left the show, he is the first Geek to officially leave CGS. He has since begun his own successful podcast: The Daily Rios.

Episodes and segments

The CGS crew release episodes Monday through Friday. Over 1,230 episodes have been released, ranging from regular shows on current comic books and comic events, to more focused discussions. These discussions include: * Book of the Month – A reading club designed to get listeners interested in and exposed to books they may not have been exposed to otherwise. The categories of books rotate from month to month,

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

, DC,

Indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

Manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

, and Host Choice. * Indie Publisher Spotlight – Showcases various independent and

small press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. Independent press is general ...

comics, as well as the companies and creators behind these titles. * Let's Talk Shop – A discussion about comics and the industry with different retailers and comic book store owners. * Off The Rack – A discussion of three comics (one Marvel, one DC, and one independent) that the Geeks choose during Previews episodes. They all read and discuss the issues. * Stump the Rios – A trivia contest. Listeners submit three trivia questions, one for DC, one for

, and one for Independent comics. If host, Peter Rios, cannot answer at least one of the three questions, the submitter will win a prize. The rules for Stump the Rios, came about because Peter was once asked three questions all about

Scrooge McDuck Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-American anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bil ...

, and so after this the rules were set that it had to be one Marvel, one DC, and one Independent Comic. Stump the Rios came to an end with Peter Rios leaving the show. * Top 5 – Hosts list their five favorites in a variety of categories, such as animated movies, villains, and cliffhangers. * Smarty Pants – The idea for a TV trivia contest featuring co-host Brian Christman was initiated by Matt when he coined the term "Iron the Pants," the original name for the contest. Listeners submit three trivia questions dealing with American TV shows from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Pants must successfully answer at least one question or he is considered "Ironed." No prizes are awarded. The name of the contest was later changed to "Smarty Pants" to match the segment's theme music, "Smarty Pants" performed by First Choice. * Muddle The Murd – This segment takes the place of "Stump The Rios" in regular rotation. Here, listeners submit three questions to try and defeat Adam Murdough. Each question must fit under the criteria of one DC, one Marvel and one Independent. The twist comes with the second set of criteria: one question must come from the Golden Age of comics (anytime before 1970), one from the Silver and Bronze Age (1970-2000), and finally, one from present day (2000-today). If Adam Murdough is unable to answer at least one question correctly he is considered "muddled," and the contestant wins a prize. *In one of the episodes Brian Christman interviews DiDio

Spin-off podcasts

The show has led to several spin-offs, including: * ''The Crisis Tapes'' - Hosted by Peter Rios and Adam Murdough. Each episode, the duo go in-depth, issue by issue, into DC's

Crisis on Infinite Earths "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to March ...

, and occasionally delve into its tie-in issues and related works. * ''Footnotes'' – Where the hosts of CGS take an in-depth, page by page look at some classic comic series and discuss them. * ''World of Toys'' – Hosted by Shane Kelly and Brian "Pants" Christman. A discussion of newly released

toys A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

as well as an in depth look at the

of yesterday. * ''Murd's Time Bubble'' – Hosted by Adam "Murd" Murdough. Being behind in his current comics reading by at least eight years, Murd discusses the comics that he is catching up on and his thoughts on the stories. * ''Jamie's Essentials'' – Hosted by Jamie D. An extensive look at each

character, their "must read" stories, and how they got to where they are now in current continuity.

Convention tour

''Comic Geek Speak'' has had booths at several comic conventions around the United States, and has participated in panel discussions on podcasting. It was the official comics podcast for

New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. History The New York Comic Con is a f ...

in 2006, for

Pittsburgh Comicon The Pittsburgh Comicon, later known as Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh and since succeeded by Steel-City Con, was a comic book convention (meeting), convention held in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1994 by Michael ...

, and

Fan Expo Canada Fan Expo Canada is an annual speculative fiction fan convention held in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded as the Canadian National Comic Book Expo in 1995 The podcast was also featured at sixth annual San Diego Comic-Con.

Super Show

''Comic Geek Speak'' held their first ever live recording in January 2006, to commemorate the show's 100th episode. The live recording was held at Golden Eagle Comics in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...

, which was also the site for the Episode 200 recording later that year. When the number of listeners showing up for these recordings outgrew what Golden Eagle could accommodate comfortably, Episode 300 moved to an unoccupied storefront inside the Fairgrounds Square Mall. This was the final milestone episode event held by ''Comic Geek Speak'' before switching to a convention model for their listener gatherings. In September 2008, ''Comic Geek Speak'' hosted the first Comic Geek Speak Super Show, a creator focused comic convention at the Greater Reading Expo Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. Notable guests included

Mike Norton Mike Norton is an American comic book artist and writer, known for his work on '' Battlepug''. Early life Mike Norton first discovered comics as a child when his father gave him a copy of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #163, before he was old enoug ...

Jamal Igle Jamal Yaseem Igle
. jamaligle.com. Retrieved November 28, 2012. is an American

David Petersen, Sal Abbinanti of Atomika, Buzz Aw, Morry Hollowell, Danielle Corsetto and many others.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Comic Book Podcast Companion Published by Two MorrowsComic Book Data BaseCGS Episode 384: Book of the Month - DMZCGS Episode 216: Civil War 3

External links

* {{Podcast platform links American talk radio programs 2005 podcast debuts Audio podcasts Comic book podcasts Websites about comics American podcasts Talk show podcasts