Release The Geek

Arthur Goldstuck is a South African journalist, media analyst and commentator on information and communication technology topics. The author of a number of published books, including The Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Internet and Tech-Savvy Parenting (the latter with co-author Nikki Bush, Arthur is definitely a sci-fi geek at heart. Arthur took time out to chat to us about his geek roots in Trompsburg, through to his journalistic endeavours and eventually his role in helping to map how the internet was being used in South Africa.

While you may recognise Hannes Brümmer as a stand-up comic, actor or writer, he is, above all, most definitely strong in the ways of geek (as the tattoo on his left bicep will attest to). Comic books started him on his path to geekdom as a kid, and super heroes have held a fascination for him since that time. Hannes was incredibly kind enough to sit down with us and chat about his path to geekdom, his love of comics and of horror films. Plus, we get a surprise celebrity guest who has knowledge of a very surprising topic.

At the end of 2015, we invited three ex-comic store employees to chat about myths they'd like you to know about comic book stores, which includes crushing the dreams of people who 'think' they have copies of Spider-man No. 1, when in fact it's nothing more than an issue from the 1990 Todd McFarlane series. We had so much fun with Nas Hoosen, Dizzi Limpho and Greg Nell that we decided to make this a regular thing. Once a month, I'll pose a question to these three impressively knowledgeable comics fans and we'll dissect the topic. Eventually, this this will be come a podcast in its own right, but for now we'll house it as a monthly Release The Geek comic book podcast. The topic posed to Nas, Dizzi and Greg this week - who is the most-underrated villain in comics history?

Morne Schaap, a Cape Town based GM, is the author of "Winter Eternal", a campaign setting for the Savage Worlds RPG system. Not only did Morne design the entire world, but he managed to get the campaign guide published thanks to a successful Indiegogo campaign. And to top it off? Savage Worlds recognised "Winter Eternal" as an officially licensed product - not bad for a first time author! Listen in as Morne tells us all about his path to geekdom, how he came up with the "Winter Eternal" setting and how he managed to bring his project to life.

Greg Nell chats with us about his love of comics and how he took the plunge to become a freelance cartoonist and illustrator

Dizzi, Greg and Nas have all spent time doing what a lot of comic book fans dream of doing - working in a comic book shop. However, there are certain things that REALLY wish that some people knew about the gig. In the last Release The Geek for 2015, these three want to clear up some of the more common 'myths' people have about not only working in a comic book store, but about the comics they own.

We continue with part 2 of our introspective interview with RTG co-host Vittorio Leonardi! After finding out exactly how much of a bad-ass his dad was, Vic takes us into the lands of acting (like, the movies!) and how he started his comedy career.

Vittorio Leonardi has been co-host of the "Release The Geek" podcast since day one, but we've never actually sat down with the professional comedian, actor and voice over artist to talk about HIS path to geekdom. A path so epic ... it's going to take TWO episodes to get through!

Manu's story is an inspiring one, and one that I'm sure all creatives can relate to when it comes to finding what you want to do and sticking to it. His path to geekdom started as a young child in the DRC where he was captivated by comics, and drawn into a world of imagination that he wanted to help create. And so, he began drawing.

A South African version of Loot Crate? That's exactly what Brian Murdoch has set up with Nerd Nab, and the results are awesome! We chat with Brian about his path to geekdom, how the Nerd Nab product came into being and where it's going to go from here!