After being taken gently to task last month for extreme brevity, you guys really waxed lyrical this month… we got complete sentences and everything! Sure, we still got our share of “you’re awesome”s and “thank you”s and “you guys suck” (not really that last one… just trying to seem self-effacing), but we’d like to reward some of those readers who gave us more substantive comments with inclusion herein.
First up, we hear from our old friend Lacey, who came to us with both enthusiasm and a suggestion...
Have you guys ever thought of making an actual digital magazine (in the form of a pdf download)? Cause, that would rock. Nothing too fancy, but it would be nice to be able to read the articles offline or even on my ereader. Plus, it would be easier to read past issues. Not that I don't like being able to click on all the links (very useful).
The Editorial Staff responds:
No, we’ve never considered it, but we are now! Thanks for the thought (and the extra work for those in the production department…)
Now, back to Lacey:
Additionally, I really liked many of the articles-- again. No surprise there. The 2010 awards article was an interesting run-down of the year. Sara Paige's Doing it Wrong was also very interesting. I just wish it would have been a tad more specific. Like maybe the most surprising movies that passes/failed and examples (like the example from Inception). There was no discussion on the fact that How to Train Your Dragon which, despite having two rather awesome female characters, failed. Or that Twilight passed (it was the cafeteria scenes, wasn't it). I really appreciated the article overall and the fact that it took observation a step further and suggested a reason why this is important.
The Top 13-- Geek Gifts were very fun and sent on an internet search! (thanks for the link to the Jayne hat!). Kudos to Project Film Geek for watching all those movies! I know I wouldn't want to. But I do enjoy reading a geek POV on these film classics. Thank you for the End of Line article on Tron! With the new film coming out and everyone talking about the old one, I felt left out. Thanks for getting me up to speed, and in a geek-ly fashion! (Gah! Where did all these exclamation points come from?!)
The Christmas Caroling article was also enlightening. There we quite a few thing I did not know that I now do... The Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol is still my favorite. Although I will be checking out Zombie Story for Christmas.
Woah. Lacey, readers like you are the reason we keep doing this crazy thing! Thank you for taking the time, and thank you so much for your continued visits. We love you!
Carlos Carter also had a quite bit to say on Issue 10, and its predecessors:
When a friend sent me a link to Geek Speak I skeptical. I don’t consider myself a geek as such, just a fan of certain TV shows (Stargate Universe, Chuck, Lost, Nikita) and movies (Highlander, The Matrix, Avatar, Inception) and authors (Stephen King, Jim Butcher, and I just discovered David Weber) that sometimes make people think I am. After trawling through your “Archive”, I can see that I am far more a geek that I had thought, and that it is something I should be proud of. My work went so neglected as I read more and more of your reviews and articles that I should probably voluntarily dock my pay for this month. (I won’t.)
I want to particularly mention the 2010 Geek Speak Awards article from this month, which not only celebrated some things that I loved but also gave me a heads up on things I should be watching: I’ve already started on “Sanctuary” Season 1, and it’s great, so thanks for the recommendation. Also, I thought the Avatar poem was genius and I was blown away by the detail in the Top 13 Nameless Extras and Superheroes without Superpowers. Actually, all your Top 13 lists were great. Your Geek vs. Geek debates are entertaining too, especially the Alien vs. Predator one, and I really liked the Christmas Carol piece from the December issue as well. I don’t even like “Star Trek” and I want to see that Klingon Christmas Carol!!! The Facebook Fake article made me laugh so much! What a ride. There is so much more I loved from Geek Speak, I can’t even remember it all.
I guess I pretty much just want to say that I really like this website (in case you couldn’t tell) and I am very pleased to be able to subscribe and help keep it going. Can’t wait to get my magnet!!!!
Well, Carlos, we are very pleased you chose to subscribe! Thank you so much for your kind words, and for your kind... well, money! Welcome to the Geek Side, our friend. Your magnet is on its way...
Carrying on the theme of our Archives, Denise Sevier-Fries had this to say about a book review from Issue 9:
RE: Rachel Hyland's review of HALO:
I wanted to read a bit what the story was about etc... because my 11 year old brought it home from the school library. I am a book fanatic, so I want to see some decent stuff flowing her way. I read the first 3 pages and lost interest quickly, so I opted for a review. Rachel's was great! Direct, open, bullshit-free and well written. I had to laugh out loud a few times and shake my head at others. It seems like a waste of paper and back it goes to my daughter’s pathetic school library. Thanks Rachel! Good work.
Rachel responds:
You are very welcome indeed, Denise. All I can do is encourage EVERYONE to shield their young from such a sinister and excrutiating ordeal as that particular crime against literature. If your 11-year old is looking for recommendations, we'd be happy to help! Just let us know.
Also commenting on something from Issue 9; this from Joe O’Brien:
Basically I would just like to compliment David Baldwin's Quentin Tarantino article. QT is my favorite guy in the film business, and the article was spot on. Would love to see more features on QT in the future. Good work.
(Joe has subsequently joined our happy little Geek Speak family: you can see more of his thoughts here.)
More previous issue love from Sandman Fan:
Geek Speak, you are something!!! Glad I found you, googling Marvel versus DC debates. I think you could do with more comic coverage, maybe some reviews of monthly titles? But otherwise, this site rox!!! Can't believe someone watched every Marvel and DC comic movie ever made. Even Catwoman. ON PURPOSE!!! Insane, but made for a good article. I think your Geek VS Geek is my favorite thing you do and even the ones I don't care about (Twilight movies, the Inheritance Cycle) are pretty fun to read. I’ll be back!
Great! We’re so glad you found us, too, Sandman Fan! Thanks for your thoughts, and we hope our extended comic coverage (Buffy, Season 8, Girl Genius) this month meets with your approval.
And thanks, of course, to everyone who wrote in (and, indeed, subscribed) this -- and every other -- month. We can’t publish every letter, but we are simultaneously humbled and emboldened by your encouragement and generosity.
See you next month!
-- The Geek Speak Staff