I am currently on my way to Pennsylvania to attend the 10th anniversary celebration of Comic Geek Speak. Back in 2006 I “discovered” the podcast and instantly fell in love with it and the various hosts. I had heard about this thing called podcasting that same year (perhaps earlier), but I never really checked into it until I saw an ad for Comic Geek Speak on the PvP webcomic site (I could be wrong about that, but that’s what I recall). I clicked the link, and thus began a wonderful journey with these guys and their guests. What I loved about the show was all of the various opinions and experiences about and with comic books and everything in between. This group of friends reminded me of my childhood where my friends and I would sit around reading each other’s comics and talking about them. I so badly wanted to become an official “Geek”. :) I was able to meet most of the Geeks very briefly when they attended their and my first Emerald City Comic-Con in 2010. I then saw Brian (Pants) at a couple later shows as he manned the CGS booth, and most recently at the 2013 show.

I wasn’t just a fan of the show. Listening to Comic Geek Speak over the years inspired me to start my own comic book podcast four years later. Being your typical shy nerd growing up, doing an audio show that’s out on the interwebs (aka, in public) is a bit out of character for me, especially considering that my voice is terrible (or so my daughter informs me about my singing voice, and for those who listened to my The Gutters episode, 12 Days of Christmas – Comic Book Edition, you know this to be truth)! However, I pressed on, inviting my good friend Travis as a cohost on several episodes over the years. In 2012, CGS co-founder Peter Rios tweeted that he would be open to appearing on someone else’s podcast, and after several minutes of debating with myself (“Am I good enough?” “Will Peter think I’m a horrible podcaster?” Etc.), I invited Peter to come on to my tiny little show, and he agreed! I felt like I did when I met Wil Wheaton at ECCC–like a little boy, all excited and nervous at the same time. Peter was very gracious with me and his time (we recorded for 3-4 hours, IIRC), and he’s appeared a few more times since then. In fact, after we were done with that first recording, I could barely contain my excitement–I was on cloud 9 for the next several hours. Other people have joined me on the show over the years: Travis’ son Ethan, Greg (another very good friend from years ago), friend-of-the-show Mike, Bruce from the Heroes and Villains podcast, and, more recently, new friends from YouTube, Johnny and Matt. I just realized that I’m starting to mirror what I loved about CGS–gathering friends together to talk about comics.

And so, fans of CGS are assembling on Saturday, March 7, at 12 PM EST to celebrate 10 years of podcasting and camaraderie with the Geeks. I will be there as well (weather permitting–thanks winter storm Thor!), probably with a big, goofy grin on my face. If you’re interested in listening to the show live, you can do so by going to CGS’s Ustream channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/comicgeekspeak1. Otherwise, you can listen to show when it’s released later. Here’s to 10 years of CGS, and their efforts to unite “the world’s mightiest heroes, one listener at a time”!