Geeks & Greeks
| Geeks & Greeks | |
|---|---|
 Geeks & Greeks graphic novel cover | |
| Date | March, 2016 |
| Main characters | Jim Walden, Luke Bardolf, Dexter Garfinkel, Natalie Taylor, Prof. Neustadt |
| Page count | 184 pages |
| Publisher | Relentless Goat Productions |
| Creative team | |
| Writer | Steve Altes |
| Penciller | Andy Fish |
| Inker | Andy Fish |
| Letterer | Andy Fish |
| Colorists | Andy Fish, Veronica Fish |
| Creators | Steve Altes, Andy Fish |
| Original publication | |
| Language | English |
| ISBN | 978-0-9963504-4-0 |
Geeks & Greeks is a semi-autobiographical graphic novel written by humorist Steve Altes, illustrated by Andy Fish, and colored by Veronica Fish. It includes a foreword by novelist Matthew Pearl and is dedicated to Sean Collier. Geeks & Greeks is set at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and locations in Boston, Cambridge, and the Quincy Quarries.[1] The story was inspired by MIT's hacking culture and the writer's experiences with fraternity hazing.[2][3] At MIT a hack is a clever, benign prank or unsanctioned public display or installation that requires technical sophistication to execute and often incorporates an offbeat sense of humor.[4] Geeks & Greeks has been described as Good Will Hunting meets Animal House.[5]
Autobiographical and historical content
Elements of Geeks & Greeks were inspired by hazing incidents Altes witnessed as an MIT student as well as actual hacks, such as:
- hackers constructing a replica of a campus police car on top of MIT's Great Dome,[6]
- hackers creating a dorm room on top of the Great Dome,[7]
- hackers making the MIT President's office appear to vanish,[8]
- MIT's Alpha Tau Omega fraternity commandeering the Boston Sheraton's rooftop sign to make it spell "ATO" (their initials),[9][10] and
- MIT's Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity painting the smoot markers on the Harvard Bridge.[11]
The book contains 120 endnotes citing the real-life events that influenced the graphic novel.[12]
Reception
Critical reception has been generally favorable. The Miami Herald called Geeks & Greeks a "funny, human story of struggle and redemption with believable characters in outrageous but plausible situations."[13] Library Journal called it an "amusing romp" and said its "inventive dialog effectively juxtaposes outrageousness with hyperacademic geekery, like the 'milliHelen' measure of beauty, the insult 'nanophallus,' and a football cheer based on pi."[14] The Post-Standard cited the "vast pool of knowledge" Altes drew on in creating a graphic novel that "sets out to entertain while also showing what the modern nerd is really like."[15] MIT's student newspaper The Tech called it "a compelling read, filled with jokes that will please anyone with nerdier sensibilities and stories that are sure to inspire young readers to apply to the Institute," although they criticized the book for "racial and gender under-representation" among the characters.[16] Geeks & Greeks has received positive reviews on the geek culture websites FanboyNation.com, ForcesOfGeek.com, and ForeverGeek.com.[11][17][18]
Film rights to Geeks & Greeks have been optioned to Whydah Productions.[1]
See also
References
- 1 2 Barbuto, Dana (2016-12-01). "Quincy Quarries Star in New Graphic Novel". PatriotLedger.com. The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA). Retrieved 2016-12-02.
- ↑ Maxwell, Jill (2015-04-21). "Humor Writer to Publish Graphic Novel on Hacks". TechnologyReview.com. Technology Review. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ Landry, Lauren (2014-05-05). "You Can Help Turn MIT's History of Hacks Into a Graphic Novel". bostinno.streetwise.co. BostInno. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ "Hacks at MIT". hacks.mit.edu. MIT. 2016-09-07. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ Hughes, Johnny (2016-09-08). "Review: Geeks & Greeks". ComicCrusaders.com. Comic Crusaders. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
- ↑ "CP Car on the Great Dome". hacks.mit.edu. MIT. 1994-05-09. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ Eschenbach, Stephen (2005-10-05). "A Hackers' Reunion". TechnologyReview.com. Technology Review. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
- ↑ "The Disappearing President's Office". hacks.mit.edu. MIT. 1990-10-15. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
- ↑ Bench, Anthony Ray (2016-08-12). "Q&A with Geeks & Greeks Writer Steve Altes". FanboyNation.com. Fanboy Nation. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ Adkins, Jana (2016-08-01). "From Aerospace Engineer to Life as a Spy". SignalSCV.com. Santa Clarita Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- 1 2 Ferno, Clay (2016-08-10). "Talking Geeks & Greeks with Steve Altes and Andy Fish". ForceOfGeek.com. Force of Geek. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ Hickey, Patrick (2016-08-25). "Review Fix Exclusive: Steve Altes Talks Geeks & Greeks". ReviewFix.com. Review Fix. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ Pachter, Richard (2016-08-11). "From John Lewis to Jughead, a Roundup of Graphic Novels". MiamiHerald.com. Miami Herald. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ Reviewer, L.J. (2016-09-15). "Altes/Fishs, Beaumont, Clowes, Cornell/Parker, Girard, Jackson, Schulz - Graphic Novels Reviews". LibraryJournal.com. Library Journal. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ Frank, Casey Rose (2016-04-08). "Battle of the Geeks". Syracuse.com. The Post-Standard. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ Moore, Karleigh (2016-04-08). "A Tale of Hazing and Hacking at MIT". TheTech.com. The Tech. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ Bench, Anthony Ray (2016-08-08). "Geeks & Greeks Review". FanboyNation.com. Fanboy Nation. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ Carreiro, Remy (2016-09-05). "Animal House for the Tech Gen: Geeks & Greeks Graphic Novel Review". ForeverGeek.com. Forever Geek. Retrieved 2016-10-23.