We are not all just about video games here at Gil Is Munny, well most of our stuff is but we amass our courage like a liger and burst out of our comfort zone in video games. As you can tell from some of my previous articles I am not the hardcore gamer as some of you fans are. I like to dabble into other geek things and I can probably, guesstimate a guarantee that most of you are like me. We have a huge appetite for cool geek stuff out in the world. Whether it be video games, comic books, movies, TV shows, fanfic, webisodes, cartoons, anime, mullets, ok maybe not mullets, but you catch my drift on where I am going with this.
While working (Editors note: if that’s what he calls it) for Gil Is Munny I had the privilege to interview a man who is a heavy hitter in this world of geekdom. This heavy hitter is none other than Tim Knight, the creator of Heropress.net. Tim used to be a regular salary man, earning a crust
with his meager writings skills, until one day an unforeseen event had completely changed his life. This tragic event had put Tim in the hospital for an extended stay. With the realization that he cannot go back to his ordinary life of a salary man Tim had to come up with something to keep his brain active and honed writing skills. He adopted his online pseudonym of The Acrobatic Flea and created what you see today – HeroPress! Throughout the whole ordeal Tim had his wonderful and supportive wife Rachel by his side (Remember fans, behind every good man is a great woman). The Acrobatic Flea handle comes from his favorite, and most successful, Villains & Vigilantes tabletop roleplaying character in the ‘80s.
What got you into this world of geek life?
I think I was always interested in comics, toy soldiers etc from an early age but it was finding some import American superhero titles in a little seaside newsagent when we were on a family holiday to the coast that really got me hooked on superheroes and then, when I was a little older, the teenage son of a friend of my mum introduced me to the world of JRR Tolkien and shortly afterwards Dungeons & Dragons. Since primary school I’d had aspirations of being a writer and the infinite possibilities of D&D just sparked something in me and I haven’t really looked back!
What is HeroPress all about and trying to convey to the normal person
that does not understand any of our geekness?
HeroPress is really about sharing a daily slice of my geeky life. What I hope it does is spark discussion and interest in areas that people haven’t thought about before. I love the fact that people have discovered new authors or TV shows through things I have written.
What advice do you have for someone trying to jump right into the Geek
culture?
Take it slow! There is so much geeky material out there that it’s impossible to absorb it all. Even in a particular field it’s very unlikely you will ever have the time and money to collect, read, watch, whatever you’re interested in. Once you accept that you’ll find it easier to broaden your 
interests to other areas of geekdom.
Is there a difference in comics from the UK and America? What is that
difference? Which do you prefer?
Original British comics tend to be more aimed at young children – and are often, these days, tied to a licensed product and seem to be as much about pushing toys, cartoons, whatever. There is a strong culture of reprint material though, so it’s possible to follow American comics in the British reprints, which is a good way to get people interested in the titles without them having to track down an actual dedicated comic book store – which are few and far between outside of university towns. Unfortunately, the reprints are usually months – if not years – behind the originals, so I prefer to get my twice-monthly shipment of American titles as they come out, direct from Paradox Comics in Poole (http://www.paradoxcomics.co.uk/)
If possible, which Universe would you like to be a part of?
For a life-long geek this really should be an easy answer, but I’m also very fickle and my tastes change so much. At a push I’d have to say, realistically, I’d like to be part of the optimism of the Star Trek universe, but I’m also very fond of the carefree, swashbuckling nature of the Star Wars universe… and who wouldn’t want to be a Jedi?
Which hero/villain do you identify most with and why?
When I was younger I wanted to be a freewheelin’ Han Solo type, but as I grew up I realised it was Luke Skywalker who actually went on the ‘heroes journey’ and became a better person (and a cool jedi knight), so I guess Luke.
What video game are you currently playing now?
I hate to confess this, but I’m not much a hardcore gamer. The last game I started – but am nowhere near finishing – was zombie shoot’em-up House Of The Dead on the Wii.
Which is your favorite video game and why is it your favorite?
I have a soft-spot for the Resident Evil franchise because you can turn out the lights and really “get into” the creepy atmosphere while blowing the crap out of zombies.
What do you think of video games becoming comics/movies/TV shows and vice a versa?
I have no problems with franchises crossing mediums, as long as they are done well – and that’s where the problem seems to arrive. For some reason, often the ‘magic ingredient’ that made the original so successful gets lost in the transition.
Which was your favorite (if any) video game that became a movie and
your worst?
Resident Evil is the best, without a doubt (you can’t argue with Milla Jovovich). The worst, beyond a shadow of a doubt, for me was Bloodrayne – but really any of Uwe Boll’s early work is pretty sucky – although I did enjoy In The Name Of The Kingdom perhaps more than I should have.
Are you a PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, all of them or a mixture of the
systems?
We have a Wii, but these days it’s gathering dust next to the television – it doesn’t really see much action. When I was at university, just over a decade ago, I was a sucker for the Playstation though.
Finally, which world ending Apocalypse (zombies, robots, aliens,
meteor, nuclear bombs, etc.) do you see happening and what would be your
final stand? Will you go out in a blaze of glory or hiding in a bomb
shelter somewhere?
Zombies, zombies, zombies! I would happily go out swinging!
I know who to link up with across the Atlantic when zombies start popping up.
Well fans I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! Once again I would like to thank Tim for the time he took to answer this lowly geek on the totem pole’s questions and I urge you to check out Heropess.net. You will definetly find something there (I personally like Wonder Woman Wednesday) that you can settle you craving for geekness like the video below but remember what he said, take it slow on all of the geekdom out there. These are words to live by. As always, tell us what you think of the article. Where did we go wrong? What did you love/hate/enjoy about it? Anything I missed?
Jason Nodine
Stuff about me. I wonder if it is like one of those ads on a dating website or something or like one of those personal ads in the news paper. Do people still even use that anymore? The one person who reads that get back to me on it and let me know about that. Thanks! Oh, right me. I am a Veteran, been deployed over seas for quite some time. I love video games movies, comics, graphic novels and so on. I am a huge closet geek. People wouldn't expect it until they get to know me better. Uhmmm......if you ever want to game with me let me know. IronDaemon is my Xbox 360 and PS3 gamer tags. I love getting drunk and talking crap to 12 year olds on CoD. Makes me feel like a real man!
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