Interview - Gary!

Describe yourself briefly, who are you?

I'm Gary, I'm from the merry old town of Chelmsford (which, coincidentally, is the only place in the world named after Julius Caeser- the original Latin name meant "Caeser's Market"). Currently 25teen, I'm an avid video game player and relative newcomer to the world of comics. I've pretty much always followed the characters, but only started collecting comics when Red Sun opened. I'm also a fountain of useless knowledge, as I've already demonstrated.

What's your idea of a perfect day?

To me a perfect day would involve lots of video games. That's pretty much all I've got, really, and there's a high chance that I'll get my perfect day one day.

Do you consider yourself a geek/fanboy/fangirl and why?

Geek? Oh most definitely. I make it a personal mission to acquire as much knowledge as possible on as many subjects as possible. "An expert is defined as someone who knows more and more about less and less until he knows everything about nothing", as the old saying goes. I've learnt the back story of a large number of comic superheroes and villains, I know lots of needless and pointless facts and mention them at times when I don't need to, such as the fact earlier about Chelmsford's name. And don't get me started on the Chuck Norris jokes...

What is your most common dream/nightmare?

I don't actually remember my dreams, so I suppose you can insert your own Owl City reference here.

What are your 3 most prized possessions?

I think my number one possession would be my steam-punk inspired wristwatch. They're made to order, hand made and has a pocket watch style feel to it. Instead of numbers on the face it has a facade that measures the "temporal decay index" in the "galvanic scale". Which basically means it tells the time.

Number two would be my signed programme/postcard from Blue Man Group's show when I went to Las Vegas in 2008. I'm also going to put as a joint number two the drumsticks and guitar picks I got from the UK tour they done at the start of 2009- you had to be front row to get them, as they were dropped off the front of the stage, so I'm very proud to have been able to get some of them.

Number three would have to be my PlayStation 3. I know, it's not exactly the most "exclusive" item, but I'm proud to be an owner of it so I'm going to put it on the list.

 If you were able to choose one superpower what would it be and why?

This one's easy. Although it doesn't really count as a superpower, I'd love to have my own power ring (a la Green Lantern) simply because the possibilities are endless. It can create anything you imagine- who wouldn't want something like that?

Name your top 3 of all time of the following and why?

Superheroes

Number one- Deadpool. The guy cracks me up. He's probably the only comic character in the world that would get away with singing "My Sharona" for no reason whatsoever.

Number two- Green Lantern (Hal Jordan). And not just because I want his power ring! I fell in love with the character while reading Blackest Night- his courage, his determination and his will to succeed are unmatched by any other superhero I've read.

Number three- The first name that came to mind was The Question, but I've not read enough comics to truly understand the character. Which is why for my number three pick I'm choosing Iron Man. He has a high tech suit of armour, what more do you need?

Movies

This isn't an easy choice for me to make, as I love a lot of movies, so I'm going to choose my three favourite movies that aren't as bad as everyone says (in my opinion).

Number one- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I thought this film was brilliant when I first saw it- so much so that I decided to buy it on DVD, making it the first film purchase I'd made for three years. I think it has brilliant acting, fantastic visuals and some of the most interesting characters ever to appear in film and/or book. And it was originally a comic series, so it scores double for me.

Number two- The Incredible Hulk (2008). Another comic adaptation, I again thought that this film was brilliant. I'm a fan of The Hulk as a character (he narrowly missed out getting in my top three) but this film was made even better by the presence of Tim Roth, who played the Emil Blonsky character brilliantly.

Number three- The Room. The most unintentionally funny film I've ever seen, it's so bad it's good. If you haven't seen it yet, go watch it, and I dare you not to laugh when you're not supposed to.

Kids cartoons

Number one- X-Men (1990's series). This was the show that got me interested in the X-Men and superheroes in general. It's cheesy to watch now, but I still get an odd thrill out of sitting down and watching it.

Number two- Sonic the Hedgehog (aka Sonic SatAM). Very much a "What if?" story, it tells the story of a world taken over by Sonic's enemy, Dr. Robotnik. It's honestly brilliant, and you need to watch it.

Number three- Tom & Jerry. Classic cartoon slapstick. And that's all I have to say about that.

TV series

Number two- The Simpsons. Technically it's not a TV show as it's a cartoon, but I couldn't put it with the cartoon question as, contrary to popular belief, it isn't a children's cartoon. It's a funny show, and there's at least one character that everyone can relate to somewhere in there.

Number three- Hustle. This show was underrated, but I really enjoyed it. There was just something about seeing this group of people being able to get away with pretty much anything, thanks to their smooth talking and quick thinking.

Who's the most famous person you've ever met and how did you meet them and/or who was your favourite?

I'm not proud of this one, but the most famous person I've met is Danny Dyer. It was before a West Ham game (can't remember which one) and he was mingling with the crowd before the game started.

What toy/collectable would you love to see made that has never been done before and why?

You can find anything if you know where to look, and I've done a lot of looking. There's nothing I can think of that I haven't seen, but one of the best things that I've seen (and had to buy) are salt and pepper robots. They're salt and pepper pots shaped like robots, but you wind up the handle on them and they walk across the table.

What's your favourite video game of all time on any console or on any arcade machine and why?

My favourite game of all time is also the very first game that I remember playing- Super Mario Brothers 3 on the NES. It's flawless in my mind. If we're going to get a bit more modern, though, I loved Red Dead Redemption on the PS3- an open world game where you get to be a cowboy is fantastic to me; SWAT 4 on the PC- it's fun to have to play by the rules; Marvel vs Capcom 2 in the arcade- definitely THE ultimate fighting game so far, though I'm sure that'll change when Marvel vs Capcom 3 gets released later this year.

For me as well, the most interesting story in a game has to be Bioshock. I'm in love with the idea of these genetic modifications that you can inject into yourself and an underwater city. As for my opinion on Bioshock: Infinite? Well, we'll just have to wait and see about that one.

Finally - If you've been to Red Sun Comics & Collectables what would you change or add that isn't there already?

More Deadpool comics! I'd also love to see tournaments organised on the arcade machines, simply so that  we can all test our skills out against each other.