GEEK PROFILE: RYAN FERRIER

Columnist, Quietly Judging You

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Tell me about your column and your latest projects.

Quietly Judging You is my little punching bag of geek on the web. For now I'm not confining myself to a format other than "unscrew head, insert finger, mix, heat and serve".

With Quietly Judging You, you will get whatever is on my mind that week, and in great length no doubt. If Forces of Geek were a dinner party I'd be the guy that shows up in jeans, tells inappropriate jokes at an inappropriate volume, and is last to leave after suggesting we all go for pancakes.

My latest projects include my own comic and film news website, Giant Killer Squid, and I'm currently writing a comic book called 'Terminals' with my good friend and comic/tattoo artist Rove - keep your fingers crossed that this little anti-superhero yarn will be published sometime.

Who or what are the biggest influences on your work and If you could pick one person to collaborate with dead or alive who would you pick?

I have no idea what or whom are my influences, I'm just a puppet, a vessel really. Whatever I do leech off of, it must be good though. Did I mention I'm modest too? In all seriousness, I find my brain naturally pulled towards Watchmen, though that's the only Alan Moore work I will cite. Frank Miller's narratives captivate me as well, but those picks are too easy.

I found I borrowed a lot from Chuck Pahlaniuk in terms of finding my writing voice, Crystal Gayle for my singing voice.

As for a collaboration, I'm sticking with my friend, tattoo-artist and Terminals cohort, Rove, and I'm lucky enough to be doing it right now. I would really love to write a script for Fred Willard though.

What album had the most influence on your adolescence?

This is kind of a loaded question, as I had mostly terrible taste in music back in the "awkward years". An album I still listen to frequently when I'm in "the zone" (I will leave that ambiguous to its meaning) is "The Fragile" by Nine Inch Nails. That or "No Limit" by 2 Unlimited.

What were your favorite toys or games from your childhood?

There are so many great toys from my childhood, but LEGO wins by a mile. I was the star of the block after I made a LEGO helmet, LEGO chest-piece and LEGO gauntlets one time. If it wasn't so damn expensive I'd probably still buy LEGO.

What is your pop culture guilty pleasure? (What movie, tv show, band, etc. do you love that you know is awful, but you love it anyway?)

I have none. Everything I love is awesome. But in all seriousness, I cannot look away if Reindeer Games is on TV. I don't own the flick, but I will cancel plans to stay in and watch it if I see it on cable. I also love Alien 3, though I won't concede that it is a bad film. You just don't get it.

If you could own one piece of artwork by any artist, who would you choose and why?

Most definitely Drew Struzan's original artwork for John Carpenter's The Thing. I just adore all of his work, but this one melts the elastic in my underwear. It's still for sale, if anyone wants to give me $90,000.

What are your favorite television shows that you feel ended too soon?

I will curb my knee-jerk reaction to scream Arrested Development, as it really is this absolutely perfect little series as it is, so I would loved to have seen The Hilarious House of Frightenstein become a truly indelible mark on children's programming.

Who is your favorite super hero?

He is the super-hero that will adorn my arm for the rest of my life: the man without fear, Daredevil.

If you were to have dinner with 5 people living or dead, who are they and what would you serve?

I ask myself this question every day and still can't come to a definitive answer. As of this very second, the dinner party would include Vincent Price, Patton Oswalt, Quentin Tarantino and my brother Alan. I would serve sushi off the naked body of Sigourney Weaver circa Ghostbusters.

What fictional character do you identify most with?

I'm told bi-weekly that I physically resemble Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Concords, but I would have to say I identify completely with Macho Man Randy Savage.

What 5 movies could you watch again and again?

Finally, an easy question. Jaws. John Carpenter's The Thing. Back to the Future. George Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Disney's Alice in Wonderland.

What book or author do you regularly recommend?

I've given out more copies of Watchmen than I've had hot dinners, but lately I've been pimping Garth Ennis's Preacher quite a bit as I'm revisiting it myself and loving every single page.

What are your favorite web sites?

Other than Forces of Geek and Giant Killer Squid, I get my online rocks off from Twitter, Married to the Sea and The Onion. Also have to give credit to Ain't It Cool News for getting me interested in film-blogging.

What are you most looking forward to geeking out over in the coming year?

It's been kind of a weird year for movies with some personal highs (Watchmen, Star Trek) and some terrible lows (Terminator: Salvation, Transformers 2) so I'm kind of exhausted really. I am really excited for Inglourious Basterds, Where the Wild Things Are, Avatar and Watchmen on Blu-Ray.