Imagine if your job was to be a geek “specialist”. Ok, now imagine that people have nothing but absolute respect for your opinion on geek mania. This is the life of geek extraordinaire Jeff Rubin who has not only been on MTV and G4 but has also tackled being Executive Editor at Collegehumor.com and runs his own podcast The Jeff Rubin, Jeff Rubin Show. But wait, there’s more! He has also been a cast member on “The Collegehumor Show” on MTV, hosted “Bleep Bloop“, “Nerd Alert!“, and can be seen in the popular web series “Hardly Working“. Even with all of that going on, Jeff was more than happy to stop by Comic Booked and chat it up with us!
Comic Booked: You work for Collegehumor, you have the coolest job ever. Please elaborate how awesome you feel about conquering life.
Jeff: I’m not sure I’d say I’ve conquered life, but yes, if I could time travel and talk to my past self he’d be pretty happy about the way things turned out.
Comic Booked: You are a very credible person when it comes to anything geekdom. How exactly did that come to be?
Jeff: I’m not sure. I take people’s trust very seriously and give my audience the same recommendations I’d give my friends. There are people that know more than me about video games, and there’s people that know more that me about Star Wars, and there’s people that know more than me about everything, but I know a little about almost everything.
Comic Booked: You are almost always doing something for Collegehumor. You have your podcast. Any other side projects going on at this time?
Jeff: Honestly, no. I used to do standup but recently I’ve decided to put that time and energy into the podcast instead. I miss standup, but the podcast gives you the same freedom to do anything you want and it’s just what I’m more interested at the moment.
Comic Booked: Lets ask the big question here. Nerd Alert… are we gonna see another season? If so when!?
Jeff: Nerd Alert will return as a series of specials, the first of which went up today. It’s a look at some of my favorite nerdy places to go in New York, and I’m really pleased with how it came out.
Comic Booked: Obviously you are a comic fan. What comics do you read? Any rare treats you would suggest to our readers?
Jeff: I’m not a weekly comic reader but, like I said, I know a little about everything. I don’t have anything I read regularly anymore. My favorite comic I read all year was Thor and The Warriors Four. It’s good for both Thor veterans and newbies, exciting but funny, and family friendly but dark.
Comic Booked: Your feelings on DC rebooting? Should other comic book companies consider doing the same?
Jeff: I don’t read comics week to week so I don’t have a strong reaction. We talked about this on my podcast one day – pro wrestling and comic books both share this common trait where the biggest fans understand the way the stories develop to support the business, and accept that as part of their fandom. Other comic book companies shouldn’t just restart everything to #1, though I’m sure Marvel, DC, and everyone else will continue to do “MUST READ” world altering events every year or so for the rest of time.
Comic Booked: The Collegehumor Show on MTV… what exactly happened with that? My friends and I loved it, yet it went off the air so quickly. Can you help us out on this one?
Jeff: I wish I had a great story like “Streeter was a diva bitch and wouldn’t come to set,” but I think the truth is a lot more mundane. I guess MTV just didn’t like it, or enough people didn’t watch it, or whatever. I’m honestly not sure what went on behind the scenes, I just showed up and looked pretty.
Comic Booked: Fellow “Hardly Working” star Sarah is going to write for SNL. Do you have any dream aspirations where you would like to go if you had the chance?
Jeff: I think my dream job writing for a theoretical reboot of Mystery Science Theater 3000. That or a rollercoaster magazine.
Comic Booked: You have appeared on G4 to give your expert feedback on video games. That had to be a dream come true.
Jeff Rubin: This one’s not a question! I think I actually was there to talk about viral videos, or something. That stuff’s nice and I’m always happy to do it, but it’s nowhere near as ‘dream come true’ as actually creating something you’re proud of.
Comic Booked: How long does it take you to write a sketch? What exactly is your time table?
Jeff: It depends. In general I’m a pretty slow writer. I think if I sat down to write a sketch without interruption it would take me most of the workday, and it’s tough to find a day without interruptions.
Comic Booked: The Batman sketches Collegehumor has been doing are a huge hit. Any more of those we can expect to see in the future?
Jeff: Shouldn’t say! But the guys behind those, Front Page Films, are amazing and I wouldn’t be surprised. I love the one they did with the Riddler. Their videos use the Nolan aesthetic, but Nolan never used Riddler, so they had to say “If Riddler was in the Dark Knight, how would he act? What would he wear?” That’s not what the video’s about, but the fact that it works so well means they don’t have to dwell on it and get right to the jokes.
Once again thanks to Collegehumor and thanks to Jeff Rubin for stopping by to talk with us. Make sure to check out his podcast The Jeff Rubin, Jeff Rubin Show and follow his facebook page http://www.facebook.com/jeffrubinjeffrubin where you can find the entire run of his podcast.
Great article! Welcome back Nick!