AS comics and computer games become ever bigger business, Duncan Leatherdale visits the region’s first geek festival to learn how youngsters can forge a career out of their favourite hobby.

UNTIL recently, the word geek was used as an insult, to degrade and embarrass anybody whose interests did not conform to the popular image of being “cool”.

And, ironically enough, the playground bullies who picked on the supposed geeks were not far off the mark in their usage of the word, its origins being in the 19th Century to describe out-of-the-ordinary entertainment acts.

But an up-rising is occurring in the region. The term geek is being seized back and used as a badge of honour by the previously much maligned lovers of all things comic and games related.

Steven Hesse, a podcast maker and the proudly self-confessed super geek founder of Geek Apocalypse, was one of those behind the North-East’s first ever geek festival, a celebration of the strategy board games and comic book culture usually found in bedrooms and secretive bunkers.

The festival held at NE1's Space 2 unit in Newcastle’s Newgate shopping Centre was an opportunity for geeks to indulge their interests and fantasises.

Mr Hesse said: “Geek culture is definitely becoming more mainstream and I think we can thank Robert Downey Jnr for that.

“His portrayal of Ironman got a lot of people into comics, and now geek is the new cool.”

The festival was also aimed at encouraging young people to really look into the possibility of pursuing careers in the geek industry.

Jeff Hurst from NE1 said: “The Geek Festival is about demonstrating to young people that these are serious industries full of opportunities.

“We want to raise young people’s aspirations and allow them to follow their own career ambitions.”

One young geek already pursuing his dream is 24-year-old Josh Heyde who, after completing a games programming course at Teesside University, is now working as a programmer for Ubisoft in Newcastle.

The company is renowned for some of the biggest video games on the market right now, such as Assassin’s Creed, and My Heyde said it is a huge industry with plenty of places for all sorts of folk, geeks and otherwise.

The programmer, who was a guest speaker at the festival, said: “There are all sorts of jobs in the industry, although it is very competitive so you have to have a real passion for it to succeed.

“I started by playing video games when I was a kid so what I am doing now really is the fulfilment of a dream.

“I want other young people to see the real opportunities that exist in this industry.”

Comic creator Nigel Auchterlounie was also a guest speaking to the geeks about drawing Dennis the Menace for the Beano.

Steve Jackson Games, Forbidden Planet, Travellling Man and Games Workshop also ran events, as did Newcastle College’s Discovery School.

For the hundred or so who attended the festival, there was proof that not only is it now cool to be a geek, you can also make a career out of it.