Press mentions going back to the previous century
2018
Review: Geeks & Greeks
KirkusReviews.com, 3.20.18
"… surprisingly lighthearted tale of college pranks… subplots give both the narrative and protagonist depth… an affectionate and entertaining glimpse at a renowned college’s offbeat campus life."
Review: Geeks & Greeks
BookViral.com, 1.20.18
"With an eclectic cast of wonderfully imagined characters and a lively plot, they spin a superb yarn that will have readers rapidly turning their pages."
2016
Quincy Quarries Star in New Graphic Novel
PatriotLedger.com, Dana Barbuto, 12.1.16
"The Quincy Quarries are hardly the pits in Hollywood's voyeuristic eyes. Scenes for the Boston-based films Gone Baby Gone and The Departed were shot there. Now the deep holes have a featured role in the new graphic novel Geeks & Greeks."
Graphic Novel Review: Geeks & Greeks
LibraryJournal.com, Martha Cornog, 9.15.16
"Amusing romp... inventive dialog effectively juxtaposes outrageousness with hyperacademic geekery... colorful art intersperses near-realism with cartoonier drawings... great fun for college-age readers and adults."
Review: Geeks & Greeks
ComicCrusaders.com, Johnny Hughes, 9.8.16
"Steve Altes writes with an easygoing style... There is a little bit of Ditko in... [Andy Fish's art] over the more obvious Warhol influences."
Animal House for the Tech Gen: Geeks & Greeks Graphic Novel Review
ForeverGeek.com, Remy Carreiro, 9.5.16
"Fresh, fun, and sometimes, wonderfully batshit insane... Geeks & Greeks is not like other graphic novels, with their cliché-laden dialogue and tired, recycled plotlines. Geeks aspires to grandeur and more often than not, achieves it."
Independent Comic Spotlight: Back to School 2016
ComicBooked.com, Jeff Hill, 9.4.16
"This story, based on actual events, reminded me of a smarter updated version of Archie, which is always fun."
Preview: Geeks & Greeks
CultFaction.com, Brett Summers, 9.3.16
"Altes hopes Geeks & Greeks will appeal to techies of all stripes and anyone with a fondness for Boston. 'Geeks & Greeks is really a love letter to my adopted home of Boston,' he says."
Review Fix Exclusive: Steve Altes Talks Geeks & Greeks
ReviewFix.com, Patrick Hickey, 8.25.16
"The best stories come from people who’ve had unusual adventures in highly-specific arenas. They bring an authenticity to the dialogue and the irrefutable confidence that comes from actual lived experience."
Good Will Hunting Meets Animal House
FirstComicNews.com, 8.25.16
"The only thing scarier than John Belushi from Animal House is John Belushi from Animal House with a 160 IQ."
KHTS-AM 1220 Interview
HometownStation.com, George Cummings, 8.18.16
George Cummings interviews Steve Altes.
Q&A with Geeks & Greeks Writer Steve Altes
FanboyNation.com, Anthony Bench, 8.12.16
"Does Ursus Arctos defecate in a deciduous forest biome? This thing has more Easter eggs than Augustus Gloop in a Cadbury factory!"
From John Lewis to Jughead, a Roundup of Graphic Novels
MiamiHerald.com, Richard Pachter, 8.11.16
"Autobiographical... with a funny, human story of struggle and redemption with believable characters in outrageous but plausible situations."
Talking Geeks & Greeks with Steve Altes and Andy Fish
ForcesOfGeek.com, Clay Ferno, 8.10.16
"There is more to Geeks & Greeks than pranks and hacks. You've got a bit of romance, lots of humor and lots of local Boston / MIT / Cambridge references."
Geeks & Greeks Review
FanboyNation.com, Anthony Bench, 8.8.16
"Geeks & Greeks is an absolutely entertaining book that gives readers a look into the MIT hacking culture. It's a devilishly smart book with hilarious pop culture references blended with interesting scientific terminology that explodes into one amazing book."
From Aerospace Engineer to Life as a Spy
Santa Clarita Valley Business Journal, Jana Adkins, 8.1.16
"It's hard to tell where the truth ends and the humor begins with this Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate. It'd be easy to understand why a publisher might reject his work at first blush, deeming it couldn't possibly be true. So when Steve Altes of Santa Clarita set out to write about the grandiose pranks practiced by his college coeds and fraternity brothers in his latest book, Geeks & Greeks, he said he included 120 footnotes to explain the real-life events that inspired it."
Geeks & Greeks
ShelfAbuse.com, Carl Doherty, 7.3.16
"Altes’ characters, given form by artist Andy Fish, are an eclectic and equally interesting bunch... it’s a compelling window into a world few of us will ever experience."
Geeks & Greeks: A Review
Blog, Gloria Chao, 6.5.16
"Steve’s sense of humor is wonderful and I laughed out loud on multiple occasions (and not just at the geeky jokes). I actually started laughing at his introduction, before I had even started the story. I was pleasantly surprised by the romance. I loved all the nerdy flirting between the protagonist and the sperm donor receptionist (yes, you read that right). They had great chemistry and sweet moments that had me rooting for them."
Book Review: A Tale of Hazing and Hacking at MIT
The Tech, Karleigh Moore, 4.8.16
"The artwork is consistently pleasing throughout the novel, and does a great job at bringing many unbelievable events to life. In this way, the novel is certainly a compelling read, filled with jokes that will please anyone with nerdier sensibilities and stories that are sure to inspire young readers to apply to the Institute."
Battle of the Geeks
The Post-Standard, Casey Rose Frank, 4.8.16
"Based on real-life events from Altes' campus experience, including the well-known hacker culture prevalent at MIT, and the volatile nature of many fraternities, this graphic novel sets out to entertain while also showing what the modern nerd is really like."
Geeks & Greeks - A Graphic Novel
AwesomeVault.com, Darcy Boynton, 3.22.16
"A remarkably entertaining story with incredible illustrations... it's fantastic!"
2015
Graphic Novel: Geeks & Greeks
ThisIsNew.com, 5.21.15
"This story – inspired by actual events – shows what sort of mayhem can ensue when a group of super geniuses live together and personalities clash."
How Stunt Work on Die Hard Led to a Graphic Novel About MIT Hacks
Slice of MIT blog, Jill Hecht Maxwell, 5.8.15
"The story embodies everything I love about nerds – their brilliance, creativity, irreverence, and endearing quirkiness."
Humor Writer to Publish Graphic Novel on Hacks
Technology Review.com, Jill Hecht Maxwell, 4.21.15
"I hope Geeks & Greeks gets people excited about engineering and especially MIT. If you’re a bright high school student and want to be where the most creative and dynamic people are, you’re going to want to go to MIT."
2014
Interview with Steve Altes, writer of Geeks & Greeks
Geekly Podcast, Mel Elliot, 6.1.14
"If you love comics or love stories with a geeky flair, check out Steve and Andy's graphic novel. I think it's very original and very different."
How Do I Love Geeks? Let Me Enumerate the Ways.
ForeverGeek.com, 5.29.14
"MIT attracts a lot of eccentric, talented, and very non-conformist people – people that fall on the pointy end of the bell-shaped curve. As a result, strange things happen there all the time."
Famous MIT Pranks Retold in Illustrated Format
PRLog.org, 5.16.14
"I love the notion of cutting out the agents and gatekeepers and engaging directly with our audience."
This Week In Crowdfunding
FanboyNation.com, Carl Jansson, 5.8.14
"While the book is about pranks, that’s not all it is. It is a love story, a history lesson, and a study into the culture of MIT fraternity life. It is well written by MIT alum Steve Altes and has fantastic art by Andy Fish."
You Can Help Turn MIT's History of Hacks Into a Graphic Novel
BostInno.com, Lauren Landry, 5.5.14
"Writer Steve Altes knows MIT. Not only does he hold three degrees from the Institute, he has fallen victim to the students' renowned pranks himself."
2012
Get a Liberal Arts Education for Free on the Internet
Gizmodo.com, Andrew Tarantola, 10.20.12
"But MIT isn't all just Aerospace, Materials Science, and Electrical Engineering, mind you. Its Humanities programs have given the world the likes of Noam Chomsky, Steve Altes, and James Woods."
2011
Top 10 Famous Alumni of MIT
TopYaps.com, Digvijaya Singh, 11.13.11
"A nerd with nomadic career, Altes has worked as an aide to former president Bill Clinton, a business consultant, a speaker and also acted in movies such as Hollow Man, Spy Game, The Peacemaker, and Girl Interrupted."
MIT's 150th Birthday: The Network Effect
FastCompany.com, Rachel Arndt, 4.08.11
"The students, alumni, and professors at MIT are a brainy — and busy — bunch. To mark the university's 150th year, we tracked a handful of smarty-pants with ties to the school."
12 MIT Grads Who Changed the World (And a Few Bonuses)
BostInno.com, Gregory Gomer, 2.16.11
"From 29 Nobel Laureates to many astronauts, actors and inventors, MIT's alumni network is stacked."
2009
The Rival Rundown: MIT vs. Caltech
CollegeCandy.com, Sara Fordham, 9.30.09
"Ass-kicking MIT alumni: Buzz Aldrin, George Eastman (founder of Eastman-Kodak), Benjamin Netanyahu (PM of Israel), honorable mention: Steve Altes ’84, Brad Pitt body double and model on the box of Just For Men Sandy Blond hair color."
2008
Rocket Scientist Turns to Entertainment
Quick Take: Life, Work & MIT, 9.1.08
"Steve Altes is one well-rounded man."
2007
Living Blue in the Red States
David Starkey, Bison Books, 9.1.07
"The humorists in our electorate include 20 gays/lesbians. (This does not include metrosexuals or even address the inclinations of Steve Altes, who is a hand model, actor, cover guy for men's hair-color products as well as a widely published humorist.)"
2000
Jove Laughs, They Say: Lewinsky as Text
John F. X. Gillis, University Press of America, 1.1.00
"The pattern for women to whom the president is sexually attracted – or who are sexually attracted to him, as Lewinsky candidly admits and as Tripp describes Willey – is a variation. He hugs them for just a little bit longer than could be put down to ordinary platonic affection. And he waits for them to disengage. This pattern has been documented repeatedly, most recently in Capital Style, wherein Steve Altes describes how 'Clinton Hit On My Wife.'"
1999
Valedictorian Tradition Scrapped at High Schools
Washington Times, Jeremy Redmon, 5.7.99
"Steve Altes bristles when he hears high schools are discarding their valedictorian programs to do away with academic competition. Said Mr. Altes, 'Welcome to the real world. In the Olympics, if you do the giant slalom, a hundredth of a second can get you the gold medal.'"
After Departing MIT, Alumni Make Their Mark on the World
The Tech, Aaron Mihalik, 4.4.99
"MIT has graduated its share of people who have earned fame in an unusual fashion."
1998
MIT Graduate Inspires Crowd with Life Experience
The Tech, Rima Arnaout, 12.1.98
"Getting an MIT degree is a lot like being dealt a 17 in blackjack. The odds say stand. But once in a while, defy chance and say 'hit me.'"
Capital Style Overcomes Substance
Washington Business Journal, Tom Hall, 11.8.98
"Easily the most-read feature: 'Bill Clinton Hit on My Wife,' by satirist Steve Altes."
Model/Actor/Scientist Adds Writer to Resume
Lawrence Journal-World, Dale Hopper, 9.10.98
"Steve Altes is a wacky Renaissance man."
How to Lose a Job and Laugh, Too
Free Lance-Star, Dale Hopper, 7.19.98
"Don't hate Steve Altes because he's beautiful. He's also brilliant and funny."
1996
Here and There
MIT News, 4.3.96
"The 6-foot-tall blond quit his day job, the Post said, after his boss told him, 'You're going to have to choose between technology and government or Hollywood and show business.'"
1986
The Americans in Space
New York Review of Books, James Fallows, 12.18.86
"It's especially frustrating to have to life vast, heavy tanks of liquid oxygen up through the oxygen-rich atmosphere, 'like a fish carrying a canteen of drinking water with him,' as a young engineer from MIT named Steve Altes has put it in his study, The Aerospace Plane: Technological Feasibility and Policy Implications."
Plans for Space Shuttles Flourish Outside the U.S.
New York Times, John Noble Wilford, 8.12.86
"The report estimated that development costs for the American version were likely to reach $17 billion, far beyond the $3 billion projected in recent statements by the Air Force and NASA. The M.I.T. study was conducted by Steve Altes, while he was a research assistant to Kosta Tsipis, director of M.I.T.'s Program in Science and Technology for International Security."
