About Comic News Insider

Comic News Insider is your podcast for everything comic book, animation, sci-fi and pop culture! With News, reviews and interviews that entertain and excite! Joe Gonzalez approached long time friend, former roommate and comic cohort Jimmy Aquino back in March 2005 about doing a podcast dealing with the comic book medium. Unfortunately, Jimmy had to decline due to his sketch comedy writing/performing but promised to participate once things began. Joe found another friend to help start things up. Comic News Insider was born with Episode 1 on April 13, 2005. Within a few episodes, Jimmy started appearing as a "roving reporter". By the end of 2005, they had 20 episodes in the can. Joe again approached Jimmy to co-host full time. The 2 of them sat down and mapped out a plan. A weekly formatted show covering the news of the industry with reviews and interviews from all sorts of luminaries from the comic book and entertainment field. Since 2006, they have not missed a week and have delivered on that mandate. CNI continues to bring the fun and the funny! Join us every week to laugh, learn and maybe even love!

Over the past few years, aside from the regular weekly show and convention specials, Jimmy started doing TV/film special review shows and massive amounts of interviews bringing you anywhere from 2-4 episodes a week for your nerdy pleasure!

Jimmy Aquino is the Asian one. The so called "talent". The one ring to rule them all! And clearly, he's the one writing this bio. It's been said by his ex-girlfriend, "No one loves the sound of his own voice more than you!" And thus, a podcasting legend was born. In his spare time away from CNI, Jimmy tends bar in NYC, is Stated Magazine's Pop Culture Contributing Editor, drops names, listens to way too much KPop, watches almost every TV show/film available and loves Japanese whisky. At the beginning of the lockdown in April 2020, Jimmy and Heidi MacDonald of The Beat started a weekly zoom/YouTube podcast (cleverly named Comic Beat Insider) covering films, TV, comics and whatever we want to talk about. In July 2021, they got busier and went on hiatus w/ it but plan on coming back with the occasional special. Stay tuned! CNI is recorded out of his tiny NYC crib or sometimes even at a bar! Twitter, Instagram, BlueSky, Tumblr him.

Joe Gonzalez is the mastermind. The tech guy. The producer. CNI sprang from his fertile brain like a fertile brain baby. Normally a behind the scenes kind of guy, Joe took to the mic like a crack head to his pipe. Often finding that he has to keep the show on track due to his co-host's rambling. He has a real full time grown up job that, so he travels often to recharge. CNI used to be recorded live from his dope pad in Harlem until he moved out of the city.

*Joe left as regular co-host of the show in 2011 but continues on as producer. His spirit is still there and he will still appear on the podcast several times a year. Please check out Joe saving the world with his non-profit endeavor The Project Solution. 

Co-hosts/Correspondents/Reviewers

*Since the pandemic, we rarely have any in-person co-hosts any more. Combine that with busy schedules and it just works better to have audio reviews sent in from friends. Below is a list of a lot of friends whom regularly helped out over the years (and still do with audio reviews). Many that did the occasional co-hosting job or sent in reviews on occasion aren't listed but we are ever so grateful to them as well. 

• Jon Hoche probably reads more comic books than any of us combined. Also a working actor including KING KONG on Broadway, he brings his awesomeness to the podcast whenever he can and contributes news, reviews and interviews year round. He has been a regular co-host for many years now and is an invaluable part of the CNI team. He has a firm grip on that rotating co-host chair and commands it with poise, humor and expertise! 
• Emily Edwards is the official CNI newsreader and choreographer! Okay, we don't really use her for her awesome dance skills that much, but she has co-hosted, ran the CNI booth at conventions, reported for the podcast and contributed news and reviews over the years. Also a frequent co-host over the past few years, Emily always brings her unique and funny views on the nerdy points of discussion. Starting in early 2020, she has been the main newsreader for the regular weekly format show.
• Melissa Bleier first came to CNI as a favor to good friend Jimmy. She assisted with some of the roundtables he was covering at San Diego Comic-Con 2010. She has continued to help cover for SDCC  when called upon. Her sci-fi fandom is large and in charge and she brings great nerdy knowledge with her questioning. She has become a regular weekly reviewer for quite some time now and always has smart, detailed and entertaining thoughts to share.
• Marta Balusek has become a regular reviewer for CNI. Jimmy met her at SDCC 2017 and immediately recruited her. She is an awesome cosplayer, sci-fi nerd and teacher who schools us with her reviews.
• Ricardo Alejandro Serrano Denis is a staff writer at The Beat, teacher and fellow podcaster. After joining Jimmy and Heidi on Comic Beat Insider a few times, he got recruited to do weekly reviews for Comic News Insider shortly after. His insightful and intelligent reviews are always a highlight.
• Heidi MacDonald is the EIC of The Beat. A real comics journalist with one of the most popular comics news sites around. She's a good pal and comes on to co-host the podcast at the anniversary episodes and "Best of" yearly roundup. She and Jimmy also started the new weekly Zoom/YouTube podcast COMIC BEAT INSIDER (on hiatus).
• Therese Lacson is the Features Editor at Collider. She covers all the big fancy film and TV red carpets, press junkets, etc. She graciously takes the time to do some audio reviews for CNI when her busy schedule allows. 
• Ashley Lanni is a hometown pal of Jimmy's so he recruited her to co-host and review! She's an amazing artist/cartoonist and used to manage one of the local comic shops. She co-hosts the podcast whenever Jimmy visits home and has become a regular reviewer each week. Always great to have an actual visual storyteller on to give a unique perspective of the comics medium. 
• Emmy Potter has brought her nerdy knowledge and Anglophilia to the podcast when called upon. She is also a fine writer and actress in her own right! She loves to chat Doctor Who all day whenever she is on and we have no problem with that. She has been a big part of the anniversary episodes doing some silly sketches, singing in the CNI chorus and reviewing some comics. 
• David Monteith is the co-host of the U.K. podcast Geek Syndicate and a close pal of Jimmy. Jimmy recruited him to occasionally help out with some reviews and Dave always comes through with the good nerdy stuff! 
• Barry Nugent is also the co-host of the U.K. podcast Geek Syndicate and good pals with Jimmy. Knowledgeable and nerdy and a great writer in his own right, he sends in some reviews upon request and always gives us the real deal.
• Steph Crawford is another reviewer. She was part of that cosplay posse that Jimmy met at SDCC back in 2017. She is a nerd encyclopedia and teacher.
• Edward and Evan Perona are the father/son reviewer duo. Ed is an old pal Jimmy grew up with and they occasionally send in some pretty professional reviews making us all look like amateurs. 

Past Co-hosts/Correspondents/Reviewers

• Blair Butler was a regular writer/producer for G4TV. Her on air talent was finally discovered and she became the resident comic book guru for G4TV. She was seen regularly on Attack of the Show in her segment "Fresh Ink". (Which, was also her weekly video podcast!) Blair was known to co-host AOTS, X-PLAY and more. She was a big fan of CNI and graciously came on the podcast many a time during her G4TV days. 
• Maria Bernal-Silva is a big ol' geek. She used to be one of the hosts of the now defunct Girls Gone Geek podcast. Acting as their resident Sci-Fi, comic book, and gaming expert. With no outlet for her nerdiness, Comic News Insider called and Maria answered. She did interviews at San Diego Comic-Con 2009 and reported on several panels. She's also a qualified and working filmmaker in her own right. She used those big Hollywood connections to land an interview with Rob Zombie himself at San Diego Comic-Con 2009. We're looking to bring back Maria in the very near future.
• Brea Grant is best known for playing "Daphne", the speedster, on Heroes. An accomplished actress, she's also been in Friday Night Lights, Dexter, Halloween 2, Max Payne and so much more. She also is a comic book writer and debuted her and brother Zane's zombie comic (We Will Bury You) in 2010. She has honed her writing/directing skills with several TV/film projects over the years as well including 12 Hour Shift, Pandora, Best Friends Forever, Lucky and Eastsiders to name a few. When San Diego Comic-Con came about, she was recruited to do interviews for CNI and rose to the occasion! Having been a guest on CNI several times, she honed her interviewing skills to perfection. She clearly got the podcast bug as she started a couple of her own called Mystic Party and Reading Glasses! Go check them out! 
• Grace Helbig is already a super famous interweb type person. She and Jimmy were both interviewed (separately) by Stated Magazine back in 2011 and he soon found her web show, Daily Grace. He watched and laughed repeatedly. She only had a measly 15,000 subscribers on YouTube then and now she's past 3 million (and it just keeps rising) on her new channel Grace Helbig. She co-hosted CNI several times when she lived in NYC and occasionally did reviews and interviews for us in her spare time when paid in alcohol. She's now a global phenom and we're so proud!
• Erica Schultz was dubbed "The Podcast Wife", as she was the go-to co-host for a couple of years bringing her intelligence, humor and loveliness to the show whenever she was on. She has written/published her very own kick ass comic called M3 and has been busy writing even more comics over the past few years. When her busy schedule allows, she occasionally does reviews for us. We'll always save a spot for her.
• Ted Carruba is Jimmy's old highschool/college best pal. Whenever he visits home, Ted will co-host the podcast. Jimmy and Ted bonded as kids over their love of comics (especially Batman), It's A Wonderful Life and theater. Ted is an avid toy collector/seller as well. Always great catching up with an old pal and nerding out!
• Mike Cho was our anime/manga expert for years and would occasionally co-host, review, cover the booth at NYCC and more. A great friend and supporter, big sci-fi nerd, photographer, music lover and more. We sadly lost him in November 2020 to cancer. He will always be a part of the CNI family.
• Keka Schermerhorn has become a regular NYCC correspondent since 2014 and often accompanies Jimmy to special NYCC events for double the coverage. Among her many professions/talents, she is a sports journalist and loves her sci-fi and superheroes too!
• Lorraine Cink co-hosted the podcast several times and knows her comics in and out! She is a busy woman working at Marvel both in front of and behind the camera. Not to mention writing books for them! 
• Jessica Spring Harmston joined as one of the official photographers back at NYCC 2012. She covered a few other CNI events but has gone on to work in TV. We wish her the best! 
• Faren Kilpatrick is another old hometown pal of Jimmy's. She comes to see him at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC every year to act as the official CNI photographer. She has had her own professional photography studio (FotosByFaren) for years and is a true artist behind the lens. 
• Kasha Minenko is one of the official CNI photographers. Years of photography experience and her own delving into the world of manga/anime brought her to CNI's attention. She has covered the big 400th episode live recording among other CNI events/interviews as well as co-hosted. 
• Carrie Tucker is a professional writer and came to the attention of the CNI nerd world with her acclaimed book I Love Geeks. Even quoting CNI host Jimmy in a few pages. With that, she co-hosted a few shows and offered commentary as well as reports/reviews on comics, conventions and overall geeky news. 

The CNI Chorus

Every anniversary episode, we record it live at a bar. Jimmy writes silly songs and recruits his amazing singing friends to harmonize with him. Thanks to all of my beautiful vocalizers over the years! In no particular order:

Erick Pinnick, Amy Wolk, Patrick Garrigan, Sally Garrigan, Emmy Potter, Kristen French, Dana Aber, Rachel Felstein, James Rodriguez, Tony Wolf, Liz Pepe, Nicki Schmidlein, Nic Rocklin, Kami Graves, Cheryl Orsini, Rachel Gavaletz and more that I'm sure I've forgotten over the years.