Every comic book fan has had two thoughts in their head at one point in their lives. The first is the dream of writing their own comic book and actually selling it to a publishing house like Marvel or DC. The other idea they’ve had is similar to one all men have. Instead of ‘we should open a bar’ it is ‘we should open a comic shop.’ I think AMC’s new show, Comic Book Men, is out to prove that like a bar, running a comic book shop is less fun than it sounds.
This reality show takes place at Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash in RedBank, NJ. The store is named after the two characters that made writer/director Kevin Smith famous with such films as Clerks, Mallrats, Dogma, and Chasing Amy. Smith’s friend Walt runs the store along with Ming and Mike. The other gentleman in the show is Bryan, but he is not there to shop or work; he’s just there. In the premiere episode the cast, along with Smith, is podcasting about comics and what has been going on at the store. Meanwhile there are clips of people who try to sell movie and comic related material to Walt and his merry men. This episode featured items like a Chuckie doll, a Dawn of the Dead poster, and a Thor poster by Jack Kirby, the man who first drew and designed a lot of Marvel’s classic characters. In between the selling Walt sends Ming, Mike, and Bryan to a New Jersey flea market on a sales competition. The winner gets two free weekends off of work. For me, if I’m not working, I’d be at the comic book store anyway.
Now, I am not a fan of reality TV at all. The only time I ever watched an episode of American Idol is when I was trying to get laid, I don’t think anyone will ever find Bigfoot no matter how many seasons you give them, and as hot as the Kardashian sisters are, that family is helping make America’s youth dumber. I gave this show a try because it is Kevin Smith and it’s about something I am passionate about; comics . I liked how Smith and co. narrated the situations and scenarios as they were taking place. It was almost like a nice commentary track on a dvd. These guys aren’t as good looking as some of the people you find on other shows, but I think they’ve got more sense than all seasons of The Real World put together. They’re jokesters, geeks, and pretty much just like me. More than anything I think I enjoyed listening to the podcast topics such as Favorite Horror Movie and Hottest Comic Book Babe.
I grew up watching Kevin Smith films and saw him speak live, twice. He helped shape my mind during those impressionable teen years and I still consider Mallrats one of my favorite comedies of all time. So I’ll give this show 3 out of 5 stars. If you’re not into comic books, or at least know a little bit about the culture, then I think you may want to switch over to E! to see what Ryan Seacrest and his plastic Barbies are up too. I’m going to add this show to my Tivo season pass list; if for no other reason to find out what the hell Bryan does for a living, and how can I do it so I get to hang out in a comic book store all the time.
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