“I hate Kevin Smith.”
I remember saying that to anyone who would give me at least five minutes to explain why. I’d go on about how any messages and subtext contained in his small number of films from the View Askewniverse was a pretentious attempt at intellectual conversation and humor and an ultimate waste of time. Especially in regards to Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. Rumor had it he’d spoken out against Tim Burton – one of my artistic heroes – over the nature and origins of the twist ending to his Planet of The Apes reboot, one of my favorite films. “That d**k!”
Cut to: Me – five years later – loving Clerks II and admitting to myself his films have a place among the myriad titles on my DVD/Blu-Ray shelf after catching so many late night airings. I had ignored his writing skills and contributions to some of my favorite comic book characters while respecting it in secret.
Before I could solidify my respect for Smith however, while still secretly chuckling at the “WHO DRIVING CAR? BEAR DRIVING CAR! HOW CAN THAT BE!?” scene from Clerks: The Animated Series, the unthinkably ridiculous happened: he was removed from a Southwest Airlines plane, allegedly over concerns he was too obese to fly safely, being told he was a “safety concern”. Then, before I could recuperate from that, Cop Out was released. And after the backlash of both Bruce Willis’ comments on Smith’s marijuana ‘addiction’ and the unbelievably bad reviews, I genuinely disliked it. So now Smith was “a fat, balding sellout who made three ‘alright’ movies”. I had all but forgotten about Smith until he appeared on an episode of G4′s Attack of the Show to promote his SModcast. It was in watching this interview that I began to remember why I had what little respect I did for him, and by the end of the interview… I had more.
After the Southwest incident, Smith seemingly reinvented himself, shunning the Hollywood machine and loosing the weight that had caused his humiliation. Instead of striving to maintain momentum as a writer/director, he would effortlessly maintain momentum as Kevin Smith.
Scene: Interior – fade in to: Caroline’s on Broadway, ‘Comic Book Men’ Q&A, Yesterday afternoon
Enter: AMC Executive Producer/Original Media CEO Charlie Corwin, discussing AMC’s choice to bring the realism back to “reality television”. AMC has quickly become known for shunning derivatives and focusing on ‘original media’, which is ever apparent through their string of hugely successful series like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Walking Dead and the sorely-missed RUBICON. Things are going no different with Corwin’s latest reality endeavor, Comic Book Men.
Enter: Comic Book Men Executive Producer Kevin Smith, adorned in what has become his uniform – a custom hockey jersey, huge khaki shorts and low sneakers. He had worn a Silent Bob-esque trench coat upon arrival, now he wore a Cheshire grin. He was brimming with excitement over his latest collaboration with Corwin, this new-fangled nerdery, but more specifically he was surprised at the complimentary comic establishing the cast of (very real) characters from the upcoming show, which all attending press were given. Its art homages the Golden Age while blatantly advertising the show. But that’s what’s great about this little bit of memorabilia. Indeed, it is that sort of attention to detail that has made AMC a force to be reckoned with, and a production house Smith was more than happy to work with when they (read: Corwin) approached him for a fresh new broadcasting idea.
“I smoked before I got here!”, Smith said. Certainly, he wasn’t talking about cigarettes. He’d stopped smoking them in 2008, after working with Seth Rogen and experiencing his creative process on the set of Zak & Miri. It was that marijuana Bruce Willis disliked so much, or rather his frequent use of it. But who cares? “No junk, no soul“, right? Right.
This was my first real taste of Smith beyond what I had assumed and read about years before. This was that guy I watched on Attack of the Show, the one I respected, even if only just. He was excited his closest friends were going to be on television in the most honest way possible, and was happily introducing them to us.
Enter, Comic Book Men cast:
Michael Zapcic – Assistant Manager
Bryan Johnson – Career Slacker
Walt Flanagan – Store Manager
Ming Chen – Website Producer (& store’s go-to whipping boy)
That store they work in – the location and setting of Comic Book Men – is Smith’s own Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, located in Red Bank, NJ. The View Askew Productions haven, and nerd Mecca for so many comic and Smith fans. When asked if the audience will actually see him step into the shop on the show, he admitted honestly, “Whenever I’m in New Jersey, I go to Red Bank, to ‘The Stash’. It’s the only place I can smoke weed and not get busted.” So that’s a ‘Yes’.
“[The show] is a good snapshot of New Jersey.”, he said, “If you can get paid for doing what you love, BOOM! You’ve cracked the code.” And that’s just what they’re doing. The show is organized in advance, as it still has to make for good television, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be wildly authentic and speak up to it’s audience about the lives of, well, comic book men. There are no actors or overtly staged events or set-ups on the show despite what many have said. However, clientele was organized so that reels of film weren’t wasted while waiting for something to happen. Even so, the cast mates are at the height of normalcy throughout. That’s not to say they weren’t prepared; they’d SModcasted with Smith many times before. Their involvement in the ever-growing podcast universe not only prepared them for the reality show, but also allowed for the implementation of a show-exclusive podcast that’s used as a framing device for each episode. It’s a Kevin Smithian bit of brilliance that plays on the typical reality television episode edit. “The show’s as multi- faceted as a f**kin’ Tiffany diamond.”, quipped Smith. “It’s Clerks meets Mallrats, the reality series.”
The cameras were certainly there, but easily forgotten. Indeed, most of these guys could’ve cared less about filming their day-to-day in the store, if they didn’t already disagree with it entirely. These are not men easily swayed or intimidated by the spotlight. And while the fact that whatever is observed changes by observing it still applies, the professional undercurrent of everyone involved – both in front of and behind the camera – means it doesn’t change much. So much so that there was no excitement for a second season of the show. Even Smith himself said he’d be happy if they just have a solid single season, if only just to say something was said. These men – Smith included – were at peace with themselves, merely along for the ride with Smith behind the wheel. When I asked about his hopes for the show and its demographic (which include all walks of nerd life, from comic book enthusiasts to role-players and TCGers), Walt said that he’s not exactly concerned about the target audience or how/if the show speaks to them. It is what it is, and he was more concerned about his wife and two daughters than anything else. He shared Smith’s sentiment of a “solid season”.
That being said, there may be something missing from this intricate jewel – comic book women. Admittedly, comic shops are over-populated with men, so in keeping with the commonality, AMC cut scenes featuring Zoë Gulliksen that were (somewhat forcibly) conceived to appease the wanting percentage of the gender. Smith had warmed up to her quickly, but it appears that in learning and understanding the dynamics of grounding the premise in as much reality as possible, she was unfortunately shelved. Smith did, however, muse about the idea of a Comic Book Women season. Here’s hoping it happens. Especially because the stereotype of the nerd/geek shut-in male virgin is all but extinct, and women are becoming more and more prevalent and powerful within both the industry and its surrounding media.
The Q&A was interspersed with musings on Smith’s film origins and inspirations, to discussions on his favorite comics, which interestingly include Hot Stuff, Sad Sack, and The Dark Knight Returns much later. But with comic books being the big talking point, the show discussion was brought back to the forefront. ”AMC can do no wrong.”, Smith reasoned. I would beg to differ considering RUBICON‘s cancellation, but factoring in the quality and resulting popularity of Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead, he’s on the money. “I don’t know whose d**k I sucked, but it worked.”
Respect, Mr. Smith. Much respect.
The six-part series Comic Book Men is scheduled to air on Sunday, February 12, 2012, following the premiere of The Walking Dead’s second season on AMC, 10/9c.
End scene.
(Editor’s Note: You can hear Kevin Smith talk a little bit behind the scenes about Comic Book Men in a special edition podcast.)
Tags: AMC, Comic Book Men, Kevin Smith, Podcast, Secret Stash, SModcast
About the Author
Written by The Ronyn
Artist, Illustrator, Writer, Creative Thinker. Broken Heart, Old Soul. Has 9 lives, lives them simultaneously. And it's still not enough lives to read all the comic books I want to. Shame really.
Awesome write-up! I’m even more interested in the show now. I’m still torn on the whole lack of women argument.
I’ve been a Kevin Smith fan since the original Clerks, but even I have to admit that my interest in him has waned in recent years. Still, he’s managed to live the fanboy dream, and I can respect him for that. Here’s hoping Comic Book Men reinvigorates my love for his work!
I share your sentiments. I loved Clerks 2 and was surprised that he did Red State, but was otherwise pretty neutral where he was concerned.
Great article! I’ll check out the first episode for sure.
As for the lack of women…well I suppose you can’t force girls into a comic books store, but you’d think they’d be at least a few there anyway.
Very nice article! Keep up the good work!
I am happy to see Smith involved in comic books. Any way possible. He is such a great resource and we comic book fans should greedily keep him for ourselves and our entertainment.
‘Comic Book Women’? Bring it
I’d certainly be interested in seeing that.