''Comic Book Men'' is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1 ...

series which aired on the AMC network from 2012 to 2018. It is set at

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film '' Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, ...

's comic book shop,

Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash (sometimes shortened to simply The StashMcLauchlin, Jim (June 1999). "Comic 'Clerks'", '' Wizard'' #94. pp. 30 - 33) is a comic book store owned by filmmaker Kevin Smith, and named after the fictional duo portray ...

, in

Red Bank, New Jersey Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York Metropolitan ...

Production history

Filmmaker Kevin Smith was drawn to television through his love of

podcasting A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

, through which he says he realized his true calling: telling stories with words rather than pictures.Cast members: Kevin Smith
AMC. Retrieved July 1, 2012. His website,

SModcast.com SModcast Podcast Network is a podcast network owned by Kevin Smith. The network was started in January 2010 to host the podcast ''SModcast'' alongside the popular ''Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!'' and ''Highlands: A Peephole History''. Current podcasts ...

, features a number of podcasts, including ''I Sell Comics!'', hosted by Mike Zapcic and Ming Chen, and ''

Tell 'Em Steve-Dave! ''Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!'', or simply ''TESD'', is an American comedy podcast, featured previously on the SModcast Podcast Network. It is hosted by View Askew Productions regulars and close friends of Kevin Smith: Bryan Johnson and Walt Flanagan ...

'', co-hosted by Walt Flanagan and Bryan Johnson. The latter was the inspiration for ''Comic Book Men''. Brian Quinn, the third co-host of ''Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!'', was unable to be featured in the series due to the conditions of his contract for the

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that ...

series ''

Impractical Jokers ''Impractical Jokers'' is an American hidden camera reality show with improvisational elements. Produced by NorthSouth Productions, ''Impractical Jokers'' premiered on truTV on December 15, 2011 starring the members of The Tenderloins: James ...

''.

NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to a report in ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore r ...

reported in July 2011 that AMC was interested in the TV show that was being developed by Smith, which was set at Smith's store, and described as "''

Pawn Stars ''Pawn Stars'' is an American reality television series shown on History and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, a 24 ...

'' for geeks". The series would be part of AMC network's active entry into

. AMC decided to pick up the show to follow ''The Walking Dead''. The working title was ''Secret Stash'', before it was finalized as ''Comic Book Men''. The first season ran for six one-hour episodes,Seidman, Robert (January 14, 2012)
"AMC's New Unscripted Series, 'Comic Book Men' Debuts February 12 at 10pm"
TV by the Numbers. the premiere of which aired on February 12, 2012, following the return of '' The Walking Dead''s second season. On May 9, AMC announced that ''Comic Book Men'' was renewed for a second season of 16 half-hour episodes. Season 2 premiered October 14, 2012, initially following the third season of ''The Walking Dead'' with its first 8 episodes; the second 8 episodes spearheaded AMC's new "Real Original Thursdays" lineup along with two new series, '' Freakshow'' and '' Immortalized''. On its new night, it initially aired at 9:00 PM EST (with repeats at 10:30PM and 12:00 Midnight EST), but after a month was moved to 10:00PM EST with a repeat episode airing at 10:30 PM (and repeats of both episodes at 1:00AM and 1:30AM EST, respectively)Neuman, Clayton (May 9, 2012)
"AMC Renews ''Comic Book Men'' and ''Talking Dead''"
. AMC. Retrieved June 9, 2012.Abbey, Cory (July 13, 2012)
"''The Walking Dead'' Premieres Oct. 14; ''Talking Dead'' and ''Comic Book Men'' to Follow"
. AMC. Retrieved August 9, 2012. AMC commissioned a third season in April 2013. Season 3 premiered October 13, 2013, following the third season of '' Talking Dead''.Comic Book Men Season 3 To Premiere After The Walking Dead On October 13
/ref> A fourth season was commissioned in March 2014. It was also announced that guest cast member Robert Bruce would be the focus of a companion series that will follow him as he searches for collectibles at sales, auctions and flea markets across the country. AMC announced in October 2014 they were cancelling all unscripted shows except for ''Comic Book Men'' and ''Talking Dead'' and, as a result, Bruce's show did not progress past the pilot stage. Season five was confirmed on June 7, 2015, premiered on October 18, 2015, and ran through 2016. In May 2016, Smith confirmed that the series was renewed for a sixth season. It began on October 23, 2016. A seventh season was confirmed in May 2017 by Kevin Smith. On June 24, 2018, Kevin Smith confirmed the show was cancelled.

Cast

– The owner of the store, and a filmmaker and author whose films include ''

Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and adminis ...

'', ''

Chasing Amy ''Chasing Amy'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee. The film is about a male comic artist (Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian woman ...

'' and ''

Red State Starting with the 2000 United States presidential election, the terms "red state" and "blue state" have referred to U.S. states whose voters vote predominantly for one party — the Republican Party in red states and the Democratic Party in b ...

'', and whose books include '' My Boring-Ass Life''. Smith has been a comic book fan since he was a child, and has gone on to write such comic book series as ''

Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superhero ...

'', ''

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in '' More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His real name is Oliver Jonas Quee ...

'', and '' Batman: Cacophony''. * Walt Flanagan – Smith's friend since high school, and the manager of Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash since 1997. Flanagan has also appeared in small roles in Smith's films, and is a

comic book artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

himself, having illustrated Smith's miniseries ''Batman: Cacophony'' and '' Batman: The Widening Gyre''. He co-hosts the podcast ''Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!'' with Bryan Johnson and Brian Quinn. Kevin Smith helped him propose to his wife Debbie, referenced in the episode "Stash-teroids." *

Mike Zapcic Michael Zapcic, often referred to as Mike Zapcic or Chief, is a podcaster and cast member of the AMC reality TV show ''Comic Book Men'' with Kevin Smith. Early life Inspired by Dr. Seuss books at age three, Zapcic later became interested in co ...

– Zapcic is described as having an "encyclopedic knowledge of every issue of every comic known to man", which he utilizes at Secret Stash, where he began working in 2000. He co-hosts the podcast ''I Sell Comics!'' with Ming Chen, and lives in

Long Branch, New Jersey Long Branch is a beachside city in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 30,719,Bryan Johnson – A longtime friend of Smith's, who, while not officially an employee at Secret Stash, can often be found behind the front counter. Like Flanagan, he has appeared in a number of Smith's films. In 2000, he wrote, directed, and starred in the movie '' Vulgar'', which was based on the clown cartoon featured in the intro of Smith's film, ''Clerks'', and which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. He has also written comic books, including ''

Karney Karney is an Irish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrew Karney, British electrical engineer, businessman and company director * Arthur Karney (1864—1963), British bishop * Benjamin Karney (born 1986), American professor ...

'' and ''War of the Undead'', both of which were illustrated by Walt Flanagan. He co-hosts the podcast ''

'' with Walt Flanagan and Brian Quinn. *

Ming Chen Cliff Ming-Si Chen, better known as Ming Chen, is an actor, podcaster, reality television personality, and webmaster associated with Kevin Smith. He co-hosts the ''I Sell Comics!'' and ''Ming & Mike Show'' podcasts with Mike Zapcic and also star ...

– Chen first met Smith through the

fansite A fansite, fan site, fan blog or fan page is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee about a celebrity, thing, or particular cultural phenomenon. Fansites may offer specialized information on the subject (e.g., episode listings, bi ...

he created in dedication to Smith in 1995, which led to Chen being hired to create the

View Askew Productions View Askew Productions is an American film and television production company founded by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier in 1994. Actors Ben Affleck, Jeff Anderson, Matt Damon, Chris Rock, Walter Flanagan, Bryan Johnson, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, B ...

website. Today he continues to work on all of Smith's online properties, and is the technical expert at the Stash. He co-hosts the podcast ''I Sell Comics!'' with Mike Zapcic, and in his free time he does website work for two non-profit organizations: Street Poets Inc. and the Kenny Gordon Foundation.

Episodes

Companion podcast

''Comic Book Men'' is a companion television show to Award Winning

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

, titled ''Tell 'em Steve Dave'' and the lesser known 'I Sell Comics'', which is hosted on the

SModcast ''SModcast'' is a podcast featuring filmmaker Kevin Smith. The show was initially co-hosted with Smith's long-time producing partner Scott Mosier, although over the years, Mosier's appearances have been sporadic with a series of guest hosts tak ...

network. During the first season of ''I Sell Comics'', some podcast episodes were pre-recorded during the filming of the show, while others were recorded live on the SModco Internet Radio station (S.I.R.) directly following the first airing of an episode, allowing the audience to participate by calling in to the show. For the show's second season, the episodes were all recorded in the Secret Stash and hosted by Ming Chen, occasionally joined by some of the others from the show including Walt, Bryan, Mike, and frequent series contributor (and "pop culturalist") Rob Bruce.

Reception

As of December 2012, Metacritic scores the first season 55 out of 100 based on 7 professional TV critics. Ellen Gray of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...

'' remarked, "''Comic Book Men'' may not be as complicated as ''

Rubicon The Rubicon ( la, Rubico; it, Rubicone ; rgn, Rubicôn ) is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, just north of Rimini. It was known as Fiumicino until 1933, when it was identified with the ancient river Rubicon, famously crossed by Julius Ca ...

'', but it's smarter than it looks at first." Mike Hale of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' opined that the series is an authentic portrayal of post-collegiate American life, and concluded, "It’s diverting, a little sad, a little boring, full of geeky macho posturing and ultimately pointless, much like a Wednesday afternoon in a comic-book shop."

David Wiegand Robert David Wiegand (May 19, 1947 – April 30, 2018) was an American journalist and short-story writer, head of arts and entertainment for the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. Life and career Wiegand was born in Rochester, New York, where he gradua ...

of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...

'' called the show an "amusing geekfest".

References

External links

* *
''The Secret Stash'' podcast official site at SModcast.com
{{Kevin Smith 2012 American television series debuts 2018 American television series endings 2010s American reality television series Works by Kevin Smith AMC (TV channel) original programming Television shows set in New Jersey Red Bank, New Jersey English-language television shows Television series by SModcast Pictures Television shows about comics