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Comic Book Men

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Comic Book Men
File:Comic Book Men logo.jpg
GenreComedy, Reality, Unscripted
Developed byKevin Smith
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producersKevin Smith
Elyse Seiden
Charlie Corwin
Camera setupsingle camera
Running time60 minutes (including commercials)
Production companySModcast Pictures
Original release
NetworkAMC
ReleaseFebruary 12, 2012 (2012-02-12) –
present

Comic Book Men is an American reality television series airing on the AMC network that is set at Kevin Smith's comic book shop Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in Red Bank, New Jersey. The first season ran for six one-hour episodes,[1] the premiere of which aired on February 12, 2012, following the return of The Walking Dead's second season.[2] On May 9, AMC announced that Comic Book Men was renewed for a second season of 16 half-hour episodes.[3] It was later confirmed that the new episodes will air from October 14, 2012, following the third season of The Walking Dead.[4]

Each episode of Comic Book Men is accompanied by a companion podcast, titled The Secret Stash, which is hosted on the SModcast network. Some podcast episodes were pre-recorded during the filming of show, while others were recorded live on the SModcast 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.[5]

Production history

Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash on July 9, 2012; Day 1 of filming for Season 2. Tinted plexiglass panels have been fitted over the door and windows to block out sunlight during filming. The chair is provided for the customers waiting to be filmed.

Filmmaker Kevin Smith was drawn to television through his love of podcasting, with which he realized his true calling of telling stories with words rather than pictures.[6] His website, SModcast.com, features a number of podcasts, including I Sell Comics!, hosted by Mike Zapcic and Ming Chen,[7] and Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!, co-hosted by Walt Flanagan and Bryan Johnson,[8] the latter of which was the inspiration for Comic Book Men.[6] 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 series Impractical Jokers.[9]

NJ.com 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 for geeks". The series would be part of AMC network's active entry into reality television.[10] AMC decided to pick up the show to follow The Walking Dead. The working title was Secret Stash,[11] before it was finalized as Comic Book Men.

The show premiered on February 12, 2012 for a run of 6 hour-long episodes.[12][13] A second season of 16 half-hour episodes is set to premiere on October 14, 1012.[3][4]

Cast

  • Kevin Smith – The owner of the store, and a filmmaker and author whose films include Clerks, Chasing Amy and Red State, 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, Green Arrow, and Batman: Cacophony.[6]
    Kevin Smith is the creator and co-executive producer of Comic Book Men, and owner of Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash.
  • 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 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.[14]
  • Mike Zapcic – 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 with his wife, Julia and their sons, Mitch and Daniel.[15]
  • 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 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 Interntational Film Festival. He has also written comic books, including Karney and War of the Undead, both of which were illustrated by Walt Flanagan. He co-hosts the podcast Tell 'Em Steve-Dave! with Walt Flanagan and Brian Quinn.[16]
  • Ming Chen – Chen first met Smith through the fansite he created in 1995, which was dedicated to the filmmaker. This caught Smith's attention, and led to Chen being hired to create the the View Askew Productions website, and 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 pro bono website work for two non-profit organizations, Street Poets Inc. and The Kenny Gordon Foundation. He has a wife, Debbie, and two children, Lillian and Harrison.[17]

Episodes

Main article: List of Comic Book Men episodes

See also

References

  1. ^ Seidman, Robert (January 14, 2012). "AMC's New Unscripted Series, 'Comic Book Men' Debuts February 12 at 10pm". TV by the Numbers.
  2. ^ Morabito, Andrea (September 1, 2011). "AMC Greenlights Two Unscripted Series". Multichannel News.
  3. ^ a b Neuman, Clayton (May 9, 2012). "AMC Renews Comic Book Men and Talking Dead". AMC. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Abbey, Cory (July 13, 2012). "The Walking Dead Premieres Oct. 14; Talking Dead and Comic Book Men to Follow". AMC. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  5. ^ The Secret Stash. SModcast. March 25, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Cast members: Kevin Smith. AMC. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  7. ^ I Sell Comics! SModcast. August 12, 2012.
  8. ^ Tell 'Em Steve-Dave! SModcast. August 12, 2012.
  9. ^ "SMecret Origins #2 – Brian Quinn of Tell 'Em Steve-Dave, & Impractical Jokers.". Comic Book Men. February 27, 2012.
  10. ^ Venutolo, Anthony (July 7, 2011). "Kevin Smith reality show may land at AMC". NJ.com
  11. ^ Smith, Kevin. "Draper. Meth. Zombies. Tell ‘Em, Steve-Dave. YAY, AMC!" Silent Bob Speaks. September 1, 2011.
  12. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (February 3, 2012). "Cameras Invade a Paradise for Fanboys". The New York Times.
  13. ^ White, Tom (January 5, 2012). "Kevin Smith Reality Show Comic Book Men Coming to AMC". WhatCulture!
  14. ^ "Cast members: Walt Flanagan". AMC. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  15. ^ "Cast members: Mike Zapcic". AMC. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  16. ^ "Cast members: Bryan Johnson". AMC. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  17. ^ "Cast members: Ming Chen". AMC. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
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