Comic Book Men

Following the Walking Dead on AMC, we now have Comic Book Men, a show featuring the Secret Stash, a comic book store owned by Kevin Smith.  The show follows the employees around, with round-table discussion between the employees and Kevin Smith interspersed throughout.  I've watched the first two episodes and have a few observations.  We're about to employ the compliment sandwich again!

Let's start out with a slice of happy bread.  The show is attempting to keep the Walking Dead crowd tuned into AMC to watch Comic Book Men.  Obviously, there is a bit of a built in audience because a decent chunk of the audience watching the Walking Dead read it as a graphic novel or follow nerd culture.  These watchers may naturally gravitate to a show about a comic book shop.  In an attempt to pull in others that are not so familiar with comics, the creators of Comic Book Men attempt to make it accessible to the average viewer.  When customers bring in items to sell, a screen pops up talking about the item.  The show makes an effort to provide the needed information to understand what's going on.

When you attempt to educate the uninitiated during the show, it takes those in the know out of the show.  During one of their conversations, they discuss which super powers they would like to have.  Kevin Smith, while talking to the employees of his comic book store, explains what Wolverine's healing power is and what it does.  Now, all the people sitting at that table would know about Wolverine's healing power.  I imagine a lot of people watching the show would know as well.  The excess dialogue is purely for people like your mom, who would turn to you and ask about it anyway.

By explaining basic comic book information, the show makes itself look scripted.  When you consider the customers that are coming into the shop, one begins to wonder if they're genuine patrons or people known to the owner and employees that come in to try and make the show more interesting.  The haggling is almost non-existent, and you rarely, if ever, seen people just milling about the shop.  From watching the show, I do not feel like I can walk into that shop and browse comics.  It does not feel real.

Further enforcing the unrealistic feel of this weeks episode, the hockey game they played served no real purpose.  As Kevin Smith doesn't actually appear in the shop, scenes done with him outside the shop seem unimportant.  At least the discussion scenes set up some form of structure; the hockey games only real effect was to get them to talk about Clerks and prove that nerds are out of shape.  I understand wanting to do things that evoke Smith's successful ventures into film, but if it doesn't help the show he is currently filming, it has no place in it.

When I reviewed Top Chef many weeks ago, I specifically mentioned how I dislike having to watch the judges make small talk.  The small talk inevitably led to bad jokes, which led to a lot of forced laughter.  It's just painful to watch Kevin Smith crack a joke when his employees have to laugh at it.  Don't get me wrong; Kevin Smith can be a very funny man.  I absolutely loved An Evening With Kevin Smith, and Dogma is amazing.  That doesn't mean it will all be gold.  The jokes he is making aren't unfunny, but the reaction he pulls from his employees is unrealistic.

Speaking of his employees, let's talk about Ming.  He seems like a very nice guy, and they are all very mean to him.  I'm sure it is all in good fun, but because of the way the show is edited together, it just seems mean.  We've all been in groups where one person tends to be the target.  Sometimes, you are the target; sometimes, you are lobbing abuse with everyone else.  While that may happen frequently, that doesn't make it right.  Stop picking on Ming!

At the same time, all these problems will probably abate on their own as the show finds itself.  I absolutely love their child-like reactions to random items and objects.  You could tell they were really excited to see the Batmobile.  Their genuine reactions to some of the items brought in just highlight how fake some of the show can be.  When the show is allowed to focus on the more realistic aspects, it will become much better.

Unfortunately for Comic Book Men, it is airing on AMC.  Why is this bad, you wonder?  AMC is known for crafting excellent dramas.  While Comic Book Men isn't a drama, the audience they are trying to hook with it has grown accustomed to shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and the Walking Dead.  As a matter of fact, the best part of tonight's Comic Book Men episode was during the commercials, when they showed a scene from next week's Walking Dead episode.

Comic Book Men isn't a terrible show, but it doesn't know what it wants to be.  When the show-runners trim some of the fat and make the show more realistic, they may very well have a great show on their hands. Until then, AMC would be better off re-running the Clerks cartoon series to keep viewers tuned in after the Walking Dead.  Kevin Smith is a talented man, but he is capable of much more than what Comic Book Men is currently serving up.  I will probably give it one more episode before giving up, but my continued viewership is in question.