Laughs not written into the plot of 'Comic Book Men'
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The cast of "Comic Book Men," with Kevin Smith, center.
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"Comic Book Men" (10 p.m. Sunday, AMC), set inside film director Kevin Smith's New Jersey comics and collectibles store, struggles to find a raison d'etre in its premiere episode.
Unlike so many of the dirty job shows on TV ("Deadliest Catch," "Bering Sea Gold," etc.), this docu-series does not feature guys at work in a dangerous setting. Heck, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash looks pretty neat compared to some dungy comics shops out there.
As for a plot, there's not much of one in Sunday's premiere. The show's title characters -- store manager Walt, unofficial employee Bryan, walking comic book encyclopedia Mike and website guru Ming -- just stand around the shop, mock one another and hope a customer comes through the door with an old toy or comic book to sell.
"Do people ever come in here to buy anything?" says Bryan, asking a question some viewers might have, too.
The show uses a podcast recording session as its spine, returning to the podcast repeatedly. These are the only scenes in the premiere featuring Mr. Smith. Fans of chatter about comic books -- which iteration of Catwoman is hottest? -- may find the podcast part of the show entertaining, but if that's the case, why not just listen to the podcast? Video adds little to any enjoyment one gets from fanboy conversation.
Sunday's "Comic Book Men" premiere seems like it's desperate to come up with enough footage to fill an hour, resulting in a seemingly staged sell-off of store clearance merchandise among Bryan, Mike and Ming at a flea market. Bryan bullies Ming, who comes across as desperate, sort of like "Comic Book Men" itself, which doesn't know what it wants to be.
The show is most entertaining when oddball customers show up with collectibles in tow, including original art by comics legend Bob "Batman" Kane, a "Six Million Dollar Man" action figure and a Chucky doll. For fans of toy and comic collectibles, these scenes offer some sense of being in this kind of shop -- like a visit to Groovy on Pittsburgh's South Side. But that's not enough to hang an otherwise dull TV series on.
First Published February 10, 2012 12:00 am
