I had to be the luckiest 7-year-old kid in Brooklyn. My dad ran a candy store called Bob-Bons on New Utrecht Avenue. After school and on Saturday afternoons I would spend hours there when I probably should have been doing homework. There were cool army soldier toys to play with, candy bars I could wash down with an Egg Cream or chocolate malted. But more than anything, there were the comic books. Adventure, Marvel, Archie, D.C. and others. I would sit at the counter and read about the exploits of Superman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Wonder Woman (my first crush), Batman, Iron Man and Captain America. I laughed at Jughead and yearned for Betty and Veronica (who I think grew up to be a Kardashian). I discovered reading in that store, which gave way to libraries later in life. Short stories and novels became my friends on rainy days, but make no mistake, it was comic books that jump-started my imagination. Now if only I had kept those comics (10 cents at the time), I’d have more money than Ron Paul’s War Chest.
Thankfully, there are comic book stores around today that specialize in rare and original issue classics as well as the most modern graphic novels of the day. One such store is in Red Bank and it happens to be owned by Kevin Smith, the writer and director of films like “Clerks,” “Dogma” and “Chasing Amy.” He doesn’t get to spend too much time there anymore (and even less on Southwest Airlines – you have to Google that story if you want to know more) but he has left the operation to some of his most trusted and loyal friends. The name of the store is actually Jay and Bob’s Secret Stash, tied into his favorite early film characters, and it’s about the comic books, memorabilia from his movies and classic rock and roll items like Kiss dolls and posters from the day-glo era of the 60’s and 70’s. Oh, and one more thing…it’s about to become a national water-cooler conversation piece thanks to the TV network that brought you “Mad Men.” On February 12th AMC will debut “Comic Book Men,” a new reality series that joins the long list of other reality shows taking place in New Jersey. To quote the makers of the show, “It’s normal Jersey dudes and their comics, not “Housewives”, not “The Shore,” not “Couture.” The premise of the show is similar to The History Channel’s “Pawn Shop,” where people would bring in articles and try to get big bucks in return. The real stars of the show are not the shop’s proprietors but the many real eccentric characters that bring in items like the homoerotic Superman poster owned by a gentleman from Queens (make up your own joke here) and some of Betty White’s favorite dolls from the 1890’s (when she was a kid).
Do we need another reality series about New Jersey? Probably not. But do we need a reality series about something that’s actually cool? Oh yeah. Tune in and eNJoy the ride.
AMC Network
Debuts February 12
Check local listings for time.