Comic Book Men

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Izick

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Anyone else love this show? I really don't know why I like it so much, because I'm not really a big comic book fan (I've given it a shot but never could really get into them besides Walking Dead) and I don't really like Kevin Smith's stuff either, but this show is pretty great.

It's really scripted and fake at points, like Pawnstar, but it's still damn entertaining.
 
Love it. Being fake doesn't bother me so long as I'm entertained. I'd prefer more buy/sell and less of the "skit" type stuff, but I get why it is what it is.
 
Really fun show. Really cool to see the kinds of things they bring in (scripted or not). I mean that epic Jack Kirby Thor poster from last season made me drool.

I love their quirky little discussions.
 
If you like the show, check out the podcast they came from (Tell 'Em Steve Dave).
It rarely has to do with comics, buts it's a great show and they record in the store.
 
Wingwright said:
If you like the show, check out the podcast they came from (Tell 'Em Steve Dave).
It rarely has to do with comics, buts it's a great show and they record in the store.
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Oh, okay I figured that was like a real thing they did before the show. Will definitely check it out then. Is it about nerdy stuff, or just general discussion?
 
I enjoy it a lot, and actually none of it is scripted in the sense they write stuff down for anyone to say. They might repeat stuff or have multiple takes but according to the guys on the show they don't script it. On a hilarious episode of Smodcast a couple weeks ago (right after the commercial break half-way through) Bryan was talking to Kevin Smith about some of the behind the scenes stuff going on and how the new producers were trying to script things. He told Kevin at some point and he called his friends at AMC who promptly fired the producers and replaced them with the previous guy.
 
KHarvey16 said:
I enjoy it a lot, and actually none of it is scripted in the sense they write stuff down for anyone to say. They might repeat stuff or have multiple takes but according to the guys on the show they don't script it. One an episode of Smodcast a couple weeks ago (right after the commercial break half-way through) Bryan was talking to Kevin Smith about some of the behind the scenes stuff going on and how the new producers were trying to script things. He told Kevin at some point and he called his friends at AMC who promptly fired the producers and replaced them with the previous guy.
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Well stuff like the flea market sale is scripted, or at least...um, not organic? I don't care, it's good TV.
 
Izick said:
Well stuff like the flea market sale is scripted, or at least...um, not organic? I don't care, it's good TV.
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Sure. They go into it a bit in the podcast about how AMC calls it unscripted instead of reality TV, and that works because while they don't tell them what to say they do have to set up situations for them. They mention how they let people know about a specific day that they're gonna tape transactions in the store and so people know to come in on those days. It's not reality since they set that up but all the reactions and dialogue are in the moment. The field trips they take are definitely the most blatantly setup for interesting TV.
 
KHarvey16 said:
Sure. They go into it a bit in the podcast about how AMC calls it unscripted instead of reality TV, and that works because while they don't tell them what to say they do have to set up situations for them. They mention how they let people know about a specific day that they're gonna tape transactions in the store and so people know to come in on those days. It's not reality since they set that up but all the reactions and dialogue are in the moment. The field trips they take are definitely the most blatantly setup for interesting TV.
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I wondered how organic that scene with the guy who had like a boxload of like legendary comics was, but if it's even semi-real then that's amazing...at least from how they sounded.
 
I commented last season that I hated Walt's negotiating style. So far though, I haven't seen any scams. If there were any in the 1st season, I've forgotten about them.

One thing I would like is: if they're talking about an important comic, they should show the interior pages. Show viewers what's going on beyond the covers. When they talk about a famous artist or written panel, there's no visual evidence to back up that discussion. Cover art doesn't cut it all the time.
 
MisterHero said:
I commented last season that I hated Walt's negotiating style. So far though, I haven't seen any scams. If there were any in the 1st season, I've forgotten about them.

One thing I would like is: if they're talking about an important comic, they should show the interior pages. Show viewers what's going on beyond the covers. When they talk about a famous artist or written panel, there's no visual evidence to back up that discussion. Cover art doesn't cut it all the time.
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I think they do it sometimes. I remember a comic being signed by somebody important on the inside but they said it would be too hard to confirm it as him or something.
 
Lol, the story about the shirt from the podcast is great. The producers told Bryan that he could only wear 4 shirts, but then they told him he was limited to one shirt that he would wear at all times. It makes it easier for editing and whatnot but it doesn't make sense for him to only wear one since he doesn't work at the store. So anyway he had to pick one that he would wear the whole season and he showed up with this on the first day: NSFW.

They let him wear four shirts.
 
KHarvey16 said:
Lol, the story about the shirt from the podcast is great. The producers told Bryan that he could only wear 4 shirts, but then they told him he was limited to one shirt that he would wear at all times. It makes it easier for editing and whatnot but it doesn't make sense for him to only wear one since he doesn't work at the store. So anyway he had to pick one that he would wear the whole season and he showed up with this on the first day: NSFW.

They let him wear four shirts.
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This is why I love this show. That guy is that guy. He's probably the best part of the whole thing just because he doesn't work there and can say stuff the other guys won't.
 
I like it. It's usually on after Walking Dead repeats. Interesting to see some of the things people bring in, and the prices they generally go for.
 
I love this show, and I love the "Tell 'Em Steve Dave" podcast (which is done by pretty much by the same people).

Bryan (aka beard guy) has such a great comedic sense.
 
Izick said:
Oh, okay I figured that was like a real thing they did before the show. Will definitely check it out then. Is it about nerdy stuff, or just general discussion?
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It's an amalgamation of sort. Think of it as an eclectic mixture of life, bits and pieces of popular culture, and whatever catches the fancy of the core hosts (Bry, Walt, and Quinn).

For instance, there's a multipart arc where the hosts go to a local flea market and badger a few patrons and shop-keeps with questions (tape recorder in hand, of course). Their observations are both unrestrained and humorous while also interspersing mutual chiding and self-deprecation.

In all, it's not dissimilar to Comic Book Men, but its vulgarity is proliferated leaps ahead of the AMC show.
 
B33 said:
It's an amalgamation of sort. Think of it as an eclectic mixture of life, bits and pieces of popular culture, and whatever catches the fancy of the core hosts (Bry, Walt, and Quinn).

For instance, there's a multipart arc where the hosts go to a local flea market and badger a few patrons and shop-keeps with questions (tape recorder in hand, of course). Their observations are both unrestrained and humorous while also interspersing mutual chiding and self-deprecation.

In all, it's not dissimilar to Comic Book Men, but its vulgarity is proliferated leaps ahead of the AMC show.
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That sounds awesome, definitely going to give it a listen then.
 
Great show

Agreed with above. You all should check out the Tell em' Steve Dave podcast. Its bryan johnson, walt, and another bryan (from impractical jokers). I'm only like 10 in, and they are from 2 years ago, some of the funniest things I have ever heard. I had to leave my desk at work I was laughing so hard at something.

Season 1 of the show was so good, when they went to the flea market and bryan was messing with ming haha. Not even a comic book fan, but I love learning all the stuff the talk about
 
I've always wondered how profitable their store is. Seems like they're rolling in money not even counting the money the show much bring in.
 
Divvy said:
I've always wondered how profitable their store is. Seems like they're rolling in money not even counting the money the show much bring in.
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Hearing Smith talk it remains profitable enough to justify existing, though I get the feeling it's mostly a hobby for him.
 
Petrie said:
Hearing Smith talk it remains profitable enough to justify existing, though I get the feeling it's mostly a hobby for him.
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Yeah I'd imagine he'd keep it open even if it wasn't due to how much he loves the store and his friends. It's sure come a long way though since the early days when Walt would have to effectively steal stuff from toys r us to sell in his store.
 
I've only ever actually seen Mike working in the store and don't go in too often myself as I think the way the actual books are organized is pretty bad.

As far as profitability goes that area of Red Bank is pretty high traffic so I imagine it does fairly well. Plus you should visit Yestercades if you are in the area too :D
 
Divvy said:
I've always wondered how profitable their store is. Seems like they're rolling in money not even counting the money the show much bring in.
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Probably not very. With tablets and the internet. I think walking dead helped alot though
 
dorkimoe said:
Probably not very. With tablets and the internet. I think walking dead helped alot though
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Having a large base of regulars who have comic orders come in on a weekly basis is enough to support the store.

From what I've gathered the only scripted part is how they get people to come in with items. They set up a day and notify people to bring in crazy interesting stuff that would be good for the show. The actual conversations are all organic and created by the people saying it, no scripting there, and as of the second season they have new executive producers and such because some new young British guys took over at the beginning of the second season and started trying to feed lame jokes and scripted lines to the clerks and they were not having any of that. They have enough ideals and integrity to keep the show from going into the bullshit reality tv realm.
 
I was listening to an episode of the podcast, and their sponsor was a video game, and nobody knew what a Wii U was. Bryan said "Wii University?" like everyone else who hears about the thing.

I love this podcast by the way.
 
Actually for those that want to listen to TESD, the last episode is a massive best-of compilation, it's a good place to start.
 
I really enjoy CBM, but their podcast is on another level. I've been listening to TESD since day one and it's just so damn great.
 
I'm not a huge Kevin Smith fan (I don't like his movies, but SModcast is one of the funniest things I've ever experienced). I've only seen a few episodes of this show, and the number one thing I took away from it is that Brian Johnson desperately needs to shave. He almost makes me not want to watch the show.
 
Jedeye Sniv said:
Actually for those that want to listen to TESD, the last episode is a massive best-of compilation, it's a good place to start.
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thanks for the heads up. I had not heard of TESD until this podcast and it sounds cool, but jumping in after who knows how many episodes is sometimes daunting.
 
I really like the show a lot. Used to listen to TESD all the time, but I fell way behind. Might need to download that compilation episode.
 
Izick said:
Oh, okay I figured that was like a real thing they did before the show. Will definitely check it out then. Is it about nerdy stuff, or just general discussion?
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Mostly general stuff, but some nerdy topics pop up here and there like comics, movies, etc.

They have a lot of inside jokes, so I recommend starting from the beginning. At the very least, you have to listen to "Makin' Hay".
 
Jack Scofield said:
I'm not a huge Kevin Smith fan (I don't like his movies, but SModcast is one of the funniest things I've ever experienced). I've only seen a few episodes of this show, and the number one thing I took away from it is that Brian Johnson desperately needs to shave. He almost makes me not want to watch the show.
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I think the beard is cool but dude needs a haircut, it looks like a brillo pad.
 
SCHUEY F1 said:
I really like the show a lot. Used to listen to TESD all the time, but I fell way behind. Might need to download that compilation episode.
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I must have really good timing, because I had no idea that they were doing a compilation episode, and they were trying to do an "episode zero" of the show for everyone else, and those were my first two casts I listened to.
 
I enjoy the show.

I am curious to see their wives, for those that have them.
 
Very fake, highly scripted but still very charming.

I love it. I'm way behind on Smodcast stuff though. I stopped listening to stuff about a year ago. The only thing I have caught up on is Fatman on Batman which is fantastic.
 
I enjoy the show. Just had a problem with Johnson messing with Ming so much during the first season. Seems different now though.
 
sca2511 said:
I enjoy the show. Just had a problem with Johnson messing with Ming so much during the first season. Seems different now though.
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It's not any different. Everyone loves messing with Ming because nothing really pisses him off. He takes everything in stride. Hell they even say that in commercials.
 
Its a good show.

Is the Secret Stash owned by Kevin Smith? Or does Walter actually run it, with the approval to use Kevin and Jason's likeness?
 
It's funny I've never really liked Kevin Smith's movies but based on his talk on youtube about the ill fated superman lives movie I listened to "Fatman on Batman" which I really enjoyed which in turn lead me to Comic Book Men, Tell Em Steve Dave, Hollywood Babble On, I Sell Comics and the rest of the smodco stuff.

I really enjoy both the show and the podcasts and I am by no means a fanboy of clerks or that whole shtick.
 
Jedeye Sniv said:
Actually for those that want to listen to TESD, the last episode is a massive best-of compilation, it's a good place to start.
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I was listening to that as someone who's listened to most of them and I wondered if a new user would even get half the jokes the way it was edited together with no context.
 
I thought the auction in the last episode sounded pretty interesting and was very disappointed they basically crammed it into the last couple of minutes.
 
aristotle said:
It's not any different. Everyone loves messing with Ming because nothing really pisses him off. He takes everything in stride. Hell they even say that in commercials.
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Really seems different to me. Like, Johnson toned it down, but everyone gets on Ming. I guess that's why it doesn't bother me anymore. I agree though, Ming takes it with stride.
 
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