It’s a great idea for a reality TV show, at least I sure think so, and so do Kevin Smith and AMC apparently, because Comic Book Men takes you into the world of geeks.
Or at least in Kevin Smith’s comic world, taking you to the happenings at his Secret Stash comic store in Red Bank, New Jersey. Hey, at least if you’re going to have a reality TV show in Jersey, I’d much rather watch this any day.
As the L.A. Times points out, you don’t think of reality TV on AMC, but if they’re going to go in that direction with movie buffs and comic geeks, it would be a refreshing change of pace from the usual Karadashians and Snookis.
The Times also called it “a nerd version of Pawn Stars,” and there’s also the chance that normal people tuning in could get a kick out of it as well. (Comic Book Men is by the same producers of LA Ink, The Rachel Zoe Project, and Swamp People).
Checking out the Times review of the show, one segment they described sums up why this show should preach to the geek converted: Someone at the store gets offered a Six Million Dollar Man doll with the bionic eye, and he says, “My most cherished memory as a child is watching Steve Austin rip off Bigfoot’s arm.”
As Smith told the Times, “Comic-book dudes, it’s such a well-known stereotype at this point. I mean, we’ve had like more than 20 years of ‘Comic Book Guy’ from The Simpsons. Let’s up the ratio on TV. The fact that it’s AMC is like insane credibility. I’m coming up on 20 years into my career, and the older you get the less cool you are. So it’s nice to be able to say, ‘Oh, hey, did I mention I have an AMC show?'”
Comic Book Men debuts on February 12 after The Walking Dead.
