Comic Book Men on AMC with Megos

[kingdom warrior]

I also thought Forbidden Planet was a good store too... More pop culture leaning than just comics.

The Forbidden Planet you went into is nothing compared to the one that was originally across the street in the 80's. That one had two floors of goodness...downstairs was the toys and back issues....when It closed and moved to where it is now...it lost something the magic was gone and it just became just a regular comic shop.....it looks very cramped now.

Midtown is awesome and Jim Hanley's on 33rd street is another great store..
Village comics was also a fav of mine before it closed it's doors......

[samurainoir]

Midtown Comics in Manhattan is a perfect example of a Modern "Comic Retailer" that has a very successful Business Model.

...

I was pretty impressed by midtown comics when I stopped in a few years back, clean, great alternative selections, female friendly, and forward thinking marketing. I sat in the audience of a round table podcast they were doing in store.... It was early days for that kind of thing. I believe they are doing YouTube videos now as well aren't they?

I also thought Forbidden Planet was a good store too... More pop culture leaning than just comics.

In Toronto, the one store that the wife is happy to browse in is the Silver Snail, I'd say it has a great deal to do with the fact that for much of the past decade, they had a female manager. It has a huge amount of young under thirty female traffic.

[MegoMark71]

After watching the first one i haven't given this show another minute of my time.

[Toyman_Chris]

Said I wasn't gonna watch but I did. I guess the 'negative nate' in me wants somethign to complain about So with that in mind:

They broke an unwritten rule in my book... they called the action figures 'dolls'. For those who didn't watch the show, what made it even worse is that they were referring to the 'Tortured Souls' line from McFarlane. Those figures come no where near the 'doll' category. And like samurinoir pointed out, making fun of your customers for buying your merchandise is crappy and disrespectful.

Prior to this latest episode I was actually thinking of putting in an order with the Stash on line just for the 'giving in to the marekting machine and influence' that my 80's Saturday morning cartoon mind is influenced by. However these guys are all a bunch of dicks that I have no desire to spend a dime with. Smith already let me down with the decline of his film making voice and now these yahoo's have tarnished the merchandise even more so. Dorks.

Ditto! LOL

[The Toyroom]

Midtown Comics in Manhattan is a perfect example of a Modern "Comic Retailer" that has a very successful Business Model.



...

I love Midtown Comics! I always make it a point to pop in there whenever we visit New York City...

[jimsmegos]

Said I wasn't gonna watch but I did. I guess the 'negative nate' in me wants somethign to complain about So with that in mind:

They broke an unwritten rule in my book... they called the action figures 'dolls'. For those who didn't watch the show, what made it even worse is that they were referring to the 'Tortured Souls' line from McFarlane. Those figures come no where near the 'doll' category. And like samurinoir pointed out, making fun of your customers for buying your merchandise is crappy and disrespectful.

Prior to this latest episode I was actually thinking of putting in an order with the Stash on line just for the 'giving in to the marekting machine and influence' that my 80's Saturday morning cartoon mind is influenced by. However these guys are all a bunch of dicks that I have no desire to spend a dime with. Smith already let me down with the decline of his film making voice and now these yahoo's have tarnished the merchandise even more so. Dorks.

[WannabeMego]

Of course they do the thing that the crappiest comic stores all do... make fun of a customer for buying something that they sell in the first place.

I was hoping they would take the high road with that when I heard this show was being proposed...guess not...

Hating that they are playing up the sad lonely overweight man stereo type over and over again. Particularly when forward thinking retailers are shattering that myth all the time now...

Midtown Comics in Manhattan is a perfect example of a Modern "Comic Retailer" that has a very successful Business Model.

...so you can be successful running your own Comic Store...BUT...you have to be smart about it. Most folks tend to run their stores using their 'gut' or impulse because they are personally vested (opinions) into the hobby and that is always a sign of inevitable failure.

Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in California went out of business a few years ago I think

I thought Kevin Smith mentioned in the 1st episode that Bryan Johnson ran the store before they closed it...

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[palitoy]

Hating that they are playing up the sad lonely overweight man stereo type over and over again. Particularly when forward thinking retailers are shattering that myth all the time now, and the Simpsons Comic Book guy is generally the kind of store that is going out of business.

Yeah, I couldn't be bothered with the new one. There several comic shops in my area and this show reminds me of the one I haven't set foot in for over twenty years.

The dudes that run my local comic shop are far from nerdy, AND they are all very pleasant and helpful. However, I've met plenty of the cranky stereotypes at comic conventions.

Yeah, the modern comic store by and large isn't full of snarky, over the hill, misanthropes.

[Iron Mego]

The dudes that run my local comic shop are far from nerdy, AND they are all very pleasant and helpful. However, I've met plenty of the cranky stereotypes at comic conventions.

[samurainoir]

Again, a handful of interesting stuff on the fourth episode with schtick... this time trying to appeal to some of the Walking Dead lead in audience. Comes across as really pandering.

Loved seeing the Buscema original art. Godzilla figure was kind of neat.

Of course they do the thing that the crappiest comic stores all do... make fun of a customer for buying something that they sell in the first place. Granted, Clive Barker/McFarlane's Tortured Souls is not everyone's cup of tea, but why look down on someone for putting cash in your pocket in exchange for items that you ordered from the distributer to associate with your store?

Hating that they are playing up the sad lonely overweight man stereo type over and over again. Particularly when forward thinking retailers are shattering that myth all the time now, and the Simpsons Comic Book guy is generally the kind of store that is going out of business. One has to wonder if that is why they are doing this TV thing if the total take in the till is $34 on a 20% off promotion day. (Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in California went out of business a few years ago I think)

[jds1911a1]

And the way that they were basically giving away the stuff from the store at that flea market was just a joke. Is that store a successful venture for Smith??!!?? .

that was the most accurate part of the show. Most of the 90's -2000era "collectibles" and cllected toys are pretty worthless. Like comics that era Everyone thought it was going to be Megos or Kenner SW or Gijoes and bought em up to sell later. The markets have never been there for the stuff. As a store they need to clear out what doesn't sell so there is space for what does. That means blow it out sale, throw it out, or donate it. By selling at a loss it's a tax right off.

I loved clerks (i bought it on laser disc for petes sake) and I really liked Mall rats but each K Smith film is less watchable for me. This show is basically a televised podcast with pawnstars like bits. pod casts should be heard and not seen unless the particpants are eye candy in their underwear or less
I will not join in on the "i hate the stageing" as pawn stars is just as staged. On a normal day Gold and silver is a madhouse. They close down the store and recreate the deals (hence why Rick's buddies are always just a call away). it's still good tv but not as good as Stuff like Deadliest catch or American Chopper which is raw footage edited (for the most part) as opposed to staged recreations

[jimsmegos]

The last one was the final straw for me. I want to be on board but I can't.

When those two (Flanagan and Johnson) started berating the woman from Staten Island about where she lived and that "She wasn't cool enough to be into comics", I was done.

That clerks schtick was awesome when I was in my 20s but now "real life Randall" is a sad looking forty something who should probably grow up.

Oh and I consider myself a fan of Smith, he's a compelling person and if he's on OandA, I tape the episode. This show looks like AMC knew it was unappealing and they taped some Smith segments post haste.

Ditto

[Adam West]

I bailed. I would definitely watch it if they focused more on comics, watching potential sellers coming in (even if they are set up etc.). I personally don't care about the vulgarity one way or the other, but it isn't even funny. I was also hoping it would be somewhat kid friendly (my youngest son likes reading comics) and I would let him watch it if they cut away that part of it.

[palitoy]

The last one was the final straw for me. I want to be on board but I can't.

When those two (Flanagan and Johnson) started berating the woman from Staten Island about where she lived and that "She wasn't cool enough to be into comics", I was done.

That clerks schtick was awesome when I was in my 20s but now "real life Randall" is a sad looking forty something who should probably grow up.

Oh and I consider myself a fan of Smith, he's a compelling person and if he's on OandA, I tape the episode. This show looks like AMC knew it was unappealing and they taped some Smith segments post haste.

[samurainoir]

Some of the people who came in were annoying.

You didn't have to sit through the girl with the giant butterfly hair in the latest episode.

They touched on Walt and Brian's other creative pursuits this episode, and I think that would have been much more interesting to see them reflect on that, rather than seeing them mug through the shooting of that awkward "fake" commercial.

I'm not really a fan of Vulgar by any stretch of the imagination, but I think having Brian share his feelings and experiences directing his feature film would be much more honest and real than the putting on a beret and directing schtick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLjXcYWKnJg

And it might actually be nice seeing Walt in action as an artist. Particularly since he has drawn Batman comics for DC, as well as the creator owned stuff he did with Brian.