” The Comic Shop is a heartfelt love letter to indie comic book stores that reminds us why they need to exist for comic books fans against the soulless corporate stores that care more about money than the art. It’s a must watch for fans of comic books and graphic novels who will easily relate to the passion of the main characters!”
` Marcus Blake | That Nerd Show
Review by Marcus Blake
We nerds love comic book stores, it is seen as a refuge from the mundane and ugly reality of life. It is a place where we can escape and find solace in stories of superheroes and fantasy! They are a place where we can find like-minded individuals who also love to play fantasy-driven tabletop games. It’s Mecca for nerds, but good comic book stores seem far and few these days just like independent bookstores. It’s hard to keep one open compared to corporate chain stores that may have a section of comics. But the independent stores have always been the best because they’re usually run by people who care about the product more than just trying to sell a product. At the heart of this film by Jonathan Bowen, The Comic Shop, that’s the overall theme. How do these great independent shops stay alive in a sea of soulless corporate retail when Indy shop owners always have more passion for the product and the culture? How do you maintain your passion in that industry when you’re barely making it? Thats what makes The Comic Shop a beautiful story and a movie that every nerd who loves comic books can appreciate!
The story is about a comic book shop owner named Mike who was once an up-and-coming illustrator for comic books. He has a passion for comics and great art, but like most small business owners struggles to break even when competing with larger comic stores. He’s almost out of business until a young kid who has a passion for illustrating shows up and wants to hang out reading comics all day. In exchange for his services, the kid builds a website and starts to help save the store if it can even be saved. But like all great comic book stories there is a villain and its Mike’s chief rival by the name of Chad who owns a bigger and more corporate comic book store that will stop at nothing to put Mike out of business. But amid this ongoing story between two rivals, Mike has pulled back into the world of illustrating comics and getting a chance to work with a new publisher who may or may not put out good quality. If I were to tell you anything else, then I would be spoiling the movie, and like I said this is a movie that every nerd should see. Jesse Metcalf and Tristan Evans do a great job as the two main comic book nerds whose performances mirror real-life comic nerds trying to follow their passion. And Trevor Einhorn gives a great performance as Chad who will stop at nothing to destroy Mike’s comic shop. The film truly has some wonderful performances, especially with a great cameo by Eric Roberts. But what makes this movie worth watching… it has heart. It’s not an over-the-top comedy that’s so silly that you can’t really find the soul in the movie like some of Kevin Smith’s early films. And I’m not complaining about Kevin Smith films, I’m still a fan of Mallrats, but it’s a silly film. The Comic Shop has a lot of humor but a lot of great drama that inspires us to keep going after our dreams no matter what and how a comic shop can be church to any nerd. Comic stores provide a great community for nerds and that’s something that’s needed today. But also within this story is an indictment on corporate publishing versus indie publishers of comics who are not all about the money, but putting out good quality. It truly showcases how publishers like Image Comics or Dark Horse most of the time can put out better quality than DC or Marvel. Whether the director is truly going for that, the theme speaks volumes to how the best quality in the comic world comes from those who have a passion for great stories and artwork.
I like the film very much, but it certainly not perfect. Honestly, my chief criticism is the movie is too short. I feel like there’s more story to be told than in ninety minutes. That doesn’t take away from how good the movie is and why it should be seen, but sometimes I feel like directors don’t know the story is best as a movie or maybe a limited series. And that isn’t to say that it isn’t the producers who make those kinds of decisions. But this is the kind of movie that leaves you wanting to know more about the characters and their struggles. It’s easy to connect to these characters if you’re a nerd. It’s easy to root for the Indie Publishers trying to make a name for themselves and survive against corporate publishers. However, there’s more to this story and I think of shows like Cobra Kai that can have 10 episodes in a season that are 30 to 40 minutes and it feels like you’re watching a long movie. Don’t get me wrong my chief criticism is not the story itself, but just that I want more and that may be the story is best told in a limited series because we get glimpses of these characters in a movie. That’s the real tragedy…there’s so much more to tell that it’s hard to do it in 90 minutes, but what’s there is great. And the comic book conversations are fantastic which makes me feel like I’m watching the High Fidelity version of The Comic Shop where they have witty and intellectual conversations about the art they love. Maybe there’s a sequel to the story, but if all we got is a really heartfelt story about comics and comic book shops then this film is still worth watching. Jonathan Bowen creates a wonderful story that nerds can appreciate and is a great love letter to comic book stores showing us why we still need physical shops where we can hang out with other fans. More importantly like a Hallmark story for nerds, this movie will inspire and make you glad to be a nerd. But as a fan, I still want more stories and maybe this movie will serve as a pilot to a series on a streaming service whereas the audience, we can share more adventures with the characters that are easy to connect with! Until then, I’m off to read some comics!
