Visiting “Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash” was a Religious Experience

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Jason and I met back up in the hotel lobby around 4 pm that Saturday, eager to get out some fresh air. We took a 30-minute drive from the New Jersey Horror Con in Iselin to the city of Red Bank. Our destination was Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, the comic book shop owned by the actor/filmmaker/writer Kevin Smith and featured in the AMC reality show “Comic Book Men” from 2012 to 2018. I’d visited them about ten years earlier and remember one of the guys from the show, Ming Chen, manning the register as I bought my youngest son, Luke, a Godzilla. It was a really cool place for a comic nerd like me.

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Svengoolie’s Friday at C2E2 was all about the Fans!

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Svengoolie greets his fans at C2E2

Svengoolie’s executive producer, Jim Roche, reached out to me in early February regarding the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2). Anticipating his request to assist the crew, I’d already cleared my calendar and quickly agreed. As the conversation continued, he casually mentioned that this year’s event would also feature the Svengoolie Squad – Gwengoolie, Imp, and Nostalgiaferatoo. Even more exciting, unlike their appearance at last year’s San Diego Comic Con, they’d all be in costume. My excitement level reached a fever pitch, as did my dread. After all, keeping things moving in Svengoolie’s autograph line while photographing fans can be challenging enough when serving just him, let alone three other cast members. These concerns, however, were for Saturday. Friday at C2E2 would feature a solo Svengoolie, albeit with a heavier schedule – two signings and a photo op. And this experience is what I’ll be sharing today.

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The Art of a Svengoolie Public Appearance

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I  arrived at Chicago’s McCormick Place around ten o’clock Friday morning. Once again, my job was to assist the national MeTV horror host, Svengoolie, as he tackled the pop culture extravaganza C2E2 (Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo). This year’s entourage included Executive Producer Jim Roche, Director Chris Faulkner, Cameraman Patrick Payne, and MeTV crew members Briana Janczy and Bill Rieck handling social media. In addition to meeting and interacting with his fans, Svengoolie’s objective was to gather interviews and footage for upcoming shows. The event organizers do not assist with these latter objectives, making all his C2E2 appearances unpredictable. To help strategize, Jim compiled a list of interview hopefuls, and then it was a matter of whether they’d be willing to talk on camera and if their schedules clashed with ours. Tracking them down was another matter, but more on that later.

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Svengoolie Goes Back (45 Years) to the Future at C2E2!

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Svengoolie’s second day at C2E2 promised to be a long one. In addition to his scheduled photo op and autograph signing, he’d also participate in a special “45th Anniversary of Svengoolie” podcast panel hosted by John Siuntress from Word Balloon. When Svengoolie and crew arrived, we quickly went through security and up the escalator to the main hall. It was fun watching people’s reactions to him – especially since many initially assumed he was just a skilled cosplayer.

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Assisting Svengoolie & Waiting for Chip Zdarsky at C2E2!

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My anticipation for C2E2 (Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo) was elevated this year thanks to my renewed interest in comic books. Last year’s hunt for the “Svengoolie: Lost in Time” variant covers led to excavating my old collection and now taking regular trips to the local comic book shop. Instead of being brand loyal to MARVEL (as I was back in the ’80s and ’90s) I’ve now started dabbling with other publishers such as Image Comics, IDW Publishing, BOOM! Studios, to name a few. But more on that later. The main draw for C2E2, for me, was Svengoolie whom I’d been brought on to assist. Continue reading →

Celebrating “ROM Spaceknight: The Original MARVEL Years” Omnibus!

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Back in 2010, I talked about my favorite comic book back when I was a kid, ROM: Spaceknight. MARVEL’s Love Letter to ‘50s Science Fiction movies was solidly in my wheelhouse with nods to Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), and even I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958). If you’re unfamiliar with ROM you can go back and read my aforementioned blog or the article I wrote for the September 2016 issue of Scary Monsters Magazine. The seventy-five issue (plus four Annuals) series ran from 1979 to 1986 before falling into obscurity a.k.a. Licensing issues. Although IDW had their own ROM series for a while, it bore little resemblance to the one I’d grown up with and didn’t resonate with me as MARVEL’s had. At the same time, MARVEL couldn’t legally mention his name and while most of their titles got collected in trade paperback or hardcover Omnibus editions, ROM was never given the honor. That is, until now. 

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