Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine Comic Book Men

I'm surprised I couldn't find a topic for this show already but if one exists please excuse the duplicate.

For me this is the best follow up show to The Walking Dead on Sunday nights, not The Talking Dead (blasphemer!). Taking place at Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in Red Bank, NJ it follows the staff each week as they have customers coming in to sell items, buy items, shoot the breeze, etc. There are a lot of creators who appear, most notably so far this season (the fifth of the series) Stan Lee and Jim Lee. The show basically serves as a video front end to a podcast with Kevin there just to rally the troops for a weekly catch up as they record the show.

There are a lot of interesting comic book, movie and television items coming through the shop but what I find interesting is that in every episode (that I've noticed) there is always a Legion reference. Most often it is the DC Universe Classics Legion of Superheroes Box Set that sits directly in front of the register counter on a shelf so it is in every shot from the staff's point of view. There is also a copy of L.E.G.I.O.N. that sits in a spinner rack (with a Booster Gold comic a couple slots down) that is usually shown once an episode. For a long time there was a framed copy of LoSH vol 4 #99 (the cover that featured just Triad's face) that was on the wall behind the counter with the similar issues of other titles released that month.

I just really find it a cool show and one that actually showcases the Legion, in a way. You have to think there is a reason these items are always spotted in a frame so one of the staff or crew has to be a Legion fan.

Anyone else ever watch the show?

I watched it off and on over its first three seasons but have never really cared for it. First, I find Bryan incredibly unfunny and grating when he's supposed to be so funny. The show could do with 100% less Bryan. I don't like Walt much more, either. He alternates between being a total dick and fawning all over certain items. Ming and Mike are just boring, but it's terrible how Bryan and Walt walk over Ming and often use Asian stereotypes on him.

On top of all that, I rarely saw items come in that were all that interesting. And it's so staged as with a lot of similar shows like Pawn Stars and Miami Ink. It's even worse when they have these faked-up events like zombie runs and the celebrity walk-ons.

Sorry, LL, that's just my opinion, but I wouldn't be surprised if others here may share it--hence the topic not existing previously.

Unfortunately, I have to side with Lardy on this one. The hosts play up some of the worst mainstream nerd stereotypes, but never get into the actual "grit" of comic fandom. Sure you can bring up Giant-Sized X-Men #1, but why not talk about it more? What about Dave Cockrum and Len Wein? What was the series like before that? It often feels a bit too surface level for my tastes. Walt is an insufferable jerk to Ming (and even some of the customers) so I can do without him.

Part of it can also be that I can't stand anything Kevin Smith has worked other than his brilliant debut with Clerks and this show is oozing with all the things I don't like about what he's done since he broke onto the scene.

I won't go that far, but, yeah, Kevin annoys me as well. I know he has ownership in the store, but his functioning as the bookend host allows him to do the least amount of work possible to have his name put on the show's title.

Part of me wants to love Kevin, but the other part wants to bitch-slap him. He's really just turned into a caricature of himself over the years.

Anyhow, I'm sure Kappa and I don't mean to dogpile on you about the show. If you love it and enjoy it, I'm glad!

Seconded!

Hey, no worries guys! Really. If everyone liked every show Firefly and Alcatraz would still be on the air.

I do agree about how staged the show is, like every other "reality" show around. They're all heavily scripted and you know they're set up to only show things in a good light. But I still enjoy the comic book aspect and the fact that, even if not quite true, somewhere there are geeks just a little younger than myself actually getting the chance to work in a comic book store and have the fun doing it that I always wanted.

As to Bryan, why is he even part of the show when he professes to not get comics (which if he's around the shop all day for decades how can he not?) and doesn't work there. Is he independently wealthy? I feel he's there to be the foil, the everyday man who doesn't get the geek world so they can make it relate to everyone.

But yes, I do still enjoy it.

I used to watch it and enjoyed it, personally. I liked some of the geek stuff and I thought the guys were mostly sweet. (Bryan does grate on me some and Walt is pretty obnoxious, too.) I remember the doing an auction to help out a longtime customer/friend, for instance - I thought that was really nice. I also don't watch much reality tv, so those things that seem grating and common are probably more novel to me.

I happen to be a fan of Kevin Smith, as well, so that probably helps with overall show likability. I don't love everything he's done but Dogma is one of my all time favorite films; Mallrats is another that I love.

Really, I haven't watched the show in a while more because I've only got Hulu now than any other reason. I'd probably check it out again if it was easily done.