Comic book junkies can get their fix, meet with reality TV stars and cartoonists
Ming Chen among at celebrities appearing Comic Con Albuquerque
Ming Chen’s admiration for comic book writer, filmmaker and actor Kevin Smith’s work ended up changing Chen’s life. Chen is now one of the stars of the reality TV series “Comic Book Men,” which also stars Smith as well as other comic book experts and enthusiasts and follows their antics at Smith’s comic book store, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, in New Jersey where the show is filmed.
“I was stuck in college, and I had just seen Kevin’s first movie, ‘Clerks,’ and I was really bored one day and created a fan website,” Chen said. “This was back in 1995, so pretty early on. He saw it, gave me a call and asked me if I wanted to work with him and that was about 20 years ago. So 20 years later, he put me on TV, which is crazy.”
Chen said he thought he might get a “Good job!” email from Smith, but never the response that he received.
“I think my goal was to create the best ‘Clerks’ fan page that I could create and like maybe he would see it and maybe he would send me an email going, ‘Hey, great job, kid; you did a great job,’ that’s all that I was expecting,” Chen said. “This was before the days of Twitter and Facebook, so I guess the only way he could’ve contacted me was by email or phone, which he did both.”
It took off from there, which Chen said happened by chance.
“Everything that has happened with Kevin, kind of happened accidentally,” Chen said. “He started podcasting and we wanted to have a podcast on his network and the podcast led to the TV show so all that is pretty accidental. But it all leads back to our love for pop culture and comics. It all just kind of worked out because we followed what we love. … Thankfully, that’s taking me toward a path where I’m able to celebrate that and talk about it passionately for a living, whether it be at a Con or on the TV show or just with the fans in general.”
Chen enjoys making the Comic Con rounds to meet with others who share his interests.
“The way I do it is, come on up, ask me anything like I’m starved, come and ask me about ‘Rogue One,’ or I’ll talk with someone about comic books for half an hour,” he said. “That’s great. Growing up, I didn’t really have that. There weren’t really many geeks, but maybe there were, but they wouldn’t admit it. So when I was in school, I struggled to find people that liked the same stuff that I did and once I did, we became best friends.”
A self-proclaimed comic book and GI Joe junkie, Chen continues to add to his collection.
“We always go to Cons, and I try to get a decent price on key issues like the first print of the ‘Punisher’ or ‘Luke Cage #1’ or a lot of these key issues you’re always on the hunt for,” Chen said. “Not only are you looking for that issue, but you’re looking for great price to pay for that issue. Lately, I’ve been picking up these key issues regardless of condition; actually, I want the story, I want it a little beat up so I can imagine what it went through.
Chen’s most recent purchase was the first appearance of Hawkeye, who is one of The Avengers, a team of superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics.
“I bought that in Indiana, and I took it to New York, and I got Stan Lee, the guy who created Hawkeye, to sign it,” Chen said. “Things like that are pretty cool. This is why I love this so much. Yeah, to me, (Lee is) a god. It’s a little sacrilegious to say, but in our world, to me, he’s a god.”