Snooch to the nooch! Kevin Smith is heading back to making new comics again! But can he keep up with his writing deadlines this time around?
Recently it was announced that fan-favorite filmmaker Kevin Smith was teaming up with Dark Horse Comics to launch an all-new comic imprint called Secret Stash Press. Named for the writer/director’s New Jersey-based comic book store, the new imprint will feature a series of creator-owned comics that Smith will be writing, including both new characters and old favorites from Smith’s View Askew shared universe (or Askewniverse as many fans have come to call it).
Secret Stash Press will be launching this fall with an eight-issue series called Masquerade, which tells the story of a new masked vigilante who is just getting their start in the crime-fighting business. Hot on the heels of this series will be an ongoing anthology series dubbed Quick Stops; a play on the name of the infamous shop from the Clerks films.
Quick Stops Is The Place For The Askewniverse Quick Stop
Quick Stops will be set within the Askewniverse and is planned to see the return of many familiar faces from films like Clerks, Mallrats, and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. We are guessing that this ongoing anthology may be Smith’s way of scratching the itch he seems to have for revisiting many of these characters in sequels that he can’t seem to get made. (We may still be a little bitter about Mallrats 2, aka Mall-Brats, aka Twilight Of The Mallrats). No information is available as to who we might see popping up from his past films, but its probably safe to say that all bets are off.
The pairing makes perfect sense, as both Kevin Smith and Dark Horse comics started as indie darlings that went on to massive mainstream success. Dark Horse founder Mike Richardson seems to be especially excited about the new working relationship between Smith and the comic publisher, saying in a statement:
I’ve been a fan of Kevin’s films for years. The fact is, we have much in common. We’ve both worked in our own comic shops, worked in the film business, but most of all, have a passionate love for the comics medium. It only makes sense for us to finally team up, and I am extremely proud to announce his exciting new line of comic books and graphic novels here at Dark Horse. Kevin has a brilliant, creative mind, and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for all of us.
Ready To Take The Next Step
Kevin Smith himself also seems thrilled at the idea of diving back into writing comics. Often respected as a de facto comic book expert, Kevin Smith has written stories for Marvel, DC, and ONI Press in the past. Smith’s comic shop, Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, has been a staple of Red Bank, New Jersey for a quarter of a century at this point, and was the focus of the AMC reality television series Comic Book Men for seven seasons from 2012 through 2018. In a statement about this new endeavor, Smith said:
2022 marks the 25th anniversary of my comic book store, Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. And after a quarter-century of selling comics, the Secret Stash is going to MAKE our own comics! Following the recipe written by Mike Richardson eons ago when he turned his comic shop into a legendary comic book publisher, the Secret Stash is ready to take the next step in its evolution. I’m ecstatic for Secret Stash Press to become a part of the Dark Horse multimedia empire and I hope our books will bring new customers into comic shops and delight regular readers from all around the world.
Whether this new venture will be a hit or die on the vine like so many of Smith’s projects remains to be seen. But we know we’re excited to see a writer as strong as Kevin Smith putting out new comic books once again. Most recently Smith produced the animated series Masters Of The Universe: Revelation for Netflix and was the focus of the critically lauded documentary Clerk (2021). Lionsgate will be releasing his latest project, Clerks 3 (2022), later this year.
Are you excited to see new comics from Kevin Smith? Do you think he should stick to making movies and finish some previously announced projects? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and stick around Geek Anything for more updates on Kevin Smith and the Secret Stash!
