The Comic Shop // Awkward Virgo Productions
Comic books have long been perceived as a niche genre for fanboys or the geek stereotype, as depicted on CBS’s The Big Bang Theory. Yet, comic book shops and their owners rarely get their moment to shine.
Enter The Comic Shop.
From the mind of actress and comedian Cheyenne Ewulu, The Comic Shop is a workplace mockumentary series centered on owner Stephanie Okeke (Ewulu) and her crew of misfit employees, who do whatever it takes to keep their business afloat. With the comic book industry slowly dying – or, at least, becoming digitalized, the group goes through hysterical situations and hijinks to survive another day. They also have to deal with an annoying landlord who is looking for a reason to turn the shop into a dispensary. The vibes are very Abbott Elementary, Insecure, and Broad City.
Inspired by her favorite ’90s sitcoms, Ewulu wanted the show to feel vibrant like Living Single and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It’s a fresh take on geek culture and the people who love it. The series also stars Zeno Robinson (My Hero Academia, Craig of the Creek), Shanae Cole (Grown-ish), and Grayson Niles (The Goldbergs). Special guests to the series include Khary Payton (Teen Titans, The Walking Dead), Hayley Law (Riverdale, Door Mouse), Rahul Kohli (Midnight Mass, iZombie), and JB Blanc (Breaking Bad, Arcane).
The trailer for the series was shown during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con and officially dropped everywhere today.
Produced by Awkward Virgo Productions, The Comic Shop is a love letter to geeks, especially geeks of color. It’s hilarious and inspiring, especially learning more about the project during Kevin Smith’s San Diego Comic-Con panel, ‘Making Maverick Media: Creating Art Outside the System.’ Smith called the trailer shown “fucking funny,” offering to be on the series for Season 2.
Although a major studio or streaming service did not back the series, it was successfully self-produced and fully funded through crowdfunding via Kickstarter, raising over $200,000 with the help of more than 1,700 backers. They’ve received much support from the geek community as well as from content creators and influencers in the industry. The power of geeks is strong.
The concept and trailer have already achieved success in the film festival circuit, being officially selected for the Micheaux Film Festival, the Atlanta Film Festival, and the Black Girls Rock Film Fest. Hopefully, the series will be picked up by a major network or streaming platform.
The Comic Shop is being released on August 29 on Awkward Virgo TV’s YouTube channel.