Comic Book Men

Hello, and welcome to a special "Walking Dead" episode

of "Comic Book Men." I'm Kevin Smith.

- Bryan Johnson. - Walt Flanagan.

- Mike Zapcic. - Ming Chen.

"The Walking Dead" has become a pop-cultural phenomenon.

Undeniable. Little black-and-white comic book

that has spawned an entire industry.

I was a huge fan of the comic when it came out.

Walt and I both jumped on it.

It was, like, one of those really small press books,

and, uh, who knew it was gonna become the giant that it would?

But, I mean, it's... it's still pretty true to the... the format.

Now, Ming, you watch the show on a regular basis,

but you're also out on the con circuit,

so you interact with cast, right?

You've met a lot of these folks.

Yeah, you can call me a super fan.

I'll actually go to "The Walking Dead" fan conventions.

I'll get photos taken with the cast members.

I, you know, try to become friends with them, uh,

see if I can get some inside information.

- I think it's fun! I'm a big fan. - Well, I don't... I don't...

I don't... I don't think "super fan" is what they call you.

- Help! - Help!

Help!

As "The Walking Dead" heads into its eighth season,

are you seeing the books come through the door more?

Absolutely, I mean, people are... are seeing

that if they invest in "Walking Dead" collectibles,

you're gonna see a pretty nice return on your investment.

The comics are going up in value.

The figures go up in value, the statues.

I mean, it's not crazy to compare, um, "The Walking Dead"

- to gold at this point. - I have many times

written to my local politicians and said,

"Please take America off the gold standard

and put it onto 'The Walking Dead' standard,

because these books are literal printed money, man."

- Hey, guys. - Hey, how are you?

I got something really special

and something really rare to show you here.

Briefcase, huh? It must be something pretty valuable

- to be in a briefcase. - Oh, big time.

It's great.

"The Walking Dead" issue 100.

The debut of Negan, the villain.

_

The limited edition, red foil Lucille cover.

Lucille, Negan's weapon of choice.

Negan, who's gonna go down

as one of the greatest villains in comic history.

- And most charismatic. - And most charismatic.

He's the kind of guy where you want to hate him,

but then you're kind of like, "I kind of like this guy," too.

I know exactly how that feels.

Before they introduced Negan,

those of us who knew the comic books were always like,

"When's Negan coming?"

And eventually, they came around to Negan,

and it was "The Comedian," or Batman's dad, Thomas Wayne.

It was Jeffrey Dean Morgan,

and, boy, he just chews the scenery.

He has a good time playing Negan, doesn't he?

- Yeah. - But he is nefarious.

Just like Darth Vader with his lightsaber

or Jaws with his chomping teeth,

Negan and Lucille entered pop-culture history

when he made a very bloody entrance into the show.

Negan lined up Rick and all his pals,

and picked out Glenn

and just bashed his head in to a bloody pulp.

Were you as shocked as I was when you saw that?

Yeah, definitely. I couldn't even watch it.

I knew it was coming.

- You kinda do, you don't. - You turned your head?

Oh, yeah. I had to turn my... It was just nasty.

When I saw that happen, I got... I was pissed, man.

"Glenn's dead! Glenn's dead!"

"What are we gonna do?"

"Glenn's dead!"

But why are you mocking the death?

I guarantee this guy's coming back.

- Comic books... Everybody comes back. - Mmm.

TV shows, they all come back. They...

I got to say, though, I saw the show,

and I don't think Glenn's coming back.

- Let's get back to the book, please. - All right.

Okay, okay. Fine.

There's only 250 of this one made.

That's a pretty small print run.

Is that the smallest print run of any "Walking Dead" comic?

That is the smallest print run I have ever heard of.

The only way you could get this was online.

- How'd you get your hands on it? - A friend gave it to me.

Does it have any cachet havin' it here?

Let's put it this way... How many comic stores

have that on their wall?

I'm gonna say zero.

All right, I'm interested. What are you looking to get for it?

I was hoping for 2 grand.

2 grand?

- Yeah. - Wow!

2 grand is a bit much.

I've seen, uh, 9.8s go for about $1,500.

- $1,500? - Yeah.

I'd put this at a 9.4 to a 9.6.

Okay. Let's say $1,000.

7. I-I-I'll offer you $700

right now for the book.

All right, let's hit $800. We're done.

You have a great book.

800 bucks?

$800.

All right, I would shake your hand, but it's so sweaty.

- $800. - All right.

- Thank you very much. - Thanks, man.

- It was a pleasure. Thank you. - Whew.

- There it is, huh? - Oh, it's so cool.

How about you give her a little trivia quiz?

If she gets a question right, you knock 50 bucks off.

- How's that sound. - I'm up for that!

You see this hooded figure, then you see a katana.

I was like "Oh!"

- Hey, how you doing? - Hi! Good. How are you?

What can we do for you?

I saw a Greg Nicotero sketch

that I'm interested in looking at.

- Oh. - I'll go grab it.

Thank you.

Greg Nicotero fan, huh?

- Oh, yeah. Big one. - Nice.

- There it is, huh? - Oh, it's so cool!

- There it is. - It's so cool!

It's beautiful, isn't it?

Yeah, it is.

This is artwork. It came from the mind of a master.

He likes giving the hard sell

when it's his own personal property.

_

Greg Nicotero, I mean, probably the biggest guy

in special effects makeup right now.

-One of them, yeah. -I mean, he's worked on everything

from "Day of the Dead" to "Suicide Squad."

I don't have to even mention "Walking Dead."

I mean, his name's synonymous with the show now.

And, yeah, he... he doesn't do a lot of sketches.

- Is this, like, a print? - No, no, this isn't a print.

This is an original I picked up at a con.

This is probably what he does

before he builds, like, those awesome makeup effects.

You know, this could've gone on to be, like, a zombie

from "The Walking Dead" or something.

- How come he didn't sign it? - I think he did.

- It's right there. - It's right there.

- That's right there. - That's his name?

-Yeah. -I thought my signature was illegible.

Obviously, you're a big "Walking Dead" fan, right?

Yes, I'm going to school right now for special effects makeup.

And, uh, my dad, when I was deciding what to do with my life,

he asked me, "If you could be doing any job in the world,

what would you be doing? "And I said," I'd be Greg Nicotero.

I'd be working for 'The Walking Dead' and making zombies."

Wrong. The right answer is trust-fund baby.

Trust-fund baby!

I've always been interested in, you know,

like, the practical special effects,

but it looks so messy, though. Like, all that blood.

Yeah, and I'll... I'll go home, and, like, I just...

I just experiment. I'll have blood all over me.

Just all kinds of mysterious, like, goops everywhere.

Did you ever experiment in college?

- Special effects? - Whatever. Yeah.

- With goops and, uh...? - Goops, drippy stuff.

Long before I ever wanted to be a filmmaker,

I wanted to be a special-effects makeup guy.

I had my own, little makeup kit with nose putty and fake blood

and half knives that you could put through a shirt

so it looked like you were stabbed and stuff.

History would've definitely been a lot different.

You know what really would've sucked,

is I can't sculpt or draw,

so I would've been the worst.

It would've been all passion no craft whatsoever.

Well, don't take this the wrong way,

but I'm glad you failed to realize your dream.

Otherwise, we wouldn't be sitting here right now.

Do... Do you have a favorite zombie kill from the show?

Uh, when Rick has to fight the walker

with all, like, the spikes and the knives on it.

Oh!

His name's Winslow. I thought that that was just the coolest.

Like, I was watching, and I said,

"When I can make something that amazing,

then I'll be an accomplished makeup artist."

And your dream is to maybe... Maybe have an effects house

one day, like Greg Nicotero?

Yes, that'd be so cool.

All right, I mean, you've chosen a great role model, I think.

You could have something to look up to

to, you know, maybe, inspire you every day.