The
Variants Webseries Review
It
has become cool to be a geek. One of the most successful television
sitcoms in recent years, for instance, is the CBS series The Big
Bang Theory, which features two genius male protagonists who spend
their free time playing video games and collecting comic books. Then
there’s the webseries The Guild, about a group of World
of Warcraft type gamers that has built a significant online fanbase
for itself. Adding to this growing list of geek-centric entertainment
is another webseries, The
Variants,
which follows the ongoing antics at real-world Dallas comic book store,
Zeus Comics.
“Crazy
stuff happens at the comic shop,” Zeus owner Richard Neal explains
of the show’s inception. “Something about the mix of nerds
and retail leads to some absurd situations that just get funnier when
you retell them. I thought there was something there, so I called my
friends to help document it.”
Neal’s original
plan was to film a straight-forward reality series, but after meeting
with Joe Cucinotti and Ken Lowry—two local actors/writers in the
Dallas area who were also regular customers at Zeus—a fictionalized
version was created instead. Well, kind of. “Our set is the actual
store,” Cucinotti explains. “Other than Ken and myself,
our main cast consists of people who really work behind the counter.
Many of the extras and minor characters are played by loyal customers
of the store. While we exaggerate some of the events, the presentation
is still very authentic.”
Each episode
of The Variants is crafted as a stand-alone installment and
centers upon specific comic book store events, such as the release of
a rare variant edition or guest signers to boost sales, as well as general
retail situations like offbeat and crazed customers. While comparisons
to filmmaker Kevin Smith may immediately come to mind—Cucinotti’s
character even dresses up as Silent Bob at one point—this webseries
is more of a homage to the comic book community at large than simply
another transplanted update of Clerks.
Similarities
also exist between The Variants and both The Big Bang Theory
and The Guild, all of which feature crisp dialogue and snappy
one-liners that can be enjoyed by both geeks and non-geeks alike. In
the episode “Passholes,” for instance, a group of zombie-esque
customers trap the characters in the comic book store after closing.
When Richard (Neal) suggests they should go to the mall to escape the
mob, Joe (Cucinotti) replies, “Dude, have you even seen a zombie
movie?” Other classic lines include, “It sounds like all
those fanboys when they found out Disney bought Marvel” and, “Season
eight? There was something after season five?”—a reference
to the latest Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic.
The fifth installment
of the webseries, entitled “Guest Signing,” is a true comedy
classic that best illustrates the show’s ability to wrap its comic
book references with mass-appealing humor. In the episode, real-life
illustrator Dave Crosland and webcomic creator Scott Kurtz make an appearance
at Zeus Comics and portray fictionalized versions of themselves: Crosland
is clueless with a Zen-like simplicity while Kurtz is simply an obnoxious
blowhard. The comedy thus lies in the exaggerated nature of these actual
artists, which in turn makes the various situations the staff at Zeus
Comics find themselves in humorous regardless if one knows who Dave
Crosland and Scott Kurtz are or not.
Although
each episode contains a standalone narrative, The Variants
also features season-long threads involving the financial viability
of the store and Joe’s apparent crush on fellow co-worker Keli
(Keli Wolf). References to past storylines are also sprinkled throughout,
including Joe’s fondness for Kurt Russell movies and an older
gentlemen intent on selling his dead friend’s comic book collection
in order to pay for the funeral. In addition to store owner Richard,
the loveable goof-off Joe and level-headed Keli, the main cast is rounded
out with crusty sales clerk Barry (Barry Furhman) and stockroom guy
Vlad (Lowery), who hides in the back when not attempting to cloak himself
in a field of invisibility.
In real
life, Zeus Comics is a prestigious establishment that not only has received
numerous awards in the Dallas area, including “Best of Big D”
from D Magazine, but was also honored with the 2006 Will Eisner
Spirit of Retailer Excellence Award. In The Variants, meanwhile,
the fictitious Zeus Comics is home to an entertaining cast of characters
that generates plenty of laugh-at-loud moments for both the geek-initiated
and society-at-large. Either institution is also the type of store that
Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper of the CBS sitcom The Big
Bang Theory would feel comfortable entering in order to purchase
the latest comic book adaptation of the online webseries The Guild.
Anthony
Letizia (June 14, 2010)
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