Jonathan Bowen’s The Comic Shop Tackles the Joys and Realities of Running a Comic Store

More often than not, formative memories are tied to places of wonder and discovery, and like so many of us, one such place for director Jonathan Bowen was the local comic book shop. Quite a few of us discovered so much through that one central location, being introduced to the worlds of science fiction, magic, fantasy, superheroes, and more, but it’s the people who run those shops that provide the heartbeat. Bowen explores all those themes in his new film The Comic Shop, which is now available on demand and follows a small comic store and the people who bring it to life. ComicBook had the chance to speak to Bowen about his own journey in comics, the personal stories from his own life that inspired the film, and the message he hopes people take away from it.

Bowen’s first dip into superheroes and comic book stores wasn’t actually through comics, but comic cards, though he would soon discover comics, gaming, and more. “I don’t know why this sounds really weird, but I started more with comic book cards,” Bowen said. “I love the cards for some reason, and then I think maybe third grade or something, I got more into comic books. And then gradually it was like Magic: The Gathering and Spawn, and it was just one thing after another. There were toys and all the collectible stuff too.”

It was through that comic book store that he first met Mike, which is also the name of the comic shop owner in the film (played by Jesse Metcalfe). Bowen remembers Mike and the comic shop fondly, but then one day it all stopped when the store closed down. “So I had a guy that I got to know over all these years, and his name was Mike. And you know, he was really friendly. He was really helpful. He was that kind of perfect comic book store owner, where he would help guide you to what you want,” Bowen said. “I never felt he pushed anything on me. I felt like he knew what I liked and wanted to help me find it, which is, that’s the really cool relationship, right? And then, as happens probably to so many people, or they have memories of this, it’s like one day you go there and it’s closed permanently. I mean, it’s like the saddest day. You know, we walk up and are like, what happened to it?”

Dreams vs Reality

There are more than a few parallels between Mike’s journey in the film and what Bowen witnessed back then, and as he looks back on those days, Bowen recalls the signs that everything wasn’t going so smoothly behind the scenes.

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“I guess there were signs. He had spent more time across the street in this tavern, like drinking, basically, and he had other employees kind of deal with some of the stuff, which in the early years, it was just him. There were no other employees. Small, very small store, and so I think I went to one of the other stores,” Bowen said. “I had to choose a new store, and they told me that he went to drive for UPS. That was the last anybody heard about, so then I kind of started thinking, I don’t know, maybe his heart wasn’t in it.”

Bowen’s opinion has changed on that over time, however, and that’s also part of The Comic Shop’s story, which examines the challenges of not just running a comic store but also pursuing your passion, whatever that passion happens to be.

“As an adult, I thought back and I realized that my childhood ideal, it just wasn’t true. I thought, oh, man, when I grow up I want to own a comic book store. That sounds like the coolest thing ever. And then as an adult, I’m running a small business, realizing that, it’s not that fun,” Bowen said. “Like, there’s all the bookkeeping, there’s all the taxes, all the, you know, just nonsense, writing checks and dealing with clients and customers. And that made me realize, like, maybe this wasn’t a dream thing for him. Maybe it was just so much hard work that he just wanted to do something else, you know?”

“So then I kind of imagined this fictional version. What if Mike wanted to be an illustrator? What if that was the dream? And because I thought for me, like, my dream wasn’t to make corporate videos, you know, it was to make actual movies, but I was making corporate videos to pay the bills,” Bowen said. “And so then I kind of put elements of myself on top of Mike and then fictional elements on top of that, and it kind of became this amalgamation of what does life look like when it hasn’t quite gone exactly the way that you imagined.”

A Perfect Lead

Bringing the role of Mike to life in the film is Jesse Metcalfe, who steps into a character who is struggling to stay afloat. That’s true both of the store and the person at the center of it, and Metcalfe effortlessly brings you into Mike’s world and the little comic shop that could.

“As soon as we cast him, I was so excited on the Zoom call, he just really got it. Like, he understood that it was also not just about comics. He doesn’t need to be a comic geek to understand the struggle of this character,” Bowen said. “That it’s very common for many of us as we get towards 40 years old, and I guess we start taking stock of where we are and where we imagined we would be when we were in college or whatever.”

“And it’s tough because I think everybody has huge dreams, and you know sadly, I don’t think most of us get to exactly where we imagined at 40. If you do, that’s great, good for you, but a lot of us are somewhere like, maybe still aspiring to get there, but you want a bit more,” Bowen said.

“So I thought Jesse really grasped that, and I also loved how he showed up with, he was so prepared. Like he had this whole binder. I remember looking over and the day before we shot he had notes for every single line,” Bowen said. “Like that would remind him about something. I mean, I snuck a couple of looks. I won’t share like the private stuff, but you know, it would be like how he felt in his life, and then that helped him deliver Mike’s line. So I saw things like that where I was like, okay, he really gets this and he takes this really seriously. Which is amazing because you don’t know, like you could get an actor who just wants the paycheck and they’re going to do some little indie movie and mail it in for a couple weeks and then get lost, you know. So I was so thankful that no, he wanted to do this role and he was really into it.”

Biggest Takeaway

At the end of the day, Bowen hopes people take away that it’s not too late to get in touch with your passion wehter that relates to comics or not. It’s important to find your passion and make time for it, and above all else, don’t let self doubt defeat you before you even get started.

“We need to find a way to get in touch with our passion, and that doesn’t have to mean, like Mike, quitting your day job. I’m not saying if you’re 40, go join the band down the street and try to make it, you know, but I am saying could you find a way to carve out some time in your week, even if it’s just on a weekend for a few hours to write that novel you always wanted to write or, or to play music with friends that you haven’t gotten to do or illustrate like Mike? I think that all of us benefit from getting in touch with that passion and feeling like there’s something that really drives us. when you wake up in the morning, like, what excites you? And I think it’s also, Don’t think it’s too late. I mean, there’s so many stories of people who, most of their success came after 40 or after 50,” Bowen said.

“There’s so many stories of people who have said, you know what, it’s not too late for me. I can do this, and if you’re setting these obstacles for yourself, then you’re the only one putting the obstacles in the way. Oh, I’m too old. Oh, probably wouldn’t work out anyway. Well, there’s so many people, if they said that, then we would be robbed of their success that we’ve all enjoyed,” Bowen said. “So that’s what I would say is it isn’t too late, but don’t let it be too late. Don’t get to the point where you’re 75 and you’re sitting around going, gosh, you know, What if I had just taken that chance? You don’t want that. That regret will eat at you later. So it’s like, go, Go get it while you still can.”

The Comic Shop is available on demand on Prime Video right now, and you can check it out right here.

What did you think of The Comic Shop, and what’s your favorite comic store memory? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!