In this episode of Comic Book Men, Star Wars legend Billy Dee Williams drops by the Stash to win the Millennium Falcon the same way Lando lost it – in a high stakes card game.

The latest episode of Comic Book Men continues this season’s insistence of having celebrities stop by for “spontaneous” segments that feel set-up and about as natural as an oral bowel movement. The latest is Billy Dee Williams who’s looking to get an over-sized Millennium Falcon for his nephew and when quoted the price decides to play a game of cards instead to negotiate on the price. The Star Wars jokes are plenty, as well as Williams’ quoting Lando’s memorable lines as if handed a list of notes to hit during his segments.

Instead the two strongest segments are instead the more natural ones involving people attempting to sell their items. One is a limited edition Bugs Bunny cell, and the other a trading card set of The Twilight Zone. Those two are more interesting because of the discussion of some of the history about them, and more interesting Walt’s decision on what to do as far as purchasing that. It might not seem super exciting, and turns the show into a knock-off of Pawn Stars, but at least in this episode, it’s the most interesting things.

The episode absolutely has its moments, and is pretty humorous at times, but the inclusion of celebrities has been a crutch this season that needs to be gotten rid of. They’re replacing  the “whacky moments” of seasons past, but creates a rather odd world revolving around this “comic book store.” The episode is just ok, but it’s one of the weaker ones this season, no matter how much I might dream of playing cards with Lando….

Overall rating: 6.8

In this episode of Comic Book Men, hip-hop legend Darryl McDaniels of Run DMC brings his new comic in to the Stash, and the guys look at a classic Marvel Silver Age #1 issue.

The episode isn’t quite as good as the previous week, but overall, it’s a solid entry in a somewhat down year for the show. The episode straight up kicks off with Darryl McDaniels coming into the store to promote his comic. It’s a very similar show he’s put on when on other television series. That’s his personality it seems. What’s fun though is, he winds up challenging Ming to a rap battle, which is actually entertaining and somewhat fun to see. Ming steps up, and the guy who tends to get a lot of shit on the show actually gets some respect due to that.

The two “selling” segments have individuals selling some Marvel comics. One is Sub-Mariner #1 which turns out is still a rather affordable comic. I was a bit surprised by that. The other segment is to sell What If? comics which I have fond memory of.

The show wraps up with the guys surprising Kevin Smith at the end with something. And it’s a very real moment, you can’t fake his reaction.

The episode is an entertaining one. There’s not much depth, but it’s a cute half-hour of television.

Overall rating: 7.8

In this episode of Comic Book Men, Kevin’s assistant Ashley brings her feminine wiles to the Stash and learns about comic book retail, also a pair of pro wrestlers wants to sell their comic.

The episode is a fantastic one once it gets going. Initially two wrestlers, one rather well-known, show up to sell their comic. It’s very staged and a not subtle advertisement for the comic series. It’s not a bad thing, but it’d be nice to show more about how stocking and purchasing happens, and how messed up it is in the comic book world. This isn’t at all realistic, though entertaining in its own way.

What’s really great is when Ashley shows up and is run through what its like to work at the shop. She brings a much different approach to the store, and gives the guys a hell of a run in how they do things. She’s a welcome addition to the series, someone I hope we see more of. How she buys and sells is something interesting, and the guys reactions are entertaining. It’s not super often we get women on this show, and this one is packed with them. A positive step, and maybe we’re seeing the show pick up on what the rest of the industry is starting to understand, women are a good portion of the fandom, and it’s time to include them.

The episode is the best of the year, and also brings something desperately needed, a feminine touch.

Overall rating: 8

In this episode of Comic Book Men, Butch Patrick, TV’s Eddie Munster, drops by the Stash. Also, a Star Wars action figure so rare it was never officially released lands on the counter.

The episode is an ok one. There’s some interesting items being sold. There’s some funny moments. But, overall, the episode is just ok, not a lot happens.

There’s some interesting items being sold, I’ll start with that. The Star Wars figure being sold is one that I’ve heard about, but can’t say I’ve ever seen one I think. It’s some fun history discussing the toy and some of the things going on at the time. The other toy brought in to be sold is much newer, and I was a bit surprised at the amount that was mentioned for it, but the logic thrown out there is really interesting.

The really cool moment of the episode is Butch Patrick showing up, who gives some cool history of The Munsters, and his costume. It was something I didn’t know, and to see him go over some history of the show was pretty cool.

Overall the episode is an ok one. Seriously not much happens, but there’s some interesting history thrown out there, and for geeks, that might be enough. Better than quite a few episodes this season, but it’s just ok in my book.

Overall rating: 7

In this episode of Comic Book Men, Comic legends, artist Neal Adams and writer Denny O’Neil, drop by the Stash. Also, the guys look at a pristine set of 50-year-old Batman night lights.

The episode kicks off with a person trying to sell a Robert Crumb comic which Walt immediately shrugs off. It’s interesting with as low-brow as some jokes are, they weren’t willing to buy the comic. In my shop, we had a solid “adult comics” following, and I wouldn’t think twice about purchasing the comic. So for them to not be willing to, is really interesting to me.

For me, the episode’s highlight is Neal Adams visiting the guys to pick up some comics for a project he’s working on, but what’s really cool is his talking about comic history. It’s really cool to hear his thoughts on some of the comics he’s drawn, especially when he admits a cover he hates, but folks love. It’s really cool insight I wish we got more of.

The episode wraps up with two folks trying to sell items, both have some nostalgia around them and they’re both interesting. The prices thrown out for them are pretty high, and they might be worth it, neither are items I know much about. It’s cool to see them though.

The episode is another good one, with the Neal Adams segment being the strongest of the season so far. I’d love to see more of that on the series going forward, but I’ll take what I can get.

Overall rating: 7.25

In this episode of Comic Book Men, Adam West visits and a drag race between the Batmobile and the Black Beauty ignites and a customer sells the 1st comic appearance of Rocket Raccoon.

The men of Comic Book Men are back in the second half of their fourth season. The episode is a good one, probably the best of the season so far. There’s some funny jokes, there’s good discussion of comic book history, and the end drag race is actually really funny.

The thing about a lot of the episodes is how much of it is set up, instead of the natural goings on at a comic shop. I used to work at one, and it was weird, but I didn’t get celebrities, or 90% the cool opportunities of these guys. But, tonight throws out a lot of that with the majority of it clearly staged, hell West admits Kevin Smith sent him down to sign some books.

There’s also a solid moment with one of the folks in trying to sell something, and Walt having to decide if the store will buy it or he will, having been there I can relate.

The show wraps up with the drag race, and it’s really funny, especially after the build up. The season has been mixed, but this is a highlight episode.

Overall rating: 7.25

In this episode of Comic Book Men, Walt considers buying hand and footprints of Adam West and Burt Ward from the “Batman” TV series. Then, a customer sells a rare set of “Star Wars” comic strips.

In the sixth episode of Comic Book Men, things get back to basics, as there’s no campy adventures, or trips places, this is just simple people coming in to sell items and a bit of history of things. And when Comic Book Men gets simple, it also gets much stronger.

This episode has an interesting mix of items including the comics, some Batman memorabilia, and a G.I. Joe toy. Mixed throughout is the usual jokes and ribbing that makes these guys seem like fun folks to hang out with. Each item has a nice explanation as to what it is, and why it’s significant. Yes, the show then comes off as a Pawn Stars for geeks, but it’s the jokes and humor that makes it stand apart. There’s also the fact I actually like this stuff.

Overall, the episode is a back to basics one after some recent episodes that had a theme throughout, and that’s not a bad thing.

Overall rating: 7

In this episode of Comic Book Men, Walt and the guys visit BronyCon, a fan convention for “My Little Pony.” Also, a customer wants to sell a board game from the 1970s featuring Godzilla.

The episode is an entertaining one that I’m going back and forth about. A Brony for folks that don’t know, is an adult who is a fan of My Little Pony, a toy and animated show that’s geared more towards little girls, but has found an impressive fandom outside of that demographic.

After a person comes in to sell an item having to do with My Little Pony, the guys decide to head to BronyCon in Baltimore to check out the scene more and figure out if there’s a bigger market out there for them to cater to. They also decide to participate in the costume contest, and it’s interesting to see who takes that seriously, and who kind of mocks the Brony culture. What I also find interesting is the knowledge that some of them show, something they’re clearly not comfortable with showing off at times, especially I think because Walt shows disdain. It shows an interesting dynamic of the guys.

Overall, the episode is mixed for various reasons. I had issues with it because it seems to mock Bronies a bit. I liked it because it showed off the odd dynamic of Walt and the guys.

Overall rating: 6.9

In this episode of Comic Book Men, the guys agree to help out a friend and babysit her daughter for the afternoon. An Indiana Jones superfan tries to sell rare items from the films.

This was an interesting episode, in that it’s the first episode I felt the guys were outright mean to someone coming into the store. The Indiana Jones fan is the first to come into the store, and there’s something about the joking that comes off as mean spirited. It’s a very odd segment overall, but a cool item is shown…. so there’s that.

The other segment involving someone trying to sell something is just odd, and shows off the unrealistic expectations folks have in trying to sell their items. That too is a very odd one. But, it shows that folks have a poor idea of what their stuff is actually worth.

The baby segment is very entertaining. Watching the guys deal with the baby is almost a stark contrast to their dealing with their customers, and each other. Some of the stuff is pure gold, and had me laughing. Overall, the baby crawling around the store reminded me a lot of stores that allow cats (or ferrets in the case of the store I used to work out) run around. Something just odd about it all.

Again a very interesting episode that’s a bit mixed. It’s better than last week, but not quite as awesome as some previous episodes.

Overall rating: 6.85