''Clerks'' is a series of comics published in the late 1990s by
Oni Press
Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's merger with Lion Forge Comics. The merged company, Oni–Lion Forge Publishing Grou ...
that continue the adventures of Dante, Randal and other characters from
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...
's film ''
Clerks
A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store.
Office holder
Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court.
*Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...
''. Written by Smith but illustrated by varying artists, the style in these comics is very different from that of the later
animated series
An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...
. The books were republished in paperback and hardcover, and were compiled into ''Clerks (The Comic Books)'', published by
Image Comics
Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...
in March 2000.
Each of the three original ''Clerks'' comics, ''The Lost Scene'', ''The Holiday Special'' and ''The Comic Book'', has exactly 36 pages from front cover to back cover.
''Clerks (The Comic Book)''
After seeing that
Steve-Dave and Walt the Fanboy are overcharging for the extremely popular ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' action figures because of the re-release of the films, Dante and Randal decide to start selling them. Randal is about to order a large stock from Frank Howell at Buy Me Toys when
Jay and Silent Bob
Jay and Silent Bob are fictional characters portrayed by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively, in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, a fictional universe created and used in most of the films, comics, and television programs written and produc ...
stop the order, saying that all their business is being drawn towards the toys instead of the
weed
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...
.
* Published: February 1998
* Pencils:
Jim Mahfood
Jim Mahfood (born March 29, 1975), a.k.a. Food One, is an American comic book creator.
Apart from his creator-owned comic book series ''Grrl Scouts'' and his comic strip ''Stupid Comics'' (which appears weekly in the ''Phoenix New Times'') he also ...
* Cover:
Gilbert Hernandez
Gilberto Hernández (born February 1, 1957), usually credited as Gilbert Hernandez and also by the nickname Beto (), is an American cartoonist. He is best known for his ''Palomar''/''Heartbreak Soup'' stories in '' Love and Rockets'', an alterna ...
* Letters:
Sean Konot
Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish language, Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (Anglicisation of names, anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn (giv ...
''Clerks (The Holiday Special)''
Dante finds out his ex, Caitlin Bree, is being transferred to a new
psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
. While he tries to visit her, Randal is trying to keep his job from rival Vincent, and
Jay and Silent Bob
Jay and Silent Bob are fictional characters portrayed by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively, in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, a fictional universe created and used in most of the films, comics, and television programs written and produc ...
help
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
punch in orders.
* Published: December 1998
* Pencils: Jim Mahfood
* Cover:
Art Adams
Arthur Adams (born April 5, 1963) is an American comics artist, comic book artist and writer. He first broke into the American comic book industry with the 1985 Marvel Comics miniseries ''Longshot (Marvel Comics), Longshot''. His subsequent inte ...
* Letters: Sean Konot
''Clerks (The Lost Scene)''
The events at Julie Dwyer's wake, scripted but cut from ''
Clerks
A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store.
Office holder
Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court.
*Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...
'', that lead to Dante and Randal being chased from the funeral parlor. The two meet
Alyssa Jones
''Chasing Amy'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee. The film is about a male comic artist (Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian woma ...
(of ''
Chasing Amy
''Chasing Amy'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee. The film is about a male comic artist (Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian woma ...
''), Julie's parents (who have hated Dante since they caught him performing oral sex on Julie), and the deceased Julie. An animated version of this scene, in the style of the
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
, was included on the ''Clerks 10th anniversary DVD''. As writer-director
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...
explains in the introduction to the scene on the DVD, it had originally been written for the ''
Clerks
A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store.
Office holder
Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court.
*Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...
'' film, but was not filmed due to budgetary restraints. However, the scene makes reference to plot elements from films that Smith had not written yet when Clerks was made, including T.S.'s connection to Julie's death, which was not added to the plot of ''Mallrats'' until the reshoots, which implies that changes were made to the original script for the scene. The short was animated by
Austin-based
Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc.
At the wake, Randal picks up some death cards from a table and discusses collecting them like
baseball card
A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, sta ...
s. Dante also runs into another former high school classmate,
Alyssa Jones
''Chasing Amy'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee. The film is about a male comic artist (Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian woma ...
. Alyssa tells Dante that she was going to see Julie's appearance on ''Truth or Date'' (see ''
Mallrats
''Mallrats'' is a 1995 American buddy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Jason Lee, Jeremy London, Shannen Doherty, Claire Forlani, Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes, Joey Lauren Adams, Michael Rooker, and Smith as Silent Bob. ...
'') before she learned of her death. Randal walks over to the two and greets Alyssa with "Hey, 'Finger Cuffs'!", prompting her to angrily storm off.
As Dante and Randal wait in line to see
Julie Dwyer
This is a list of major and recurring characters in Kevin Smith's fictional universe known as the View Askewniverse.
''Clerks'' (1994)
Dante Hicks
Dante Hicks, played by Brian O'Halloran, is 22 (33 in ''Clerks II, 49 in Clerks III''), works at ...
's casket, Dante recalls the time he and Julie were caught having sex by her parents. When the two arrive at the casket, they question the choice of Julie's funeral clothing (a
tube top
A tube top, colloquially known in the UK as a boob tube, is a shoulderless, sleeveless women's garment that wraps around the upper torso. It is generally tight over the breasts, and usually uses elastic bands at its top and bottom to prevent it fr ...
), and Randal decides he's bored and wants to go to the car. Dante throws him the keys, but Randal misses the catch and the keys fall into Julie's pants. Dante reaches into the pants to find the keys while Randal rubs his shoulders, making it seem like Dante's upset. Julie's father pushes Randal out of the way and, after seeing Dante's actions, pounces on him. Randal is then pushed by Mrs. Dwyer and bumps into Julie's casket, which topples over, as does Julie's body. Randal catches the keys as they fly into the air, and he and Dante run out abruptly, as depicted in the movie.
* Published: December 1999
* Pencils:
Phil Hester and
Ande Parks
Ande Parks (born October 1, 1964) is an American professional comic book artist, known for his work as an inker and writer in the industry. His best known work has come from his stint with fellow artist Phil Hester (comics), Phil Hester on DC Comi ...
* Cover:
Duncan Fegredo
Duncan Fegredo (; born 1964) is a People of the United Kingdom, British comic book artist.
Career
Born in Leicester, Fegredo first managed to get into comics after showing his portfolio around UKCAC in 1987 and meeting Dave Thorpe. Together th ...
''Where's the Beef?''
Starting from where Dante and Randal watch the burning Quick Stop in ''
Clerks II
''Clerks II'' is a 2006 American comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, the sequel to his 1994 film ''Clerks'', and his sixth feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse. The film stars Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawso ...
'', the comic book follows the pair as they find their job at Mooby's, meeting Becky and Elias, as well as Dante's fiancé, Emma, along the way.
*Published: Mid 2006
*Art: Jim Mahfood
*Design: John Roshell
'' Chasing Dogma''
''Chasing Dogma'' is a comic book mini-series that chronicles the events of the two fictional stoners Jay and Silent Bob between two of their films: ''
Chasing Amy
''Chasing Amy'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee. The film is about a male comic artist (Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian woma ...
'' and ''
Dogma
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...
''. Jay and Silent Bob get the idea that if they go to the town of
Shermer, Illinois
John Wilden Hughes Jr. (February 18, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an American filmmaker. Hughes began his career in 1970 as an author of humorous essays and stories for the '' National Lampoon'' magazine. He went on to Hollywood to write, produc ...
, where most of
John Hughes' movies take place, they could get chicks and be the "blunt connection". Along the way they encounter Holden McNeil, wildlife marshals, and monkeys.
*Published: July 1998 – October 1999
*Art: Duncan Fegredo
Other appearances
* "On the Perils of Cinema", a one-page comic in which Dante and Randal discuss film's effects on society, appeared in the November 1999 issue of
''Talk'' magazine.
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clerks (Comics)
View Askewniverse comics
Oni Press titles
Comics based on films