The Comic Book Palace
At the 40 minute mark, I do believe a movie stops being a short, and becomes a feature film. That doesn’t have anything to do with the film that “The Comic Book Palace” is, but at 40 minutes in length, I feel like the director’s consideration of this film as a “short” is not valid. Again, nothing to do with the film on a critical level; this is more me just thinking out loud.
The film is a documentary that looks at the life of a comic book store (the one the film is named after); it’s owner (Glenn O’Leary), and the daily and monthly routines he goes through to keep the store up and running; and his clientele, focusing on regulars and friends, but also sharing anecdotes about newbies who come in, as well. The Comic Book Palace, which is located in director Felipe Jorge’s hometown of Haverhill, MA, has been in business for 20 years, and it’s interesting to see the inner workings of how it is run, and how particular decisions are made. This is a very slice-of-life film. No big dramatic shifts in momentum– just very observational about the store, and the people who frequent it.
This is Jorge’s first attempt at a documentary, and he does quite a good job. As a geek myself, I enjoyed the subject matter, and how passionate people got about it. As a fan of film, this is a sturdy, interesting movie, with a solid grasp on what the story it’s telling is. Being a documentary, the people in the film are real, and they don’t feel like they’re overdoing it for the camera– all the interactions feel genuine and honest (although there does seem to be a particular beef with comic writer Grant Morrison that comes through; it’d be interesting to get his take on things). A fun movie to watch, which really, is what matters most when you get down to it with this subject matter.
