The Kevin Smith-led Secret Stash Press imprint at Dark Horse Comics is adding some familiar characters to its lineup. Today the publisher announced Quick Stops, a new four-issue miniseries that will tell stories set in the world of and featuring characters from Smith’s View Askewniverse. The black-and-white series, which will be written by Smith and illustrated by various artists, will debut in time to celebrate the release of Clerks III, which is due out in select theaters next month.
Here’s how Dark Horse describes the first issue of Quick Stops, which will be illustrated by Jermey Simser and lettered by Andrew Thomas:
In the premiere issue of Quick Stops, Chronic-Con guest of honor Holden McNeil tells Chasing Amy’s Alyssa Jones and a packed Chronic-Con crowd his story of going green with legendary loiterers Jay and Silent Bob in the Quick Stop cooler – and how it directly led to the birth of his Bluntman and Chronic comic books!
In a statement announcing the new series, Smith praised the medium of comics for refusing to bow to the ravages of time like actors do:
“Quick Stops is where I finally get to tell tales from across the Askewniverse that I’ve always wanted to write!” Smith said. “And even though Jason Mewes and I keep getting older in real life, in the pages of Quick Stops, our rotating roster of amazing artists will keep us both looking forever 90’s young! This has been the most fun I’ve had writing in my life because all these chatacters mean so much to me! I can’t wait to reach 100 issues one day! But for now, I’ll settle for Issue #1!”
Quick Stops is not the first time that Smith has used comics to tell new stories set in the View Askewniverse, which includes movies like Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Oni Press published a number of Clerks comics in the ’90s featuring artwork by Jim Mahfood and Phil Hester & Ande Parks (with whom Smith also teamed on DC’s Green Arrow in the early ’00s). Another one-shot comic, Chasing Dogma, bridged the gap between two of Smith’s films and was illustrated by Duncan Fegredo.
Look for Quick Stops #1 (of 4) to arrive in stores and digitally on Wednesday, November 2nd.