There was a time when Comic Book Guy seemed like a brilliantly astute observation rendered as an animated character; both as a homage and as a parody of obsessive geek-type human beings whose lives are bent around taking popular culture super seriously. But now everyone takes popular culture super seriously, and Comic Book Guy feels like the awkward, lingering aftermath of a joke that has been going on for way too long. Comic Book Guy still has legions of fans, of course, because he's kind of an audience surrogate for like-minded nerds and geeks. But it's rare that anything that Comic Book Guy - save for his first few appearances - says or does is actually funny. And consider that, in actuality, he's more annoying and irksome than comic, and you wind up wondering why he's considered to be one of the show's best characters. Frankly, there's just not a lot to like.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
