San Diego Comic Con 2011: Talking Tennis Shoes with Jason Mewes

It’s hard to believe it, but San Diego Comic Con is next week! As you probably already know, there’s no telling which celebrities you’re likely to meet if you’re attending America’s greatest geek culture event ever.

While I was far too busy interviewing our awesome authors to do much celebrity stalking, I managed to see my fair share, including Stan Lee, Glenn Danzig, several cast members from The Walking Dead television show, Adam Savage from the Mythbusters and Penn Jillette of comedy magic duo Penn and Teller, who happened to be standing behind me at the breakfast buffet. I’m sure that this year’s con will be just as full of opportunities for star-watching, and if I can stop for a minute and catch my breath, I may even try to talk to a few of them.

For many celebrities, San Diego Comic Con is an opportunity to get out and meet their fans while building good buzz for their latest project. These days, it doesn’t even really matter if that project isn’t specifically comic book-oriented or even especially geeky, because Comic Con is the place to showcase what’s new and hot in the world of entertainment. Oftentimes publicity for Comic Con appearances starts weeks before the con itself, and if you’re a media type and you’re lucky, you can grab a few minutes of chat time with your favorite celebrities.

I recently managed to touch base with the one and only Jason Mewes, best known for his work in buddy Kevin Smith’s View Askewniverse films (to name a few: Clerks, Clerks 2, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back), in which he and Smith play stoner duo Jay and Silent Bob. Mewes has something of a cult following based on both his film work and his contributions to the SModcast Network, a confederation of allied podcasts helmed by Smith and friends. These days, you can hear both Smith and Mewes on their podcast “Jay & Silent Bob Get Old.”

Mewes will be at San Diego Comic Con to promote a number of different projects under the SModcast umbrella, including promoting the SMODCO branded Etnies sneaker line – “Smeakers” – and a live recording of “Jay & Silent Bob Get Old” with Smith at the House of Blues.

“We have an awesome weekend planned for SModCO,” said Mewes. “On Thursday we’ll be having an Etnies party and sneaker release, and will SModcast live during the event. On Friday ‘Jay & Silent Bob Gets Old’ and ‘Hollywood Babble-On’ will be live at the House of Blues, and Saturday there will be a Kevin Smith Q & A in Hall H, so we have an awesome, fun-filled weekend ahead of us, plus some other tidbits.”

Of course, Comic Con won’t be all business for Mewes, an avid comic book fan who plans on taking in all the sights…and smells!

“When I am not doing one of those lovely things, I will most definitely be on the floor wandering the aisles, smelling sweet comics, toys and movie memorabilia. I am so excited to be there yet again, and I am stoked to see the costumes, the books and the sweet San Diego air.”