A Colorful Career Retrospective: “A Kevin Smith Scrapbook” Reviewed

The best thing about the digital revolution is that there are almost no rules. Like independent films in the early ’90s, creators are using available technology to push boundaries and reinvent the way things are done. Thus, the rise of the e-book and the availability of self-publishing now allows a superfan to create their own digital scrapbook of their favorite writer/director/podcaster/author.

I’ve been a fan of Kevin Smith since almost the beginning (I even visited Quick Stop and the former RST Video this summer), but his long and quixotic career has taken many different forms and, as a result, he lost some fans while gaining new ones along the way.

One of those fans was David Gati, who became a major fan of Smith’s not through Clerks or Dogma, but through his podcasting empire, which then led him to revisit Smith’s entire oeuvre with the benefit of hindsight and therefore without the baggage or expectations that come from viewing and reviewing things in real time.

Gati’s book, A Kevin Smith Scrapbook tells Smith’s career trajectory in both Smith’s own words – by transcribing some of his podcast conversations – as well visually through on-set stills, candid photos, memorabilia, reviews, and dozens of pieces of fan art.

Smith’s fans are both legion and devoted, and for those that have followed his work from the beginning, have seen An Evening with Kevin Smith and its sequels, or have listened to his podcasts, this book won’t reveal anything new and is probably filled with things they’ve already seen or heard. While it’s not groundbreaking or an exposé, it is, as the title suggests, a bright, colorful scrapbook collection celebrating the man’s film work, from the beginning of “Clerks” up through “Yoga Hosers.”

It’s a shame that it’s currently only available as an e-book (at the price of $9.99), because presenting it as a nice, big, glossy scrapbook would be more appealing. Regardless, it’s a light, quick compendium that collects all kinds of different items into one place that Smith’s fans will no doubt appreciate.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Christopher Pierznik is the author of nine books. Check out more of his writing at Medium. His work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, Medium, Fatherly, Hip Hop Golden Age, and many more. Subscribe to his monthly newsletter or follow him on Facebook or Twitter.