25 YEARS SINCE 'CLERKS'

Stan "The Man" Lee... If you don't know who Stan Lee is, then you should just stop reading right now, crawl out from under the rock in which you are clearly living and Google it! Stan Lee, God of Marvel, has delighted us with his cameos in all 23 MCU films. But before the MCU, Stan's biggest big-screen role was as himself in 1995's 'Mallrats'. Kevin Smith's love and devotion to all things comics is long and vast, constantly referencing them in his films and even going so far as to open his own comic book store (well, two actually), the result of which spawned its own TV show called 'Comic Book Men' which ran for seven seasons between 2012 and 2017. But I digress. Sure, Stan played a part here, a part there, narrated this and that, but it wasn't until his 'Mallrats' appearance that the "name among names" finally became a household name for the uninitiated. Playing himself, a subplot of 'Mallrats' revolves around the comic book-obsessed Brodie (Jason Lee) attempting to meet his hero when The Man makes a signing appearance at the mall's comic book store. Unsuccessful in the traditional sense, the pair finally meet by sheer happenstance and Stan imparts some sage wisdom and love advice on our anti-hero. And with that, a lifelong friendship was forged both on and off-screen. Still not convinced? Then I suggest you revisit Stan's cameo in 2018's 'Captain Marvel' and then get back to me.

Meme Me... These days, you're nobody until somebody loves - I mean, memes you. And for Kevin Smith, it's happened more than once, so the world must love him a lot. Years ago, a paparazzo snapped the filmmaker pumping petrol (or "gas" for our American kinfolk) wearing his infamous uniform of jorts. But these were no ordinary jorts. These where the largest and longest pair of jorts the world had ever seen - and with that, the memes came rolling in. Sweet doggy doo, those jorts need to be seen to be believed! Next stop to Viralville was an ill-fated South West airlines flight in 2010 on which Smith was dubbed "too fat to fly". Smith, the prolific social media user, quickly got the word out to his many followers and the taunts, the jokes, the memes and the catchphrase came in thick and fast. What can I say, there's just something about him that speaks to the Every Man.

Jay and Silent Bob a.k.a. Bluntman and Chronic... What can one say about Jay and Silent Bob? Well, quite frankly, they're the glue that holds the View Askewniverse together. The hetero-lifemates have appeared in seven Smith films, originating in 1994's 'Clerks' where it was love at first puff. They are a force unto themselves, constantly surprising audiences with Bob's sage wisdom and popping up at unexpected moments and even proving themselves to be prophets when dealing with divine beings. The dynamic duo has also appeared in countless other projects together, including 'Scream 3' and wandering into Degrassi High. Fans love them and guys and gals want to be them, with frequent cosplay sightings being made at comic fan events across the globe. I mean, who else can go from quirky bit-parts in a black and white independent movie to having your own feature film, a reboot, a cartoon, toys, a comic book and a fictional superhero movie?

Chronic and Harley Quinn?... Kevin Smith only has one apple, and that pink lady did not fall far from the tree. Presenting themselves as more like twins or BFFs than father and daughter, Smith's offspring Harley Quinn Smith (yes that's her real name, and yes I know, it's freakin' awesome) is steadily becoming a name in her own right as an actor, recently appearing in Tarantino's 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood', a musician with her band The Tenth, director, presenter and vegan and animal rights activist. Smith may have evaded death once, but when it finally comes for him he has well and truly ensured his legacy with this female firecracker.

I Assure You We're Open!... 25 years ago, a little black-and-white movie made by a guy from New Jersey no-one had ever heard of, on a budget of maxed-out credit cards totalling US$27,575 hit Sundance by storm. Smith proved with his little labour of love that anyone can make a movie - a mantra he's repeated time and time again to the droves of fans and wannabes that attend his Q&As. With this one little film, he launched a cinematic universe 14 years before Marvel ever did. He forged lifelong friendships, created characters that still endure to this day, ushered in pop-culture sensations, taught us what Snow Blowing is (eek!) and gave rise to the voiceless and disenfranchised. Like I said - love him or hate him, you know him, you've seen his work, he's inside you now and he's going to hold on tight until his heart stops beating - permanently - and even then his films will still live on.

BONUS ROUND... I was one of the idiot schmucks that actually read 'My Boring Ass Life', Smith's blog-turned-book. In his daily musings, he mentioned his love, obsession and bingeability of the TV show 'Veronica Mars', even earning himself a cameo in season 2. Despite being relentlessly pestered by a school friend to watch the show during its first season, I never did. To this day, I still don't know why. But it was reading Smith gush about this teenage supersleuth that got me intrigued. Fast-forward a couple of years, and I was right there with the other 91,000+ Kickstarter backers pledging our hard-earned funds for a chance to see the 'Veronica Mars' movie. So thank you, Kevin. Credit where credit is due. I am a Marshmallow because of you. Thank you.