Call him a pop culture icon, a critically-acclaimed film director, or a comic book writer, but just don’t call him Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith has just signed on to host the December 2nd UCLA event MARVEL THEN AND NOW: An Evening with Stan Lee and Joe Quesada.

The event is a benefit function for the Hero Initiative, a federally-chartered not-for-profit charity that provides financial assistance for comic creators in need. It will be conducted in the vein of Inside The Actor’s Studio, only without the pretense and with a lot more cool.

Lee was the first editor in chief of Marvel Comics and co-creator of such characters as Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four and many others, while Quesada currently holds the editor-in-chief title at the company Stan helped build. Smith, cast in the James Lipton role for the evening, brings along with him a healthy knowledge of Marvel lore, having written a celebrated run of Marvel’s DAREDEVIL comic book.

“Kevin knows his stuff,” Quesada said. “I can’t think of anyone else who can really keep up with Stan the way Kevin can.”

The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. at UCLA’s Ackerman Grand Ballroom, are now on sale at the UCLA Box Office and all Los Angeles area Ticketmaster outlets. You can also buy them online at:

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0B003D50F960534F?artistid=1080639&majorcatid=10005&minorcatid=104

Ticket prices are $18 for UCLA students and $20 for non-students, with all proceeds going to benefit the Hero Initiative, a federally chartered not-for-profit organization that provides financial assistance for comic creators in need. Tickets are also available for a VIP reception before the program which will feature the ability to hob-knob, rub elbows and otherwise just hang out with Stan and Joe and some of the evening’s special guests. Those tickets are $100, and also benefit The Hero Initiative. To purchase VIP tickets, call the UCLA box office at 310-825-2101.

Um… “Clerks II”, anyone?

Washington Post: “Clerks II finds Smith up to the profane, raunchy, profoundly humanist mischief of which he alone is the master.”

Andrew Sarris: “Clerks II strikes its deepest chords when it appeals to the emotional security of a passionately provincial status quo.”

The NY Times: “If anything, the sequel is more defiant in its disdain for the rat race, elevating the white-guy-doing-nothing prerogative from a lifestyle choice to a moral principle… In the years since “Clerks” he has become a husband and father, as well as something of a Hollywood player, and a glimmer of tolerant adult wisdom shines through the scatology and willful immaturity. “Clerks II” has a dirty mind, but its heart is pure.”

63% (Fresh) on RottenTomatoes.com (91 good reviews, 54 not good)

Saying the films “just don’t work like they used to” is subjective, to say the least.

That all being said, I’m doing “Manchild” not because I hope it’ll teach me something about acting (though I’m happy to learn); I’m doing it because a) the “Manchild” folks asked me to, and b) it’s a killer part in a funny script.

Also, I haven’t “increased” my attention to television; television’s attention to me has simply increased exponentially with whatever notoriety I’ve built over the years. If folks had asked me to be on their shows back in ‘94, I’d have done it in a heartbeat; it’s just that nobody ever asked. 12 years on, I’ve become a little more well-known, and I guess the logic from those who’ve cast me is “He’s got an audience. Maybe his audience will follow him.”

And it’s not even always that calculating: a friend of mine produces “Veronica Mars” and asked me to come cameo (after which I finally watched the entire first season and fell in love with the show).

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, Monika. Not all of us plot out our careers that much… or at all (witness “Jersey Girl”, as some will say). For whatever reason, my day job has afforded me opportunities to do a myriad of non-directing gigs, and rather than snub them because they’re not germane to my chosen profession, I like to give ‘em all a try (writing comics, the “Tonight Show” gig, acting, etc.). You get one life, right? Might as well give some stuff a shot.

It’s just a pilot, at the moment. Who knows if it even goes to series? And if it does, maybe I get replaced with a real actor. But when this opportunity presented itself, it seemed stupid to pass it up simply because it’s not something I’m normally known to do. However, does it have anything to do with the suggested “struggle” (and, for the record, mixing my “mature life with the humor and fart jokes of his past success” is something I’ve been doing since “Chasing Amy”, really – the most well-received of all our flicks)? No.

And, in case anyone finds my response post defensive or argumentative, please be assured that I’m not trying to come off as pissy – not in the least. Since inflection is absent from the printed word, folks on the ‘net tend to assign a negative connotation to posts like this, or dismiss them as jeremiads. I didn’t feel that was where Monika was coming from, and I hope I’ll be extended the same courtesy. It’s an interesting notion she’s brought up; but one I just wanted to chime in on, as the subject is… well, me.

Bottom line: I’m not abandoning one medium for the other (which may disappoint the folks who don’t like my flicks); I’m just giving this acting thing a try when the odd role that I respond to falls into my lap. The reactions to my first big non-Bob performance have been encouraging (”Kevin Smith, as Grady’s housemate Sam, proves he’s no one-note Silent Bob. Although wearing a tie-dyed shirt may be the biggest challenge he faces here, he fills his comic-relief duties easily and has time left over to show a little tenderness.” – from the Hollywood Reporter “Catch & Release” review), so I figured I’d try it again.

Anyway, hope all’s well with you (all). I continue to dig the site.