Kevin Smith announced on his View Askew website that Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back will debut on VHS and DVD on February 12, 2002.  Though it couldn't overcome the more mainstream gross-out humor of American Pie II and win the top spot on the weekend box office charts (see 'Can Jay & Silent Bob Strike Gold'), Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back has had the most successful first run of any Kevin Smith film, grossing some $30 million to date, which means that the film has the potential to create even more interest in one of the key, breakout figures working in comics today.  Because there are so many products associated with Kevin Smith's films and his work in comics, the first quarter release of Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back should represent a solid opportunity for pop culture retailers.

 

So far Smith has not revealed too many of the features that he has planned for the DVD release, though he does indicate that he and Jason Mewes will provide audio commentaries for the disk.  He is also trying to obtain the J&SB shorts that were done in the late nineties for MTV.  But not to worry, it will be a great package that is sure to be more important to pop culture retailers than all the DVDs of $200 million plus grossers like Pearl Harbor, The Mummy Returns, and Rush Hour II combined.

 

Due to production difficulties, the Bluntman and Chronic Action Figures, which tie in directly to Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, didn't make it into stores for the theatrical release of the film, but they should be available (and relatively fresh) for the video release.  The original Jay & Silent Bob figures, which have become specialty market bestsellers over the years, are still available as is the hugely popular Buddy Christ dashboard figure.  In addition to Kevin Smith's great work on Green Arrow there are plenty of Jay & Silent Bob graphic novels available from Image including the Chasing Dogma collection, the Clerks graphic novel, as well as the Bluntman and Chronic collection.  And don't forget that Graphitti Designs has more than 20 Jay & Silent Bob t-shirt designs that are still available.