I think the proper name for a film such as this is "character piece" but for myself I prefer the term quirkumentary, since it is a documentary based around a central oddity or quirk; this can be a type of activity, a particular event, or an individual (or combination) but the key thing is that it is the oddity but yet engaging subject that draws the viewer into the material. This is the case with Comic Book Heaven, which is a film squarely focused on the owner of said store, Joe Leisner.
He is a grumpy old man at heart; dismissing his own product by saying comics used to be used as toilet paper but then too many American with too much money made junk have value, later saying that Punisher is his favorite comic since he dispenses justice to those that need killing – an idea he likes; some comments are surrounded by lots of throwaway remarks about "kids today" and such standard things. So, in short, this is a character that if you were stuck in a lift with him on a hot day and he started spouting off like this, you probably are going to be doing a lot of passive-aggressive eye- rolling and sighing before you get out of that lift. Credit to the film then, that instead this 10 minutes with Joe is actually fun and engaging, with touches on issues beyond him but yet getting too far from the fact that this is about Joe and the character he is.
The film does this by playing very much to Joe's old school approach, with a film that plays old country and western music as the score, and has themes of a changing world and dying breeds running through it. It manages to make Joe's curmudgeonly ways into something of rough charm, so rather than holding your breath waiting for him to finally say something really non-PC, you relax and enjoy his comments and opinions. The editing is where this has been made to work so well, but the film as a whole is well filmed and produced.
In the end it doesn't amount to a huge amount, but it is still an effectively engaging and entertaining little film for what it is.
