About Us
Welcome to THE VARIANTS, the Web comedy series that takes you behind the counter of your favorite comic book store.
THE VARIANTS is the brain child of Richard Neal, Joe Cucinotti and Ken Lowery. In early 2009, Richard, owner of the award-winning Zeus Comics, thought all the crazy stuff he saw in his store would make excellent fodder for a comedy series. Seeing the success of Web comedies like “The Guild,” Richard approached Joe and Ken – longtime friends, writers and regulars at the store – to help him develop the series.
The trio discussed and discarded several ideas, including making a faux-documentary-style comedy like “The Office” before settling on an absurd sitcom in the vein of “30 Rock” or “Arrested Development.”
The trio recruited Keli Wolfe and Barry Fuhrman (actual employees at Zeus) to play exaggerated versions of themselves. The group tried a couple Directors of Photography and Editors before choosing Luke Hawkins and Chris Williams, respectively, to give the show its look and feel.
THE VARIANTS—filmed primarily at Zeus Comics—is now in the production phase of Season 2. Richard, Joe and Ken are upping the ante with more sets, a bigger cast, more locations and a hell of a lot more good times.