Short answers, pulled from the story.
Kevin Smith raised $27,575 to make Clerks by maxing out more than a dozen credit cards and selling his treasured comic book collection. The film earned $3.1 million at the box office despite never playing on more than 50 screens at any given time, and in 2019 it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry.
The View Askewniverse is the name for the shared canon of films Kevin Smith set primarily in New Jersey, featuring recurring characters including Jay and Silent Bob. The name comes from his production company View Askew Productions, which he co-founded with Scott Mosier. Films in the series include Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks II, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, and Clerks III.
Kevin Smith severed professional ties with Harvey Weinstein after being informed of Weinstein's assault on Rose McGowan, and publicly said he was "ashamed" of the relationship when assault allegations became public in October 2017. Smith pledged to donate future residuals from his Weinstein-produced films to Women in Film, later converting that commitment to a monthly donation of $2,000.
On the 25th of February 2018, immediately after performing a stand-up show at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California, Kevin Smith suffered a severe heart attack caused by a total blockage of the left anterior descending artery. He was treated at Glendale Adventist Medical Center and recovered, after which he adopted a vegan diet and joined Weight Watchers.
Kevin Smith has written for Marvel and DC Comics, including an eight-issue Daredevil arc titled "Guardian Devil" with artist Joe Quesada in 1998-1999, a 15-issue run on Green Arrow for DC that introduced the character Mia Dearden, and Batman: Cacophony with artist Walt Flanagan, whose trade paperback became a New York Times Bestseller. He won a Harvey Award for Best New Talent in comic books in 1999.
Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash is a comic book store in Red Bank, New Jersey, currently at 65 Broad Street, a location that opened on the 22nd of February 2021. Kevin Smith purchased the original store in January 1997 for $30,000 using money earned from Clerks, and the store later served as the setting for the AMC reality series Comic Book Men, which ran from 2012 to 2018.