Robert Bruce, who starred on the AMC reality series Comic Book Men with filmmaker Kevin Smith, was found dead in a storage unit on Friday evening. He was 62. He had been living in the storage unit in Red Bank, New Jersey.
Officers were called to the City Center Plaza Professional Records Storage Facility at around 6:30 p.m. Friday after someone discovered a body in one of the storage units, police said. During their investigation, police discovered that Bruce’s family had not heard from him in several days. His family was concerned after they learned he was living in a storage unit that he used as an office. A friend discovered Bruce’s body and called the police. Foul play is not suspected in Bruce’s death, reports NJ.com.
Videos by PopCulture.com
It’s not clear how long Bruce was in the storage unit. The Middlesex County Medical Examiner’s Office is now investigating his death. Anyone with information is asked to call Red Bank Police Detective Sean Hauschildt at 732-530-2719.
Bruce’s son Joshua took to his father’s Instagram page to share the sad news. “Dad was by no means a perfect human being,” Joshua wrote. “His flaws and quirks made him a unique breed; a historian of so much popculturizm, as he would phrase it. Even though he lived in ample darkness as he did in the light, his victories outshined his failures. He took care with the things he covered, and he truly cared about others, even though he was never prone to expressing that sentiment openly.”
Smith shared his condolences on Twitter after Bruce’s brother John Bruce responded to Smith’s post celebrating the new year. “My condolences! I’m truly sorry to read this John,” Smith wrote. “[Bruce] was always a welcome addition to any episode of [Comic Book Men], as well as a nice guy. I’ll miss Rob.”
Bruce described himself as a “popculturist” and “convention guru” on social media. He starred in 34 episodes of Comic Book Men from 2012 to 2018 and was credited as a consulting producer. According to Smith, AMC filmed a sizzle reel featuring Bruce and his family for a possible Comic Book Men spin-off, but the project was scrapped when AMC decided to stop producing reality shows. Comic Book Men is now streaming on AMC+.
