Ming Chen was born in Ohio to parents born in China, but raised in Taiwan.[clarification needed] The family frequently moved due his father being an upstart engineer, but spent significant time in Jackson, Michigan and Ann Arbor, Michigan.[3][7] Chen attended the University of Michigan (class of 1996), graduated with a degree in communications, and he at one point also worked at a video shop.[4][7][8]
Chen became involved with Kevin Smith after making a fansite dedicated to the movie Clerks in 1996.[4][9] Smith asked Chen to build the View Askew Productions website.[4] Chen served as an extra in the movie Dogma.[3] After working around the Washington, D.C. area, and LivePlanet for two years, he joined Kevin Smith's company in 2002.[3][4] Chen became the full-time webmaster of View Askew after moving to New Jersey.[4] One of the oddest requests from Kevin Smith has been to drive eight hours and deliver a copy of Red State to a critic from the Los Angeles Times in Maine.[3][10]
Chen partnered with Hunter Pence and others to create Coral Sword: Coffee, Comics & Games in Houston, Texas, which opened in February 2018.[12][13][14] Chen partnered with Mike Zapcic to open A Shared Universe PodcaStudio in 2018, with a second location opening in 2020.[6]
Personal life
Chen is married to Debbie and has two children.[3] His favorite baseball team is the Baltimore Orioles.[5] Two of his favorite comic books include Ex Machina and Preacher. Chen's favorite book as a kid was Avengers #214.[15] On Comic Book Men, Chen was able to purchase the USS Flagg, a toy his parents could not afford.[16] He has also participated in several marathons.[17] Chen also does work for two non-profits, Street Poets Inc. and The Kenny Gordon Foundation.[10][18] Chen joined The YMCA of Greater Monmouth County as a board member in 2021.[19]