Marvel

I'm pumped because I recently discovered that Phil's Comic Book Shop on Atlantic is still open for business. I had no idea because I hadn't been down that way in a while. Everyone loves Tate's on University (and rightfully so, it's a cool store), but I like Phil's just as much. It's a tiny place, about the size of a broom closest when compared to the sprawling floorspace of Tate's. If all you want are comics -- and not toys, or anime, or goofy little knick knacks -- then this is a great place to shop because it's all they sell.

I'll buy a couple trade paperbacks and graphic novels every once and a while, but I haven't bought any actual comic books in years. Since I've been out of the loop for so long, I don't really know what's going on. But I was so happy that the store was still around that I felt obligated to buy something.

In X-Men Legacy #219, the Juggernaut becomes a super-villain again after, apparently, being a member of the X-Men for a while. I had no idea he had reformed, but I guess the idea of him being a temprorary hero is sort of cool. This issue was boring, though. It was just him and Professor X talking the whole time. And of course, the key to beating Juggernaut is rip his helmet off and attack him telepathically.

Amazing Spider-Man #579 featured the Shocker, and I've always liked him. He's just a second-string villain and poses little threat, but he has a great character design and makes for a good visual on the page. With that yellow, criss-crossed diamond pattern costume, it looks like he's wearing a very plush quilt. This issue is written by Mark Waid, who had a really good run with Captain America and the Fantastic Four back in the late 90s / early 00s.

Amazing Spider-Man #580 is written by Roger Stern, one of my favorite comic writers. I remember him writing a lot of good Avengers stuff. It has some good fight scenes, but it's with a villain I've never heard of: the Blank. He's completely opaque without any distinguishing facial features and is surrounded by a protective force field. Sounds like of like a rip-off of the X-Men villain Unus the Untouchable.

Amazing Spider-Man #581 was confusing because apparently Harry Osborn has come back to life. I have the original issue where he dies as the Green Goblin, but I guess they've brought him back. Other than all the confusing backstory stuff that I had trouble following, the entire issue was really non-eventful without any fight scenes or action sequences. And it included the Molten Man, who I never really thought much of as a villain. Dan Slott wrote this issue, and even though I've never read of his previous work I have heard some good things about him.

I liked all three of the different artists -- Marcos Martin, Lee Weeks, and Mike McKone -- in each of these three issues. They have a very sleek and streamlined style, everything looking very compact and aerodynamic. I feel that's the way Spider-Man should be drawn. I've seen a lot of other renditions of him looking huge and bulky, with broad shoulder and bulging muscles. That's not how Spider-Man should look at all. He should be really thin and wispy and flexible lanky. He shouldn't look like a weight lifter at all. It should actually be the exact opposite: his stature, posture, and physique should look creepy and inhuman, very Daddy Long Legs-ish. And all of the poses -- jumping, crawling, flipping, somersaulting -- were so smooth and fluid. That's really important to me in a Spider-Man comic, a penciller who knows how to properly choreograph an action sequence.

I also picked up a really old back issue, Uncanny X-Men #243. It had an awesome cover: a giant Mr. Sinister holding out the X-Men in his palm over a pit of flames, all of them dangling and hanging on this fingertips. The print date on the inside cover reads April 1989. It was nice to see Longshot again, who never gets enough airtime.

It'll never happen because of the social stigma attached to them, but comic books really do deserve more respect and renown as an artistic medium. They're visuals and verse, together. The perfect balance of two incredible things.

Comics are expensive these days. I remember a lot of them were $.99 when I was a kid, but now most of them are $3.00. I'm seriously thinking about getting a subscription. I'll be able to save a full $1 for a year's worth of issues.

A musty, moldy smell of old paper permeated the entire shop. With all of those boxes of back issues piled high upon one another, there's literally decades of rot in the air. All of that ground up pulp, that fading ink, paper that had gotten wet and then dried -- it's almost claustrophobic. It's a smell that only an avid reader could love. It's the smell of literacy.

Right on cue, I walked in to hear two customers talking about Lost and Heroes. Now, I don't have anything specifically against either of these shows -- I used to watch Lost and I've never seen an episode of Heroes, but I imagine I'd like it enough -- but I could barely conceal my condescending sneer as I eavesdropped on their conversation. Comic book nerds are so admirably and obliviously awkward (for the sake of reference, I do like comics and I do think of myself as a nerd, but not necessarily a comic book nerd). Perhaps more than anything, I've noticed their very distinct speech patterns. They're all very loud speakers. Not the hyper-macho, aggressive kind of loud you'll hear from a jock-bro or frat-bro at a bar. And not the annoying, inconsiderate kind of loud that you'll hear from a rude Soccer Mom on her cell phone while getting checked out in the express lane. This is much different, a loud that is completely unaware and unconcerned with of its surroundings. Kind of a like a social cluelessness. It's booming and cacophonous, lacking any sense of tact, grace, or shame. But in their defense, it's actually respectable in that they can discuss the most unattractive and unflattering topics without hesitation. I like to think that I'm pretty comfortable in my own skin, but even I would admit that talking out loud about how the 2nd generation of All-New, All-Different X-Men were assembled in order to rescue the original X-Men from the mutant island of Krakoa (and be assured, I can go on and out about this) would make me feel more than a little self-conscious.

And because of all the critical acclaim it's received, I'm gonna check out Ed Brubaker's Captain America and Daredevil next.