Phoenix Comics & Collectibles
107-5 Stewart Avenue
Hicksville, NY 11801
Tel. or fax: (516) 939-9129
E-Mail: phoenixcomicsli@aol.com
Our stock offers a plethora of comic books from all eras, and sci-fi and horror novels in the thousands!
We also offer a huge collection of TV and movie photo stills and memorabilia.
So come on over and join our growing family of fandom enthusiasts!
Time for fun topics. Sinestro War is really heating up. ION vs. Prime was a hoot. Has anyone been reading Countdown lately? Prime is such an evil badass. I love him! Ok… So, World War Hulk… There has been some mixed reviews regarding the finale and the whole of this Marvel event. Me? I thought it was ok. It pretty much reached my expectations. Nothing new to the genre or trend of comic stories. Just a decent concept and story told to the best of the writer’s ability. Some people I know loved it, but I think in the back of their minds, even they expected more. I’ve heard some say they hated it. My question to those people is, “Don’t you read my posts?”. I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat myself. Marvel is a company that likes to play things safe. Whenever they do mess up, which is rather spectacularly when they do, they always find the most simplistic and quickest solution out of their dilemma. One can’t fault the writers, the blame usually goes far above them. The current convenient scapegoat is the editor-in-chief, Joe Quesada. However, him being a comic guy to begin with, I find it hard to blame the guy for all overall major character decisions. I believe it’s the publishers and the major shareholders that determine the direction of every storyline. How the sales would benefit is always the underlining factor in every regard. I’m not saying though that these shareholders have direct input into storylines. They do definitely have an indirect influence on every decision that the writers at Marvel put on the table. How so does it differ from DC? DC is owned by Warner Bros. The comic book dept. is but a small part of a greater whole. So, writers and editors are usually allowed a wider berth of freedom to expand more riskier ideas and concepts. Marvel is a much smaller entity and thus subject to tighter scrutiny.
Have people heard about the upcoming finale plans for our favorite arachnid super-hero? Of course I’m referring to the “One More Day” story arc. It was supposedly leaked from an insider at Marvel about the controversial Spidey story. It has been speculated for months by fans that something tragic befalls Mary Jane. That her possible death might be the result of the story arc’s conclusion. However, the new developments have revealed something incredibly sinister.
What do I mean by sinister? Sinister, on the part by Marvel’s continued attempt to sabotage any feeling that this company has any loyalty towards their fans beside contempt! It has been rumored that Spidey sacrifices his love and memory for MJ to save his dearly loved Aunt May. A supernatural character whose powers outstrip even most of Marvel’s other mystical or technological illuminaries grants him Aunt May’s health in exchange for MJ’s existence in his life. What the?!?
A proverbial genie pops up and erases an established plot of the Spider-man mythos in the last twenty years? Again, I ask, “WHAT THE?!?”
For years, many fans have debated and argued that the biggest flaw in the Spider-man line was to have the character married to MJ. The character was well established as a troubled underdog character, never getting his relationships, finances, life in general on track. His character persona was that of someone the reader could relate to. Someone who continued to perservere regardless of the things weighed upon him. When he married a woman considered to be one of the most beautiful and potentially successful model/actresses in America, the comic lost its way.
Now twenty years later, Marvel attempts to rectify that error with a storyline that is hollow and insipid. Contempt is the term I use, disclaiming any of Marvel’s attempts to justify such a heinous crime against Spider-man readers. I prefer the inner Marvel fandom joke about using the Infinity Gauntlet, or the Onslaught contingency, to dispel away “Failed Marvel Error Concepts”.
Since the actual comic story has yet to fully unfold, and the final two installments are already behind schedule; one can only hope that the Marvel “in house” leak is but a ruse to gather input from fans as a test, and that the leak itself was but another false rumor. Until then, my current rant can turn out to be entirely moot.
Otherwise, I know a fan or two who will be cancelling their subscription to a particular webslinger.
Peace…
Hello Fellow Comic Fans! Lately, I’m just disgusted by and fed up with Marvel’s editors in handling their titles. All the Marvel line of titles just show a lack of consideration for their readers. Bad enough, the non-existent continuity in any of their titles. You’d think that every book was an Image comic in their own little universe, and the rest of the world outside their sphere of influence was a void. It gets a little tedious.
My main beef is, “when was the last time Marvel characters were doing anything heroic”? In the last three plus years characters have been in-fighting, betraying, and renegading from either the gov’t or among themselves. Bad enough the “Civil War” left a bad taste in readers mouths, and now “World War Hulk” is continuing the trend. Then we have the Skrull paranoia looming for next year. It’s a trend that won’t end. Marvel is badly sabotaging their characters. Ruining Iron Man’s rep, destroying Spider-man’s identity, and jerking Cap around like an indecisive idiot. They need to reboot their universe again. Another Onslaught and Heroes Reborn event.
What the hell is with the “World War Hulk” cross-overs? They’re pretty pointless. Marvel is making mistakes that DC used to make in the past. If you’re going to copy events from another company, learn from them. DC is a lot wiser and more experienced in event story-telling than they were over a dozen years ago. Marvel needs help catching up. Also, “Endangered Species” was a deceiving promotion by Marvel. Impressing upon readers and retailers alike that it was another mutant event, instead of some back-up thread in their mutant titles. Can anyone say, “TP ploy”? The selling of the intro one-shot through ebay enmasse is a prime indicator that the readers felt duped, and now desperately willing to unload this book quickly.
Unfortunately, my griping will never end, so far as much as Marvel is concerned. Things won’t be getting better for Marvel in a long time to come, if ever. When I first started reading comics, I was a huge Marvel fan. Huge! It was during the late 90’s my focus started to shift. No surprise really. No surprise at all.
I apologize for my lack of blogging. Owning a store is time consuming. Anyway, this is a poke at Hollywood statement. Hollywood has no integrity! Surprised? Of course not… For all the people who are among the enlightened (members of my store), Hollywood is run by mindless suits without a single original, scratch that (”original” is a useless word, that lacks meaning nowadays), creative or inspired thought. Every film project is simply regurgitated material from the past. Alot, from the current past. I, and my fellow Phoenix Comics crew (members), keep asking why? Why?!? I need fresh and new, to delight me! Everything borrowed gets worn pretty thin, as we all know. Even when Hollywood takes a known property, they metamorphasize it (bastardize is more befitting a term), into something that the suits seem more palatable to “their” tastes.
All summer long I was truly disgusted by the celluloid fare we were subjected to. By my estimation, it was pathetically the worst event summer in history! Spidey 3? Disappointing… Pirates of the Carribean 3? Dismal. Transformers? Eh… Fantastic Four 2? A waste! Die Hard 4? Unmemorable… Simpsons? So…So…
My diatribe is all about the suits who control what we see. It’s time that “we” the movie-goer take control and decide that we deserve something better and truly worthy of us!
Long live the “Fighters”!
The epic of 52 is over. Now begins the righteous fury of the Incredible Hulk. I predict it to be the best Marvel read/ crossover event ever! Well… at least a story with the least fewest negative responses. Possibly even surpassing Annihilation’s positive percentage. I believe World War Hulk will be the Marvel comic equivalent to white out, correcting the vast disappointment that Civil War turned out to be. Of a more hopeful note, Countdown begins next week. Destined to be more DC greatness. The fact that Walking Dead comes out every month always make me proud that there is something consistently great.
Well… until next time. I’m off to see Spidey 3 now. Ciao!
Hiya All,
I would really like to turn my fandom store into a hit, selling everything that would please all different fans. Since anime is one of my favorite hobbies I would like to include a huge section of related merchandise. I already found myself a huge connection, but now I need the clientele of said products. So, if there are any anime fans out there looking for a place to get stuff, let me know.
My own personal favorites, are series like old school Space Cruiser Yamato, Harlock, and Lupin. Ghibli Studios films rock. Gundam kicks ass! Escaflowne is magnificent. Current faves are FMA, and stuff by Satoshi Kon. I love to hear from other anime fans, and their input.
For now the umpteenth month that Walking Dead has been out, it is still hands down the best regular monthly title out there. No matter what you hear from “any” Marvel Zombie, Civil War blew. However, World War Hulk has great potential. Hulk, the best Marvel monthly helps. Not counting books from the Ultimate line. DC by far still has the better overall titles compared to Marvel. Bite me Fanboy! That means you Paret!
52 Rocks! Long live the Crisis!
Next time… Anime!
