July 31-August 6, 2003

naked city

firstlook

Photo By: Michael T. Regan

The Marvelous

by A.D. Amorosi

Downstairs from Smokey Joe’s, University City’s classic college bar, The Marvelous has just opened its doors. This brainchild of Mylan Marvelous (yes, that’s his real name) is a community-oriented alterna-indie dream collection of cultish comics and music.

"There [are] other indie comics places that in my mind are OK," says Marvelous. "But I wanted to open a respectable place that was better than OK, better than fine."

Marvelous, sweeping off the hard red tiles in what used to be a wings joint ("The place has been closed for two years but the grease is still here"), hopes first to make The Marvelous a visual delight. He has an oversized "funky chicken" cartoon at the entrance to his basement steps, and the walls feature wood-backed painted collages by his brother, Shawn, and huge pictures of smiling friends and family in Hamburglar masks. An old Cesco image projector, aged hi-fis and tchotchkes add to The Marvelous' 1950s TV playhouse look. "Remember when you used to shop someplace and you thought that it gave off an air of cool that rubbed off on you?" Marvelous muses. "That's what I'm hoping happens here."

Along with a diverse new-and-used magazine, vinyl and CD collection bought from a closing Dotdash and estate sales in Boston, The Marvelous features rare music periodicals and rarer-still comics. The shop will sell Marvel and D.C. stuff, graphix postcards from Dischord and comics like Love and Rockets, Tin Tin, Ghost World, the Sandman series, Cowboy Bebop and the Action Girl line. Marvelous is also looking to get the truly hard finds from Japan, Europe and the U.S., like Kazuo Koike's Lone Wolf. There'll be the gay-themed Leonard & Larry by Santa Monica's Tim Barela and Joe Matt's Peep Show, not to mention locally produced work. "This area used to be a more formidable force -- both in terms of artists and places to hang," says Marvelous. "I want to see The Marvelous give rise to a new West Philly, something definitely less corporate than its current surroundings."

The Marvelous, 208 S. 40th St., 215-386-6110.