OUR TEAM
Stephen Fishler founded Metropolis Collectibles in 1984 and grew the company into the world’s largest vintage collectibles business. He is considered one of the nation’s leading experts on collectibles, and has appeared on numerous television shows including Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight and The Today Show. In 1990, Stephen graduated from Baruch College with a degree in Marketing.
Vincent Zurzolo was born and raised in New York City, the
Mecca of the comic book world. He grew up in
Rockaway
Beach, Queens, and graduated from
St. John’s
University with a degree in marketing and international studies. After college, Vincent began selling comics on the streets of
Manhattan’s Financial District and around the country. Now he is the COO of Metropolis Collectibles, the world’s largest dealership of vintage comic books, with its gallery location on Broadway in the Union Square area of
Manhattan. He is also COO of ComicConnect.com, the online marketplace and auction site for vintage comic books. In 1996, Vincent co-founded the Big Apple Comic Conventions here in New York City, which is the longest running comic book convention in
New York. He also works as a consultant for the New York Comic Con, and for the last five years has hosted the online radio show ComicZoneRadio.com, wherein he has interviewed many of the legends of the comic book world. Vincent was instrumental in having comic books displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the first time in the museum’s history, and he has appeared on numerous television shows promoting collecting and investing in comic books.
Ben Smith graduated Cum Laude from Georgetown with a BSBA in Marketing. After graduating, he moved to NYC and cut his teeth at DiMassimo Brand Advertising as a New Business Manager, where he was quickly promoted to the position of Strategic Planner. Today, Ben serves as Vice President of Metropolis Collectibles and their affiliated company, Metropolis Entertainment. In addition, Ben owns and operates the original comic book art dealership GothamCityArt.com.
Frank Cwiklik comes to Metropolis from the retail world, where he worked in managerial and supervisory positions for ten years, mostly in music and video sales. His love for vintage comics comes from an early age, when, for his seventh birthday, his uncle presented him with a box of go-go check era Batman comics. He's very lucky to be married to a woman who not only approves of his collection, but collects modern original comic art herself. He's also an award-winning playwright and stage director currently branching into digital video. He's still amazed he's getting paid to look at comics all day.
Chris Foster is Metropolis’ Shipping Manager. He began at Metropolis as a shipping clerk, and his commitment to customer satisfaction lead to the promotion in his current role. Originally from Philadelphia, Chris came to NYC after spending two years in Florida working as a chef. Chris has an extensive knowledge of comics, having read and collected them for over 15 years. When he was younger, Chris’ passion began with reading Spider-Man and X-Men, and he spent many hours after school scouring comic book shops for back issues and new releases. When Chris is not working, he enjoys traveling and attending music concerts.
