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- CommentAuthorsmiggy3000
- CommentTimeApr 7th 2010 edited
Im not sure what the point of this post is, just some random things I wanted to say...
1) What is wrong with Forbiddon Planet now, the stupid shelf arangments make it look like a book store, I don't buy comics in Book Stores (well they dnt sell them, they get the trades), it creeps me out...
2)Watching Kick-Ass and seeing a comic book store with a cafe, somehow didn't click at first that Travelling Man has one, they never get any "hot girls" there who instantly become comic book fans (the name dropping in that also felt wrong), I bet FP open one next, Star Bucks is practically a Sci-Fi name anyhow...
why is it I like OK more?
also everybody read this, http://comiccritics.com/ , tis just like what goes on in actaully shops... -
- CommentAuthorLee
- CommentTimeApr 7th 2010
I've not been in FP since switching my standing order to OK and forsee no eventuality that will change that. I've been in Travelling Man a couple of times (and felt totally guilty even though I was buying a Totoro and not a comic!) but didn't notice their cafe. -
- CommentAuthorsmiggy3000
- CommentTimeApr 7th 2010
tis in a corner down stairs, not quite a full blown coffy shop... -
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CommentAuthorMike Infinitum
- CommentTimeApr 7th 2010
it's more a coffee than a shop -
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- CommentAuthorCaptain Si
- CommentTimeApr 7th 2010
Well, I had a look in FP the other day. i quite like the shelves (which are used to house the graphic novels in the main...much like OK), it makes their shop look tidy and professional, rather than a horrible mess with things on the floor that you can trip over, and aisles blocked by back issues (never understood that). However, looking professional and acting professional are two different things. It still feels like a club house for emos and the staff are still (after nearly ten years or more) more interested in talking amongst themselves and mucking about than paying attention to any customers. And most of the time, they all look deeply unhappy anyway. I do pop in every now and again for the odd Doctor Who figure, which is my excuse.
I've also visited Travelling Man (again, has shelves for graphic novels and comics), and its a nicer vibe, but the layout is confusing and messy. not tried the cafe downstairs, it always sounds quite rauccous. Uncle Steve was promoting their Dr Sketchy night, which is life drawing with burlesque models, which sounds interesting, but costs a fiver. Its always been place I've wanted to like, but it feels like a weird halfway house between a small independant and a chain like FP, like they are wanting to have their cake and eat it. Their computer till never bloody works either.
All of which is why shop at OK :) -
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CommentAuthorMike Infinitum
- CommentTimeApr 8th 2010
"the staff are still (after nearly ten years or more) more interested in talking amongst themselves and mucking about than paying attention to any customers"
Spot on. -
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CommentAuthorOK Comics
- CommentTimeApr 10th 2010
I haven't been into Forbidden Planet for a long time, though their staff often come into OK Comics to make notes and check prices and stuff...
I have however been into Travelling Man. I think it's a great shop. They've got a good range of stuff and friendly knowledgeable staff. Nothing wrong with it at all... -
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- CommentAuthorsmiggy3000
- CommentTimeApr 10th 2010
Why am I suddenly imagining a man in black with clipboard wondering about the shop, possibley taking pictures and interviewing the customers... -
- CommentAuthorCaptain Si
- CommentTimeApr 10th 2010
Travelling man's staff are nice, but their layout of comics is a bit too cluttered...there's a wall and they're all bunched together. Its one of those displays I'm afraid to touch, 'cos I'll pick the wrong thing and it will all come tumbling down :( -
- CommentAuthorsmiggy3000
- CommentTimeApr 10th 2010
it is quite odd, they have walls, and boxes, and then a display wall of like new stuff I think, then all the other issues right at the back, there if you want something from A you are in danger of falling down the stairs... backwards... -
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CommentAuthorOK Comics
- CommentTimeApr 11th 2010
Let's assume, for the purposes of this discussion, that OK Comics is your favourite Comic Shop...
What's the second best comic book shop that you've ever been in, ever, anywhere in the world? -
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- CommentAuthorLee
- CommentTimeApr 11th 2010
Midtown Comics in New York was pretty exciting, but mainly because I've seen it advertised in a thousand Marvel comics so it was a buzz just being there. It did have plenty of comics, which was good.
OK aside, my favourite shop I've been in was in LA. I can't remember its name (Mike - do you?) but it was in West Hollywood and had loads of back issues in convenient drawers and ace statues in glass cabinets. Plus it was in LA, so it rocked, obviously. -
- CommentAuthorMidnighter
- CommentTimeApr 11th 2010
Forbidden Plant in London, amazing shop!
Of course, I jest. I hate the place.
Gosh is pretty good. But my favourite has to be Album in Paris. They have 4 or 5 shops in spitting distance of each other, but my favourite is the big one with all the American stuff. Latets issue section is laid out really nicely, back issue selection is huge. Just a really nice shop all round. And coming in very close after that would be Arkham Comics, also in Paris. Haven't been to their new premises, but the old shop was in an awesome building in a great part of Paris and had a really good vibe to it.
Part of me still misses the days of Nu Earth and Tar Star here in York, when comic shops were dark and dingy places packed full of too much stock, which is exciting when you are 12 but annoying when you are 30. -
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CommentAuthorOK Comics
- CommentTimeApr 11th 2010
I'd heard that Lambiek, in Amsterdam, was the best comic book shop in the world, so I went to have a look a few years ago. It has a massive range of graphic novels, most of which weren't in English so I couldn't read them (that didn't stop me buying them though). It's part comic shop, part gallery. The best thing about Lambiek was how friendly and knowledgeable the staff were. I was in there for hours just chatting and drinking coffee with them. My wife even felt welcome...
http://bp3.blogger.com/_tg5zZZnf6e4/ReQpqy1uGtI/AAAAAAAAAZg/EyDCBde-sSo/s1600-h/lambiek.jpg
http://www.maxeem.com/pics/lambiek5.JPG
http://media.photobucket.com/image/lambiek/dlarasati/KOMIK/lambiek17.jpg
http://www.lambiek.net/artists/k/kuijpers/kuijpers_lambiek.jpg
http://www.andybleck.de/0006.03-lambiek.jpg
http://www.lambiek.net/artists/p/pontiac/Lambiek_layout_640x480.jpg
http://amsterdam.unlike.net/locations/305257-Stripwinkel-Lambiek
I asked the guys at Lambiek what they thought the best comic shop in the world was. They told me to go to... -
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CommentAuthorOK Comics
- CommentTimeApr 11th 2010
Beguiling in Toronto.
It's got a great reputation, and is well know for dealing in original art and limited prints (it's where I got OK's Scott Pilgrim prints from). It does have a great range, loads of stuff I thought long out of print and tons of mini comics by people I've never heard of. I've been a few times and each time I've spent hundreds of pounds.
But. Beguiling is dirty, much of the stock is tatty, the whole place is cluttered and seems thrown together. And the staff seem too busy, or too cool, to help. The first time I went in, it was only when I asked a few questions about rare and obscure stuff that they started to take me seriously. My wife doesn't like it there...
http://www.fuelyourillustration.com/files/ryansnook10_lunchbreak1.jpg
http://webcomicsreview.com/examiner/issue050912/beguiling.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/striatic/495357915/
http://files.posterous.com/electricant/wVs41ctrdXIBDzyTCsP0mqTEt43m2NtLYrthhLuvvETQQtypiyg1OGL39nEF/the_beguiling.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=1C9REJR1EMRZ83Q7QRG2&Expires=1271001622&Signature=eWb%2B%2B9j0UCCln0wJBU6m5xeOhm8%3D
http://www.blogto.com/listings/bookstores/upload/2007/10/20071018_beguiling-inside.jpg
http://www.songofsongsthecomicbook.com/images/retailers/beguiling_01.jpg
I asked the guys at Beguiling what they thought the best comic shop in the world was. They told me to go to... -
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CommentAuthorOK Comics
- CommentTimeApr 11th 2010
Album in Paris. And Comic Relief in Berkeley, California.
I've yet to visit either. -
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- CommentAuthorMidnighter
- CommentTimeApr 11th 2010
If you stand at the right place outside the large Album shop you can see the other 3 or 4 Album shops plus Pulp and a few manga/anime shops, all about 30 seconds walk from each other. -
- CommentAuthorLee
- CommentTimeApr 12th 2010
I guess the thing for me is that I'd ideally like a small, simply laid out store with friendly staff that helpfully stashes my comics for me in a cupboard under the stairs. So OK suits me fine. I'm not classy enough to care about a wide range of obscure stuff - just somewhere that can sell me five Deadpool a week whilst recommending the odd Vertigo book. -
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CommentAuthorOK Comics
- CommentTimeApr 12th 2010
The Deadpool bit's easy...
For Vertigo recommendations check out http://dccomics.com/vertigo/graphic_novels/?gn=12953
There are two pretty good comic book shops in Chicago.
Chicago Comics is a good mix of 'old school' comic shop (toys, overpriced back issues) and a more modern outlet with a good range of indie and small press stuff...
http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/blog/uploaded_images/pr_chi/chicago_comics.jpg
http://mocoloco.com/upload/2007/08/moco_city_guide/chicago_comics.jpg
http://www.publishersweekly.com/photo/258/258502-Chicago_Comics.jpg
Quimbies is more of a left wing, counter culture book shop, that stock comics (the signage was designed by Chris Ware). Every time I've been I've picked up something interesting that I'd never heard of...
http://isgreaterthan.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/quimbys2.jpg
http://www.fecalface.com/content/upload/2008/12/fly_on_the_wall/1quimbys1.jpg
http://stopsmilingonline.com/uploads/photos/story/20081210120020_Quimbys_cropped.jpg
http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/blog/uploaded_images/pr_chi/lynda_store.jpg -
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- CommentAuthorNimbus Thitherward
- CommentTimeApr 12th 2010
"Let's assume, for the purposes of this discussion, that OK Comics is your favourite Comic Shop...
What's the second best comic book shop that you've ever been in, ever, anywhere in the world?"
You mean...there are.....OTHER COMIC SHOPS!!!!!
It's a tie between a few ~ the old Sheffield Space Centre that used to be down London Road (because it was an old shop stacked to the ceiling with books and comics); Brock's Book shop in San Antonio for the cellar which had thousands of comics, which weren't priced but just waiting for you to make an offer at the till; and (I suppose the best of the three) Skyrack a place that needs no justification for it's selection. -
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CommentAuthorOK Comics
- CommentTimeApr 12th 2010
Skyrack gave me what OK Comics seems to give Lee. A place to pick up your regular order, have a bit of a chat, and have new and interesting stuff recommended...
Much missed. -
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- CommentAuthorsmiggy3000
- CommentTimeApr 12th 2010
I don't leave Leeds, so my seconds got to be Travelling Man... -
- CommentAuthorLee
- CommentTimeApr 12th 2010
Given that it is the single biggest drain on my disposable income and is a defining characteristic of all that is me, it is odd how little thought and effort I actually put into comics. I know a few of the regulars on here are devoted Golden/Silver Age connosieurs (sp?) and Mike and Jared regularly rave about indie stuff (and Cap'n Si would buy a comic made from anthrax if Death's Head was in it) and people have more or less opinion on the dynamics of storytelling and the techniques of sequential art and so on. Whereas I'm basically an unsophisticated, ravenous, 34-year old child when it comes to reading comics. Should I develop my tastes? -
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CommentAuthorMike Infinitum
- CommentTimeApr 12th 2010 edited
Been to Forbidden Planet in Manchester today. Still impersonal and puts comics second to toys and film merch - however it was a vast improvement on the Leeds shop. There was also a Travelling Man round the corner but didn't have time to go in. Travelling Man in Leeds is reasonable enough and the ones in York and Newcastle are pretty good - so as a chain they seem to be above other UK stores.
I second Album in Paris, great range of stuff - very busy as well which suggests they must be doing something right!
The missus raves about Mega-City Comics in Camden but I wasn't that impressed to be honest (TBF I think the main reason she liked it was because she got some Clowes and Tomine stuff there that she couldn't find anywhere else).
There's a real old-school shop in Hull opposite the train station - it's fun for folks like us but is never gonna get any of the uninitiated walking in.
Lee - No I can't remember the name of the story and yes you should develop your tastes. Maybe start with the new A-Team comic? -
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- CommentAuthorMidnighter
- CommentTimeApr 12th 2010
Is the one in Hull "Amazing Fantasy"? Never been in there, but there used to be one not far from there called Armadillo which was pretty good, back int he days when all shops had loads of back issues.
Mega-City isn't bad, but I think Gosh is the best I've been to in London.
Travelling Man in Manchester is a really nice shop but seems to have next to nothing, whereas Forbidden Planet has loads of stuff but is a terrible shop (surprise surprise). However, in Affleck's shopping centre there is a really cool little shop that sells nothing but small press and proper underground comix. -
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CommentAuthorOK Comics
- CommentTimeApr 13th 2010
There are some really good Comic Shops in Toronto.
Yesterdays Heroes is probably the best shop for back issues. They must have almost a million back issues on sale on the shop floor. God knows what their stock room is like. They helped me fill some pretty hard to fill gaps in my Spider-Man collection.
While Beguiling has a good reputation internationally, people in Toronto seem to prefer Silver Snail. Whenever I'm in Toronto, that's where I go for my comics...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3040/2964168040_8f368f0571_b.jpg
http://image48.webshots.com/49/2/82/87/317728287HKOThH_ph.jpg
About four hours drive from Toronto is Sarnia, Ontario. It's a pretty small town and has one comic book shop, Future Pastimes. This is the most welcoming, friendliest comic book shop I've aver been in. The owner, Trent, shares a lot of the same ideas about comics retail as me. He absolutely bends over backwards to help. -
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CommentAuthorOK Comics
- CommentTimeApr 13th 2010
Oh. It's probably worth mentioning that many Canadian comic shops have cats. -
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CommentAuthorMike Infinitum
- CommentTimeApr 13th 2010
What a great idea! How about an OK Comics Cat!? -
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- CommentAuthorMidnighter
- CommentTimeApr 13th 2010
The one time I was in the US and Canada I think I only went to one comic shop (which wasn't a million miles away from the shop in the Simpsons, and was the first comic shop I'd ever been in) in Chicago, this was back in the days of newsstand distributed comics so I just bought loads of stuff from spinner racks in convenience stores and shopping malls.
Got back to England and my Dad said "There's a shop in York like that one in Chicago, just sells comics"... and the rest is history. -
- CommentAuthorLee
- CommentTimeApr 13th 2010
Cats are totally awesome. If OK had a cat I would definitely spend more time and money in the shop and would potentially buy the cat a Christmas present. -
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CommentAuthorMike Infinitum
- CommentTimeApr 13th 2010 edited
I would potentially buy the cat AS a Christmas present. -
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- CommentAuthorHatchmo
- CommentTimeApr 13th 2010
I love Ok, every time I go In everyone is Helpfull with anything I have too ask, and we usually have a laugh. The quote about people in forbidden planet not caring is 100% correct! About other shops, I'm afraid to say I like it in traveling man, It sells a lot of trades which I am intrested in! -
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CommentAuthorOK Comics
- CommentTimeApr 14th 2010
Travelling Man is a great shop. -
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CommentAuthorMike Infinitum
- CommentTimeApr 14th 2010 edited
Does anyone factor in how much shops charge for comics into their decision where to shop?
I have to admit I have no idea how much FB or TM charge for say a $3.99 comic. [Come to think of it I have no idea how much OK charge for it either!]
If other people are the same it would seem to confirm what we've said previously, i.e. that customers are picking their shop of choice (if they have one) on other considerations and that ultimately 20p or 30p here or there is less important that good service and range of product. -
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- CommentAuthorMidnighter
- CommentTimeApr 14th 2010
Before I moved to Leeds I used mail order and had done ever since Nu Earth shut down in York, then when I moved to Leeds a fair few years ago I went straight to OK to set up a standing order because I loved the shop from the times I'd been in there when I'd been in Leeds. After I left Leeds I carried on shopping at OK for almost 2 years, but train/bus prices went up, comic prices went up quite a bit, rent and all bills went up and I'm self employed and times are hard, so I went back to mail order. OK would always be my first choice if I was back in Leeds though. This has made me realise that in the past year I've only been to Leeds 3 times, once to Thought Bubble and twice to the Airport.
I do remember prices in TM York being more than any of the shops in Leeds, no idea what prices they are now. -
- CommentAuthorCaptain Si
- CommentTimeApr 14th 2010 edited
With comics, Price doesn't affect where I shop. I generally just pop into Travelling Man and FP for a look around every now and again. I've bought the odd thing at TM, but nothing comic related at FP for...christ, ten years? something like that, anyway. I think because comic shops are a place where you go to discover and read stuff, its more important to have a welcoming environment to do that, without feeling someone's eyes boring into the back of your head trying to mentally command you to buy something or f**k off. Unless its FP, where they clearly couldn't care less.
edit: Availability has, on occasion, been a factor on where I get stuff. I pick up the odd missed issue online (um, usually 'cos it takes me to the end of an issue to realise I've missed something...sigh). -
- CommentAuthorMidnighter
- CommentTimeApr 14th 2010
Do FP sell comics? I thought it was a wrestling shop ;-) -
- CommentAuthorLee
- CommentTimeApr 14th 2010
I'd not considered that there even would be a price difference. Is there? It won't make me change, but I'm curious. You'd think OK should be more expensive, lacking the economies of scale that a chain should have. -
- CommentAuthorsmiggy3000
- CommentTimeApr 14th 2010
I rarley buy issues new anyway, unless they're likley to become rare and shoot up in price. Otherwise I just wait for the trades. But I do have no income so price does effect me, but back issues are 50p everywhere... -
- CommentAuthorCaptain Si
- CommentTimeApr 14th 2010
A thought has just entered my head. I used to like Travelling Man when they were in the Corn Exchange. I have no idea why. I think I mostly liked the layout and displays they had. And a front facing till point. And the nice blonde lady.
Prices...FP have a sign on their door telling you what they charge, but frankly, its amongst a load of other posters shouting about benefits cards and home delivery or somesuch, so I don't pay it any attention. I think they're trying to say they are cheap. Well, Tesco are cheap too and they are also rubbish. Just 'cos you're big, it doesn't make you better (insert your own childish knob joke here). Or indeed, right. -
- CommentAuthorCaptain Si
- CommentTimeApr 14th 2010
ooh! double post! sorry! Lee, you are right, i would buy a comic made from Anthrax if Death's Head was in it. Unfortunately, I already have. Amazing Fantasy with Death's Head 3.0 Jaw droppingly awful and crammed with uber-dull SCIENCE! techno-waffle and lots of people looking at computer screens telling you about nanogenes and quarks and other stuff presented in a way so tedious, it makes an Open University lecture look like Ant & Dec's latest Saturday night noisy toss fest. -
- CommentAuthorsmiggy3000
- CommentTimeApr 14th 2010
OK are more expensive with issues, just not by alot, unless you do a percentage... -
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CommentAuthorOK Comics
- CommentTimeApr 15th 2010 edited
I think most businesses base their prices on their own set of factors (apples in Asda are a different price to apples in Tesco). Most US comics have a US price printed on, so you'd think that all shops charge the same, but in my experience they don't. Some, especially if they have local competition, use their massive discount (much bigger than offered to retailers in the UK) to offer customers prices at a lower, more competitive, price.
We base our prices on what the item costs, and what we need to make to cover the running costs of the shop.
As fp sell much more than just comics I'd expect them to sell their comics for much less than us, as comics are a smaller part of their business. They make their money elsewhere.
One of the key points of OK Comics is the location. We're very central, not on the outskirts of the city or in a back street. So the cost of our rent is a massive factor when pricing books.
Being so central means we attract new customers to comics. Which is the most important thing we do.
You'll probably find that the cost of comics Towns and Cities with only comic shop are much more than those with local competition.
The price of comics at OK Comics is pretty much on par with the average price across the UK, and we intend to keep it like that. -
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- CommentAuthorgreg75
- CommentTimeApr 18th 2010
Bookscene in Nottingham a lesser well known comic shop on Canning Circus.Went there when I was a kid,34 now but its still there not a great deal of stuff just a few boxes of overpriced back issues.
Page 45 in Nottingham is good if you just want latest stuff and the essential series of marvel stuff.Friendly staff.No back issues though.
Forbidden Planet off the market square is much the same as Page 45 -
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CommentAuthorOK Comics
- CommentTimeMay 3rd 2010
Mark Millar is trying to find the best comic shop in the world...
http://forums.millarworld.tv/index.php?showtopic=93076 -
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