comic shopping in australia

This week I wrote a guest post for the Weird Orbits Tumblr while my fellow Weird Orbits creator is away enjoying herself in the USA, so I thought I would post it here as well for you guys to have a read. If you have a Tumblr you should check out what she’s up to. She updates a lot more frequently than I do here and there’s always plenty of new content to have a look at.

One of the best aspects of living in Europe and being born in Australia is that I get to do quite a bit of traveling. I’ve been able to manage going back to Australia on average every two years to visit my family and play the tourist in my own country. Not only that, but because I know I wont be able to live in Europe forever, I do a fair bit of travelling here as well. What this means is that I’ve been able to check out quite a few different cities and had some amazing experiences, not to mention trying all manner of food and experiencing quite a few different cultures. Everywhere I’ve been though, one thing has occurred to me – comic book stores all seem to be the same no matter where you go. They are all so similar it’s comforting, right down to the socially awkward guys behind the counter. (For some reason the staff are almost always men. Except when I was in Zurich, but I don’t count that one as it was 2 stores in 1 – a comic book store and a travel agent. I know, strange combination.)

I have been in charge of the Weird Orbits Twitter account since we started creating and on my travels I have tweeted about every single comic book store I have been to. Some people may call it pandering, but I tend to look at it as a way to help and show support of the people that one day could be selling Weird Orbits to the masses. Fingers crossed. So when Lena asked me to write a guest post on Tumblr, naturally my thoughts went to these Twitter posts and how I could once again show my support.

Now some of these pics aren’t the best because I was using my mobile phone to take them, but I hope you at least find them interesting. And who knows, perhaps you’ve even been to one of them. I know if you’re reading this from Melbourne Australia, you’re at least aware of one of them. So without anymore waffling from me, here’s a sample of some of the places I went to on my recent trip back home to Australia.

First on the list is Heroes HQ in Ballarat and I’m sorry for the weird slant in the pic, but remember camera phone. This is an owner operated store and you can see Garry behind the counter. He was a teacher for years before he decided to pack it in for what he loves, comics! And trust me, walking around this labyrinthine converted house you can tell this man loves his comics. Every room has a different theme. My favourite was the 18+ horror room, but that’s just me.

This one is Comic ‘R’ Us in the heart of Melbourne. Hidden away through a small opening off the main street, round a corner and up a flight of stairs, this easy to miss store boasts a pretty solid collection and luckily for me has a few of the classics as well. I managed to grab Superman Red Son and Batman Arkham Asylum, which was pretty handy as I had just finished Grant Morrison’s fantastic book Supergods and was able to read the comics I had just read about.

This last one is a Melbourne institution. If you’ve ever been to Melbourne chances are you’ve either been in here or walked past it. Minotaur is home to everything a sci-fi, anime, comic, horror, movie fan would ever want. Everything from the latest Walking Dead and Avengers titles all the way down to Dr Who and Adventure Time merch. I giggled like a school girl crushing on the swim team when I found some Venture Bros figurines in there, but that’s just between you and me. I also picked up a copy of All-Star Superman (another Morrison gem) while I was in there. Again sorry for the quality, but camera phone. I wasn’t going to put the second photo in because of the blur, but you really need to see the size and scope of this place.

As a bonus pic I thought I’d show you Strips & Stories in Hamburg Germany. This place wasn’t the largest store and it only had a limited selection of English language books, but it was also used as an artist’s hub and was very supportive of the local scene. I have a soft spot in my heart for Strips & Stories as it was where i first discovered the craziness that is John Layman and Rob Guillory’s Chew. If you haven’t read it yet, stop reading this and go buy it. It’s insane, in a good way.

I hope you’ve enjoyed a quick look at what could be the other side of the world for you and a little insight into my holiday back home, (where i spent way too much money on comics – if such a thing is possible). If you enjoyed my contribution to the Weird Orbits Tumblr check out our Twitter account where I try to tweet everyday or my personal blog This Random Brain where I try to update every week or two.