Searching For Comic Books In York

I want comics in York!

  
I write for the web, and spend far too much time searching out the minutiae of websites and publishing: this makes me a nerd, of sorts.
 
But I’m also a big fan of comic books, graphic novels, words-and-pictures… this makes me a GEEK.
 
But on the back of Batman and Superman movies, Transformers 2 and Terminator toys, Heroes and True Blood on the television, Jonathon Ross to write a comic – the geeks are inheriting the earth.
 
I’m sorry, but when a story involving Disney purchasing Marvel in a 4billion dollar deal is front page business news in every paper and website I look at, then I’m allowed to get excited.
 
As a geek discovering the city of York, I obviously did that most important of searches: the local search for comics and comic shops. Imagine my dismay when, at first, the search engines were taking me far, far from York and North Yorkshire, and pointing me inland to Leeds and Wakefield, or further still to Hull!
 
No self –respecting penny-pinching collector wants to waste hard-earned cash traipsing over the countryside, not in this (best BBC News voice) Current Financial Climate. So I persevered, a day trip to Leeds being an adventure for another day.
 
The first shop which, to me, seems approachable (although still a trip of 20miles) is 
 
Destination Venus
5 Westminster Arcade
Parliament Street
Harrogate
HG1 2RN
01423 502300
 
www.destinationvenus.co.uk
 
Definitely covers the all important trinity of New Releases (monthly floppies), Graphic Novels (or trade paperbacks) and Back Issues (the Holy Grail for collecting – or is that just mixing metaphors?). They sell comic sets by storyline and character from most of the top publishers, as well as comic supplies and grading services, and the all-important subscription service.
 
Good, a small business that shows that they know their stuff. But surely there’s something closer to York city, something YO1?
 
I don’t necessarily want a WHSmiths bookshop, which has too much varied content to be of any particular use to me, or Waterstones that, admittedly, has a great range of Manga (with Tokyopop digests and the like in good old-fashioned spinner racks) as well as a revolving selection of aforementioned graphic novels: but my needs aren’t only for spines on my bookshelves, I want to find floppy four-colour comics, 22pages of escapism, week-in and week-out, t-shirts with my favourite characters on them(Captain America, this week), games and collectibles… dare I say toys?
 
And, please, somewhere in the YO1 postcode… waitaminute: ta-dah!
 
Travelling Man
54 Goodramgate
York
Y01 7LF
01904 628787
 
http://travellingman.wordpress.com/
 
Travelling Man has stores across the midlands and the north of England, with sites in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle Upon Tyne as well as York.
 
Travelling Man York, although small, gets it’s Wednesday Comics every Thursday (geek joke, sorry)has a wide selection of manga, big names DC/Marvel, indies such as Dark Horse, Image, Ariel (ahem!) games, models and toys.
 
Check!
 
They have 3-for-2 deals on some products, comics supplies (bags and boards and boxes), as well as t-shirts with my favourite characters on them (Green Lantern, this sentence).
 
All the latest tpbs and OGNs, and importantly the chance to create a pull list for your weekly or monthly needs. 
 
And they have a neat Adi Granov (Iron Man) graphic on their website, too.
 
As with most smaller businesses, one great plus-point for Travelling Man is the knowledge and enthusiasm that the staff members have for the products they sell. If you are looking for a specific title that they no longer have in stock, then they are willing and able to order it for you, and they always hold a number of small press self-published (and self-stapled) ashcan comics.
 
I have used Travelling Man in other cities, when looking for a fix to break up a long day of sightseeing or shopping, and have always found the atmosphere relaxed and friendly, and there’s always someone willing to help out with any questions, or even just to shoot the breeze comics-wise with.
 
I see that latest news on their site is the announcement for their own mini comic-con, which is all good and another reason to give Travelling Man my recommendation!

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