Ken Aldred

You're 12 years short of retirement. (Watched the Ultimate Fast Show box set a few weeks ago. Great stuff.)

Paramount has been there ages. It was the first place I chanced upon during my first visit to Manchester looking for comics, autumn 78. I suppose that's its only significance now, as a bit of a marker of transition away from just buying comics from newsagents in my hometown. Reminds me of a time when access to comic books was still very restricted and unpredictable here. I have to pass the shop on occasion when I'm heading towards the Arndale Centre, and the last time I did this the guy was standing outside, looking in at the window display. I felt very content thinking about how far I've gone over the last 35 years or so, and how small, irrelevant and disposable the shop and its owners seem now. I enjoyed continuing on my way unnoticed, leaving the situation behind. That was good, believe me.

Exactly.

I always appreciate it when someone gives me a lead on comic books but, unfortunately, I steer clear of Paramount Book Exchange because of the following experience. In the 90s they held occasional sales where huge stacks of comic books would be put out at the front of the shop, all priced 25p. Most of it was drek / mid grade, but you could find the odd BA book, stuff like Astonishing Tales, Fear - Deathlok, Morbius appearances. I went in very early one morning when a sale was on, the shop was empty, and the younger of the two brothers was there 'managing'. I knew I'd been identified on previous visits as a collector, and I recall him rushing up to me predatorily, in a bit of a frenzy, demanding... 'Although these are all marked 25p, I'm charging you 50 each!' Thought it was a bit infantile and desperate, felt quite sorry for him and I just replied.. 'Well, that was suicidal, wasn't it?' Turned my back and walked out. Yes, seventeen years ago, never been there since.

Does that make us young or old by the standards of the boards...? Hard to tell. Well I will be 50 next birthday, I always wanted to post the old guy emoticon but never had a reason until now. You're a mere stripling. In board years you're in your prime.

Bookchain - a Manchester shop that I forgot about. Its basement was depressing and damp, filled to capacity with stacks of unbagged, distributed American comics. The guy who managed the place was one of the most condescending individuals I've ever met, and the prices he expected for the run-of -the -mill drek books moldering down there were nosebleed extortionate. However, I remember most vividly one of the older wall books displayed on the ground floor, a FN - ish copy of GL/GA 76, for £100. This was late 1980, so that equated to around $ 220. At the time a NM set of all of the Adams issues would have been £80 or so.

I really thought Skyrack first opened in the 60s? I thought it might be a frontrunner for the title of earliest comic book store here.

Always liked Comic Showcase. I would go down to London on a school genealogy excursion to the public records office, located nearby at the end of Aldwych, and get bored senseless there in about 15 minutes. I'd ask the supervisor, my history teacher, if I could go off around London for a bit, surprisingly experiencing no resistance whatsoever, not even once, just a 'Make sure you're at Euston Station for 5pm'. Fair enough. (thumbs u Then it would be that tiny, original Showcase shop for a couple of hours and the original FP for the rest of the day, back when it was really excellent. Three such highly educational and productive trips to our capital city, in total. Always returned with a bag full of advance import comics, anyway.

The comic shop featured in 'Spaced'.

Sometimes you hear anecdotes about shops selling comics that used to be open in your area, including some you're actually too young to remember. That kind of thing.

Just finished Red Dead Redemption last night. Great game and storyline. I have the Game of the Year edition, so it's now on to Undead Nightmare.

That was a great shop. Visited it in late 1984. I remember buying the Two- Fisted Tales EC Library set from them, which was generously discounted in a sale, and then having to lug that thing all the way North on the train. I'm just deliberately playing the while I'm reminiscing here. (thumbs u

As far as Manchester is concerned, the first big comic shop was Odyssey 7, which opened late 1980 or so, can't recall exactly. A bookshop called Chapter and Verse started selling import comics and back issues in mid 1977, which provided me with my first opportunity to buy new ND comics. Early 1981 I found a unit selling old comics in Manchester Corn Exchange, called Power Pulse, I think, but they had been there quite a while before that. I'm sure we are all aware of the London shops that were open in the 70s, such as Dark They Were and Golden Eyed and the original FP, but I wonder if there were any others in the UK which preceded these? How far back do we go?

Is that Siegi Longman? Used to buy new stuff from him at some of the TUC marts, in the 90s. Seemed friendly enough.

There's a thread in General about the earliest comic shops. I wonder how far back we go, here in the UK?

I think that's the one that's focused on manga, anime and small press, self-published material. A pal who attended last year told me there were no comic dealers. thankyou sir, may have to take the jump and go to Kapow next year then London Super Comic Convention next year. The best.

I think that's the one that's focused on manga, anime and small press, self-published material. A pal who attended last year told me there were no comic dealers.

Big fan of the Ditko wash artwork in those early issues.

You're right - sig example: Dave Taylor signature First artist I would've thought of, because of the Moebius-like style.

Yes, I could've been a lot, lot more selective with the moderns I've purchased, mainly thinking about the 80s and 90s stuff here, but many of these books will be kept in my collection. I don't punish myself too harshly, believing it's always better to say that it was right for me at the time, but eventually your tastes and focus do evolve- nothing wrong with that, or being comfortable with leaving something behind when it's run its course. Happened to me fairly recently with new comics. I applied this mantra, with no regrets since.

- Being given a copy of Fantastic 1 to read when I was 4 years old (the British reprint comic). Introduced me to the X-Men, always my favourite team from then on. - Reading the Marvel UK comics in the early 70s. Got quite a buzz and I first realised there was something special about this for me. - 8 or 9 years old, going on the local market each week with my parents, then afterwards often being handed 50p to sod off and buy some comics from the nearby bus station newsagent- basically to get half an hour or so of respite from my annoying, brattish, clinical hyperactivity by going for a coffee. This was the Golden Age for me, the time of DC 100 pagers.

I like the Lego Star Wars / Batman titles. Always a nice change of pace to my specialties of FPS and GTA- style sandbox games.

I had a look at that one when you posted about it last time. Nice piece of kit.

Exactly. I just happened to take to using an iPad. All there is to it.

With comicopolis I get a 'service unavailable' message. That's on iPad. Must be those krappy Apple machines My iPad's brilliant. You'll never convince me otherwise, pal. (thumbs u