Comics in Paris and Belgium

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I haven't been posting much lately the past several months. Work and family commitments have kept me very busy.

 

But, here is a community contribution I hope you all enjoy.

 

For work, I had to go to Belgium for a week and be locked up in a conference room for 5 days straight. Since it is summer, my wife decided to tag along and leave the kids with her mom. We spent a weekend in Paris, then off to work in Belgium for a week while she toured the country, then we finished with a weekend in Amsterdam.

 

It is by pure coincidence and luck that I have pics for this thread.

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I've been to Paris four times previously, but this was the first time for my wife. We spent most of the time in the museums, checking out the tourist spots and stuffing ourselves on fine food.

 

On Sunday evening, I had a train to catch to get to Antwerp. As we're heading back to the hotel to get our bags, we came across what I thought was a comic shop, but all they had were games and action figures.

 

So, here I am out front of "Pulps".

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I left Pulps tremendously disappointed. Right after the above pic was taken, I look across the street and see Atomic. I check my watch and realize our train leaves in about 90 minutes. But, I convince my wife to go in anyway. Here is the outside.

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Atomic is a really good comic shop. It is very focused on U.S. style comics, but has several European types as well. I really loved the layout. There were several rooms, and each room had a unique sign, such as the Batcave, etc. Here is the first room as you walk in.

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The back room has the back issues and a wall books. There is the sideroom with trades and OA handing on the wall. The shop was busy, even though it doesn't look it from the pics.

 

We spent about 15 minutes in the shop before running off to catch our train.

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For the next 5 days, I was stuck in a conference room. My wife went to Ghent, Brugges, Brussels and Lier. Monday, I did get out of work and to the local comic shop Mekanik at 6:15. That was the earliest I left work (except Friday, so I could catch a train to Amsterdam). They closed at 6:30.

 

So, I only had 15 minutes. Here is the outside.

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Right when you go in the front door, you get the feeling that this is one classy joint. My wife suggested that I wear a tux next time.

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Once inside, the store is not very wide, but it is long. It is also 2 stories. The store is on the first floor and an art gallery and patio on the second floor. Here are some pics of the first floor.

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I really liked this store and promised I would go back later in the week and check out all the books on the shelves. There was a nice Peanuts limited edition book from the mid 70's that was still in the original cardboard box which I wanted, but I didn't buy because I thought I would go back. Now, I'm kicking myself.

 

Anyway, here are pics of the gallery upstairs and the outdoor patio.

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Unfortunately for me, when you put the shops in Paris and Antwerp together, I probably spent no more than 40 minutes total exploring comics during this trip.

 

Luckily for all of you, my wife was going to Brussels to see some flower carpet and other sites. I quickly added a trip to the Comic Strip Museum and told her to take a lot of pics. So, the next several pictures are all from the museum.

 

Here are a couple of exterior pictures.

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Ok, I have about 15 pics from the inside. Many are Tintin, the national treasure. Enjoy.

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More...

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More from the museum...

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The last ones, including some OA...

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did I mention tintin?

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I got some reader trades and picked up a few Asterix for my kids. But, the best pick-up of all was what my wife got me from the museum...

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That's all. I grabbed these from the more than 1000 photos taken during the trip. I hope you enjoyed them. It took longer for me to create this thread than the total time I spent with comics during my time there. But, it was fun nonetheless.

 

Here is my parting shot. My wife took this somewhere in Belgium. She thought it was funny. I thought comic related...

[adamstrange]

I got some reader trades and picked up a few Asterix for my kids. But, the best pick-up of all was what my wife got me from the museum...

 

That's a cool chess set!

 

Awesome trip report! (thumbs u

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Thanks for the compliments.

 

btw - the shop in Paris is Album, not Atomic (not sure where I got that from). They are located at 67 Boulevard St Germain, 75005 Paris, France

[zuckuss2003]

Thanks for sharing these cool pictures. It looks like a ton of fun!

 

I started a new tradition this year of purchasing foreign versions of comics when I travel. I got to Peruvian comics this year, a Thor and an ASM, when we went to Machhu Picchu.