Paris Comic Book Stores

[rjrjr]

 

I will be going to Paris, France in a month and was wondering if there are any comic book shops I should stop at. I am interested in foreign material (specifically, foreign Star Wars comics.)

 

Any recommendations? Anyone from France on these boards that wants to point out a favorite shop or two?

[dupont2005]

I'd recommend bringing back a couple Euro comics, France has a THRIVING comic industry and some amazing talent. If you can read French then I envy you, and if not I'd probably still spend $50 or so getting something that had amazing art and has yet to be translated and marketed to us English speakers.

[Par2ch]

When I was in Paris a little earlier this year I found comics being sold on the street (near other vendors selling books) on the North side of the Siene River near the Pont Marie Subway station. They even had a few random CGC books.

 

Books were well organized and all bagged but covered in thick dust. It was fun hunting and I found some really cool older marvel french reprints,some Modern Panni Marvel books and a Star Wars #1 French edition.

 

 

[FlyingDonut]

Yes.

[rjrjr]

When I was in Paris a little earlier this year I found comics being sold on the street (near other vendors selling books) on the North side of the Siene River near the Pont Marie Subway station. They even had a few random CGC books.

 

Books were well organized and all bagged but covered in thick dust. It was fun hunting and I found some really cool older marvel french reprints,some Modern Panni Marvel books and a Star Wars #1 French edition.

 

 

Was it a Marvel Star Wars 1? Did it look like this:

 

 

Or was it a Dark Horse Star Wars 1?

 

[rjrjr]

 

Well, I went to my first comic book store in Paris today... and struck out.

 

I visited Apo(K)Lyps Comics and was surprised that the bulk of the comics in the shop are U.S. comics. I asked to see the Star Wars comics and was shown a box with Dark Horse Star Wars and then a box with 4 Marvel Star Wars comics, all U.S. comics. Needless to say, I didn't buy anything and left slightly disappointed. As a LCS, this shop would be terrific for new comics, but the back issue offering was less than desirable. Admittedly, I'm very focused on a particular property (Star Wars) and I also am disappointed at many U.S. comic conventions for the same reason.

 

I have one more day to hit a few more shops in the area. I think I might be able to visit 2 more shops near Notre Dame.

[Phantalien]

When I was in Paris my wife and I stopped in around 5-6 comic shops. They are great for new stuff. I remember only one store that had back issues but they were all US or UK versions. IF there were any back issues they were key or expensive issues and I never paid any mind to them.

 

If you want a good laugh, look for Claude Serre. No words so anyone can read it.

 

Good Luck

[rjrjr]

 

Day 2 of comic shopping was more successful than Day 1. I hit the Notre Dame area described in this link:

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3795847&fpart=1

 

I can't thank Flying Donut enough for posting that link. This area has many used bookstores, comic shops, and other pop culture shops. I actually overspent my budget for the trip and am still not entirely sure how I'm getting all the comics I bought home. I had to leave comics on the shelf because I couldn't carry anymore. I'll post pictures when I get home.

 

The first stop was at Boulinier (comics, music, books) where I picked up Star Wars Classic 2 hardcover from Delcourt. This hardcover reprints the original Marvel Star Wars series and several issues of the Marvel Weekly series. At this store I also picked up French Titans 35, 39, and Album 34. In hindsight, I probably should have skipped these Titans issues, but I wasn't sure I was going to see anymore and at 2 euros each, I figured why not. This shop mostly dealt in new, hardcover French comics. I never imagined there were so many titles. If I had time, I would have loved to look for a French title or two to buy as they had tons of interesting science fiction comics to choose from. The comics are all on the top floor of this store.

 

I found the Star Wars Classic 1 hardcover at another comic shop, Pulp's Comics, that had mostly newer American comics. From the looks of it, this Star Wars Classic hardcover book will have a few more issues in the series yet to be published. I'll have to keep an eye out for those.

 

At a 2nd comic shop (the name escapes me, but you can see this shop from Pulp's Comics), I saw copies of a title called Star Wars Magazine, which looks like a UK title that is comic size but is thicker with perfect binding. It contains Dark Horse stories. I also saw a few more copies of the French Atlas reprints that I have issue 1-3 of. I had to leave these comics on the shelf due to money and too much to carry. This comic shop also seemed to deal in American comics.

 

A 3rd comic shop, Aaapoum Bapoum, was the best of them all. I picked up 2 copies of Titans 18 (this is the first appearance of Star Wars in that title), 32, 36, 38, and 2 copies of 43. These all have Star Wars covers. They had later issues with Star Wars covers, but again, money and too much to carry prevented me from indulging that fantasy. They pretty much had every issue of Titans, Strange, Nova, Spidey, etc. They had several of the early issues behind glass (Strange 1 and 2 come to mind here with Strange 2 priced at 160 euros. Is this the first French Iron Man?) I could have easily walked out with every Star Wars appearance in the Titans title if I had the money and means to carry all the issues. They also had a ton of Marvel and DC paperback sized comics all in French. I had my hands full of a comic featuring Swamp Thing (the title escapes me) and another title called Frankenstein (Marvel horror characters), but I ended up putting them back. I cannot recommend this shop enough. If Marvel or DC superheroes are your thing, and you want French copies of those comics, this is the store to visit.

 

All 3 of these comic shops had plenty of Delcourt hardcover Star Wars titles that featured Dark Horse stories. Trust me, it was very tempting to buy one of everything with Star Wars in the title (these hardcovers would look great on the shelf at home), but I just have no way of getting it all home.

 

Finally, I hit a strange comic shop that had vintage french comics from the 40s, 50s, 60s, etc. I had to ask and got the comic I really, really wanted on this trip at this shop, La Guerre des Etoiles, the 1977 French TPB of Star Wars 1-6. I purchased both copies they had and left the lone Le Retour du Jedi TPB behind. I don't know much about French vintage comics, but this shop looked like the place to get those comics.

 

The only comics I did not see but really, really want are the French copies of the Marvel Star Wars Treasuries. I ran out of time to explore the area thoroughly, but to be honest, I already looked foolish with all the comics I did carrying back with me on the metro. Now comes the trick of packing these in the suitcase and my carry on bag so I get them back home with me safely. And then I have to explain to the wife why I bought these comics when I don't really have room left to store them.

 

 

 

 

[Phicks]

Nothing to do with comics, but right across the river from Notre Dame are winding little cobbled streets with many excellent restaurants with very reasonable prices. My wife and I ate there every night when we were in Paris.

[miraclemet]

so funny phicks, I was in Paris just a week earlier!

 

Wish I had the freedom to hit the comic shops, but maybe next time. Thanks for the reports, it's good intel for my next trip!

[micmack]

so funny phicks, I was in Paris just a week earlier!

 

Wish I had the freedom to hit the comic shops, but maybe next time. Thanks for the reports, it's good intel for my next trip!

 

The Galcante

Great vintage magazines and prints. Near the Louvre

 

[BrianR]

Day 2 of comic shopping was more successful than Day 1. I hit the Notre Dame area described in this link:

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3795847&fpart=1

 

I can't thank Flying Donut enough for posting that link. This area has many used bookstores, comic shops, and other pop culture shops. I actually overspent my budget for the trip and am still not entirely sure how I'm getting all the comics I bought home. I had to leave comics on the shelf because I couldn't carry anymore. I'll post pictures when I get home.

 

The first stop was at Boulinier (comics, music, books) where I picked up Star Wars Classic 2 hardcover from Delcourt. This hardcover reprints the original Marvel Star Wars series and several issues of the Marvel Weekly series. At this store I also picked up French Titans 35, 39, and Album 34. In hindsight, I probably should have skipped these Titans issues, but I wasn't sure I was going to see anymore and at 2 euros each, I figured why not. This shop mostly dealt in new, hardcover French comics. I never imagined there were so many titles. If I had time, I would have loved to look for a French title or two to buy as they had tons of interesting science fiction comics to choose from. The comics are all on the top floor of this store.

 

I found the Star Wars Classic 1 hardcover at another comic shop, Pulp's Comics, that had mostly newer American comics. From the looks of it, this Star Wars Classic hardcover book will have a few more issues in the series yet to be published. I'll have to keep an eye out for those.

 

At a 2nd comic shop (the name escapes me, but you can see this shop from Pulp's Comics), I saw copies of a title called Star Wars Magazine, which looks like a UK title that is comic size but is thicker with perfect binding. It contains Dark Horse stories. I also saw a few more copies of the French Atlas reprints that I have issue 1-3 of. I had to leave these comics on the shelf due to money and too much to carry. This comic shop also seemed to deal in American comics.

 

A 3rd comic shop, Aaapoum Bapoum, was the best of them all. I picked up 2 copies of Titans 18 (this is the first appearance of Star Wars in that title), 32, 36, 38, and 2 copies of 43. These all have Star Wars covers. They had later issues with Star Wars covers, but again, money and too much to carry prevented me from indulging that fantasy. They pretty much had every issue of Titans, Strange, Nova, Spidey, etc. They had several of the early issues behind glass (Strange 1 and 2 come to mind here with Strange 2 priced at 160 euros. Is this the first French Iron Man?) I could have easily walked out with every Star Wars appearance in the Titans title if I had the money and means to carry all the issues. They also had a ton of Marvel and DC paperback sized comics all in French. I had my hands full of a comic featuring Swamp Thing (the title escapes me) and another title called Frankenstein (Marvel horror characters), but I ended up putting them back. I cannot recommend this shop enough. If Marvel or DC superheroes are your thing, and you want French copies of those comics, this is the store to visit.

 

All 3 of these comic shops had plenty of Delcourt hardcover Star Wars titles that featured Dark Horse stories. Trust me, it was very tempting to buy one of everything with Star Wars in the title (these hardcovers would look great on the shelf at home), but I just have no way of getting it all home.

 

Finally, I hit a strange comic shop that had vintage french comics from the 40s, 50s, 60s, etc. I had to ask and got the comic I really, really wanted on this trip at this shop, La Guerre des Etoiles, the 1977 French TPB of Star Wars 1-6. I purchased both copies they had and left the lone Le Retour du Jedi TPB behind. I don't know much about French vintage comics, but this shop looked like the place to get those comics.

 

The only comics I did not see but really, really want are the French copies of the Marvel Star Wars Treasuries. I ran out of time to explore the area thoroughly, but to be honest, I already looked foolish with all the comics I did carrying back with me on the metro. Now comes the trick of packing these in the suitcase and my carry on bag so I get them back home with me safely. And then I have to explain to the wife why I bought these comics when I don't really have room left to store them.

 

 

 

 

Hey Ron, Can't wait to see some of these when you get back.

[piper]

Nothing to do with comics, but right across the river from Notre Dame are winding little cobbled streets with many excellent restaurants with very reasonable prices. My wife and I ate there every night when we were in Paris.

 

Latin Quarter!

 

Did you got to the Shakespeare Book Company?