Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: Comics, gosh, london, orbital, shops

A Walk Around The Changing Comic Shops Of London

Published Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:00:52 -0500

Bleeding Cool recently reported that Gosh! Comics of London moving locations after twenty-five years opposite the British Museum. The move is to Berwick Street in Soho, home to London's first comic shop, Dark They Were And Golden Eyed.

So since I was in London yesterday, I thought I'd take a few snaps.

First, this will be the new location for Gosh! Comics from August the 6th onwards at 1 Berwick Street. Spacious, with plenty of light, it seems ideally suited for a modern, forward looking comic shop. It is also surrounded on one side by a street market, and on the other by sex shops, sex shows, and clip joints.

So unlike its previous location, this isn't the most family friendly of places to put up a comic shop. Though it is very handy for mangos, punnets of strawberries and dildos.

But at least you know what you are getting. And Gosh! has always had a discerning adult clientele – one of the reasons it used to get in so much trouble with UK Customs over the importing of titles such as From Hell.

The new location also seems ideally suited for the kind of galleries and events that Orbital! Comics has made popular in recent years, but has escaped Gosh, for all its flair, its premises have always been on the cramped side. More on that in a minute.

But first a few more shots, pressed against those large ceiling to floor glass windows. The kind that probably won't be covered in Fear Itself posters I'm guessing.

Gosh is hosting its own gallery at the moment, original art pages positioned above the bookshelves, taken from the upcoming League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century: 1969. Apparently the League go to Berwick Street in the story, and the third chapter All Fall Down sees them visit Gosh! Comics – but only the current location.

Of course, Gosh isn't the only shop that's been changing. From the outside, Comicana looks very similar to how it used to look. aside from a large banner over the sign now reading A Place In Space. That's right, Duncan McAlpine has sold his comic shop to another retailer who now have a central London location. And they have made big changes to the small shop. In that now there are carpets and you can actually walk in and look for something. Radical, I know.

The shop staff however appear unchanged!

While at Orbital Comics off Leicester Square, they are running a series of works inspired by Jack Kirby, as well as some original Kirby artwork from Garry Leach's collection.