Vintage UK Sci-fi Ads and Stores
Everyone remembers the geek store(s) where they went to get their comics and sci-fi paperbacks when they were young and first discovering the genre. For me, growing up in Upstate New York, it was at first a mixture of various pharmacies and convenience stores, before graduating to regular trips to Gordon's Cigar Store and, in downtown Johnson City NY, 'Fat Cat Books'.
Below, I showcase some interesting blog posts looking at how sci-fi and fantasy media were marketed and sold in the UK back in the 1980s. As a smaller country, the UK tended to have a comparatively smaller number of retail stores, but these elicited lifelong feelings of fraternity on the part of their patrons.
According to the Darkest London post about the Forbidden Planet store at 23 Denmark Street:I only have to see a glimpse of the Brian Bolland artwork which used to adorn the plastic bags (and the associated t-shirt my dad bought me on one trip) and I’m straight back to the uneven wooden floor, the smell of pulp paper, the shafts of light streaming through the dust which hung in the air, and the vague unease of my mum as the till rang through each 75p I’d spent on the recent releases.
The Forbidden Planet store at 23 Denmark seems to have been the place to go back in the early 80s if you were a sci-fi fan in the London metropolitan area. It certainly had some great advertising support, such as a photo essay in which Torquemada, the archvillain from the 2000 AD comic 'Nemesis the Warlock', makes an in-store appearance:
The 23 Denmark Street and New Oxford Street stores also had their share of celebrity visitors, including Mark Hamill, Stephen King, Stan Lee, and Nichelle Nichols, among others.
American expatriate Dan Slott, who resided in London as a kid, remembers how things were when he had to patronize the Newsagent's stall, before the advent of Forbidden Planet:
Beano? What is this, where's my Spider-Man, where's my Avengers, where's Batman, why am I only getting this Beano thing and this guy Judge Dredd is kind of cool….....the pages would be in black and white for no reason.....!
A more expansive post at The Vintage Toy Advisor covers a range of UK and US shops, mail order firms, and advertisements from the 80s.
If this back cover advertisement from a 1986 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special is any guide, it appears that 'Forbidden Planet' had two retail outlets, with the one on Denmark Street devoted to sci-fi books and comics, while the St. Giles High Street retail outlet was devoted to cinema and television media. Forbidden Planet has since moved to a larger and more presentable retail locale in Covent Garden. But it remains the 'go to' place in the London for sci-fi and comic fans. Maybe I'll travel there someday........
