Oi, Nordies! Belfast question.

[TordelBack]

The missus, the sprog and I are on a day out tomorrow, traipsing all the way up to Belfast for some international adventure (different money and everything!).  Since there is likely to be 'shopping' involved, and seeing as Halo and I are in agreement on this one, I seek the advice of all of our resident Prods and Taig, irrespective of inter-pupil measurements.  I know and like Belfast pretty well, but since the suspicious demise of Dark Horizons (or whatever it was called, where the big VIctoria Square development hole is now?), Forbidding Prices seems to be the only nerdly game in town.  

Anyone know of *any* other shops in/around Belfast that might help with my Comics/Star Wars/Lego habits, and thus offset the possible impact on my 5 month-old son of too much Dorothy Perkins?  C'mon you nordie bastards, even your inbred southern cousins in Dublin can boast four helathy nerd shoppes!

[Buddy]

Just stay at home.

FP is about the only nerdy shoppe in Belfast these days. Which is fine if you like toys.

Go upstairs for the comics and back issues and be sure to pick up a copy of 'Good Craic Comics' (in which yours truly done the lettering and general production duties. Issue two out soon!!)

There is a shop in Smithfield (go out the back enterance of Castle Court, it's across the road, enter, go down the right hand side) called Impulse Comics but I think it may have recently closed down, if there is an unshaven longhaired lout there that'll by Johnny. But as I say, it may have closed.

Can't think of anything else at the moment.

[pauljholden]

Johnny has moved to the corner of Hope Street and Little Victoria Street - which is ... http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=hope+street&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=17&ll=54.593158,-5.932907&spn=0.004426,0.009023&t=h>Google Maps (here)

(Which is round the corner from my day job...)

 -pj

[Art]

'> close tag...

[Art]

Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=hope+street&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=17&ll=54.593158,-5.932907&spn=0.004426,0.009023&t=h" target="_blank">http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=hope+stree

[Bico]

Impulse has moved premises to an alleyway just across from the Europa bus depot, if you walk towards the movieplex you can see it from the street.  It's called The Stack now, and the old premises mutated into a Yu-gi-oh shop, so Johnny had to move before he was assimilated.
FP is great for toy robots that you can get for ten times the price you'd pay in a pound shop if you waited six months, emo music, and losing comics from your standing order.  Or you can spend a few minutes asking Mal Coney about writing comics for the American market and watch him go nuts - it's like watching a legible and sociable version of the Tazmanian Devil get wound up about a very specific topic, rather than because a rabbit put TNT inside a roast chicken and left it out in the open.

[Art]

Damn, I should have used that oportunity to make it appear that PJ was saying rude things...

[pauljholden]

Arse!

[Buddy]

Yeah... Just don't mention Garth to Mal....

It's Mal who's done the writing and Art chores on Good Craic issue 2 I'm currently scanning and lettering....

He's a good bloke and has a lot of time for comic fans just lookin for a chat, he knows his stuff.

[TordelBack]

Jeez, thanks guys, I thought I was chancing my arm asking at this late date.  See what you can accomplish if you all stop killing each other for a minute or two?  

Belfast's FP is street's ahead of Dublin's, not least because of the selfsame friendly and knowledgeable Mal (who steered the good woman away from buying some MASH DVDs once because he knew that there was a cheaper boxet available... instant respect!), but also a greater appreciation of the role of fresh air in sustaining life.  Dublin's FP is like some appalling sauna for the hard-of-soap.  

I always prefer to go with the smaller shops if I can, so Impulse sounds like the ticket -  never even seen it, but I know the area well enough.  Should provide Tordelboy and I with an excuse to hive off from the main Donegall Street mission.  

Dublin's comics scene is positively idyllic this weather, with Rob Curley & Co.'s Sub City, John Wozzisname's Third Place and that one on the corner of Crow Lane, all within a Sunday-afternoon stagger of each other, and all run by top blokes.  Hardly  a disinterested snarl to be heard.

[Byron Virgo]

"See what you can accomplish if you all stop killing each other for a minute or two?"

And yet they still can't get it together to power-share. The only people working at Stormont are the bloody cleaners...it's a disgrace, I say...

[TordelBack]

Look, as long as they can come out from behind the barricades long enough to give me advice on Belfast comic shops, I'm calling it a Good Friday Dividend.  

[TordelBack]

Well, that was a very pleasant day altogether, many thanks to Uncle Ump, Art, PJ and the Bear!  

'The Stack' is a very friendly place indeed, and made me regret not being in Belfast more often - Star Wars Miniatures tournaments on Monday evening >sniff

[Byron Virgo]

You say that like it's a good thing...

[Richmond Clements]

Hey TordelBack, we'll be heading down your way, surrendering the blue skies of Ulster for the grey skies of the Irish Republic, for Octocon this weekend.
Remind me how much thon toll road costs?