What the nerd heart desires: Nerd Stores

Lies auf Deutsch

As sixth part of the Nerd-Week you get a special overview over a few nerdy stores here in Germany, that you enter with a laughing and a crying eye and leave with an empty wallet and filled bags. Find out what there is to discover!

Fantastische Welten – Fantastical Worlds

A potpourri of things awaits you in the Fantastischen Welten in Rostock, that’s not just something for Manga-friends, no, especially Card Gamer, Roleplayers and Table Tops Player get their money’s worth. Besides weekly Events for Magic the Gathering and Force of Will, tournaments for Yu-Gi-Oh! and others are regularly fought out. A visit is worthwhile either way, even if you just use it to sit on one of the 32 playing seats and preventively intimidate your future opponents with your gaze. 😉

Gandalph

The Gandalph can be found in three different places: Flensburg, Kiel and Rendsburg [and Lübeck], where you can stock up on (Board) Games, Manga and Books from different genres, miniatures/figurines for Table Tops and even more. There is simply a huge range, that invides you the spent an evening in the store.

Grober Unfug – Monkey Business (?)

As we already are talking about more than one store, let’s continue with the Grober Unfug in Berlin that you can find twice there. The main store is in Mitte, a small branch in Kreuzberg. Both have a huge selection especially of Comics and Comic-Merchandise. Those who want to complete their DC or Marvel-collections or want to discoverer something smaller are at the right place. Especially great is that both stores participate in the Gratis Comic Tag (Free Comic Book Day) and simply are a great place to go (Note: On that day the branch is usually quite cramped if you want to check the shelves, but it is doable). And if you’re lucky – as I was on GTC two years ago – you might meet a Berlin celebrity (Bela B.) who is looking for new reading material as well. 😉

Otherland

Let’s stay in the vicinity of the Grober Unfug-branch in Kreuzberg and walk a bit further to the Otherland-book store. Specialized in Fantasy and Sci-Fi there is a lot to discover here, as besides new releases, you’ll also find (used) classics in the shelves (and boxes) and a nearly as large a selection of English literature (e.g. by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett). But still not everything. The Otherland hosts reading sessions and other events and the well informed team can certainly help you with your search for new reading material.

Neo Tokyo

Let’s change the specialization to Japanese Media. The Neo Tokyo – in Berlin, but also in Munich – have a large assortment of Manga and DVDs for popular/famous series from the different publishers, but also a few less known ones. Special in their range are the offers of Merchandise, clothing and (Japanese/Korean) Music, that you don’t find that much throughout Germany. Those who want to complete their series or want to take a closer look into Japanese Culture are at the right place. If I remember correctly you could even buy a Bento in the Berlin store.

J-Store

Fit for that as well is also the J-Store that you can’t only find in the Capital, but also in Hamburg. The variety is similar to Neo Tokyo, but you can always find something in one store that you can’t find in the other. Especially Artists can buy a few things here and fans of Youth Culture can take a picture in a traditional Photo Booth (purikura).

Comic Planet

With the Comic Planet another branch-store is added to the mix. You can find it in different citiesOsnabrück, Münster, Rheine and Duisburg. With different events (tournaments, theme days, …), a large range of (sometimes rare) Manga, Comics and Trading Card Games, as well as a lot of space to play the latter depending on the branch, it has a lot to offer.

Comic Galerie – Comic Gallery

The second proper Comic Book Store I ever visited is the Comic Galerie in Kassel. Many great things can be found here that will greatly improve your life, uhm, I mean: They have a wide range of Comic Books and Manga, but also a large assortment of Specialist Literature, Artbooks and Rulebooks for Pen&Paper– and Table Tops-Systems and additionally many interesting Events that go from game-demonstrations up to tournaments.

Pin-Up

My very first is Pin-Up Comic in Cologne that seems unimpressive from the outside, but hides actually worlds of wonders. With a complete range of German Graphic Novels, Frankobelgian Comics (Asterix & Co.), as well as a huge selection of US-Comics and an extensive Comic and Magazine antique shop everyone can find something here.

Nertaku

Specialized a bit differently is the Nertaku in Dresden that tries to combine the interests of both Nerds and Otakus and that not just in their name. Beside a large assortment of Game- (Super Mario, Minecraft, Final Fantasy, etc.) and Mangamerchandise (and volumes) they also offer stuff for Cosplayers, as the owners dabble in the Cosplaying scene as well. Additionally they also sell Alpaca plushies.

Zeitgeist

How does the saying go? Save the best for last, if the Zeitgeist in Koblenz is indeed that you’ll have to decide for yourself. DarkFairy, who showed me this store would certainly think so. 😉
Either way is there a wide range of different Comics, Manga, (Board- and Card) Games, Table Tops equiment and also various Merchandise (especially Manga/Anime figurines, but also stuff for Doctor Who and others), that you scarcely find anywhere.
But I do not want to keep one last, special goody that SaJaehwa and I discovered on our weekend trip to Stockholm (obviously that’s in Sweden not in Germany, but it still needed to be added to this list), from you:

Science Fiction Bokhandeln

As I mentioned here on Tuesday, did we more or less stumble upon the Science Fiction Bokhandeln by accident and when we went inside it was hard for us to leave again. The wide variety of English (non-fiction) Books, Comics and (Original-) Manga, as well as the huge selection of Merchandise you don’t get that easily in Germany, where simply too tempting (Mean info: You can order through the web shop via credit card…).

But enough now, don’t want you to go into a buying frenzy. 😉

Those someone else think that Comic Book Stores are as mean – if not meaner – as Book Stores, as you hardly can leave them without taking something with you?
Did I forget your favourite store?
Let me know!
Have fun checking them out!

PoiSonPaiNter

Disclaimer: I didn’t get paid for writing this, I simply wanted to share my experiences with different stores I’ve been at.

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