Mission Stockholm

One of the things I like to do when I'm outside the country - I live in Portugal, by the way - is to look for Comic Book shops. In some countries, they're easy to find, whereas in others it´s almost impossible. Sometimes this helps to make the hunt even more interesting.

Today I bring you two suggestions, two shops I found in Stockholm, Sweden. As it happens in Portugal, it's easy to find comics edited internally, in any newspaper stand. In december, when I was there, I found the "Riot at Xavier's" storyline, as well as J M Straczinsky's Spider-Man pencilled by John Romita Jr, in swedish. But what about the traditional 32 pages comic book, imported from USA ? Well, that was a lot more difficult to find, and I had to go to specialized shops to get them.

Of those where I've been, I'd like to point out these two :

SCIENCE FICTION BOKHANDELN
Vasterlanggatan 48

This is a huge store, dedicated to Science Fiction (go figure). It has a lot about everything, from DVDs to books, games and RPGs. Where sequential art is concerned, most of its goods are japanese Manga. American comics, only in Trade Paperback format. And also, there is a nice section with european albuns, specially from France and Belgium. They have a big selection of DVDs, from every kind. Lots and lots of Anime titles, some of them imported from USA, and at a good price too, specially comparing them to the prices we have in Portugal. They also have a good selection of TV Series DVD packs, like Mutant X, Babylon V, and so on. Where games are concerned, you can find a lot of Lord of the Rings and Warhammer stuff.
Actually, it's very common to find Warhammer on every games and toys shops, in Stockholm. I tried to find Heroclix or Mage Knight too, but was out of luck.

COMICS HEAVEN
St. Nygatan 23

The name of this shop kind of fouls you around. Why ? Because just like every other comic shop I've been in Stockholm (this was the 3rd one), it's hard to find recent comics coming from the United States. First thing you see when you enter these stores is that they are kind of messy. There are boxes everywhere, with old editions of swedish comics, some imported ones, and action figures all around. They have lots of stuff, but it takes a lot of patience to find anything in it. Or, you need to know what you're looking for and ask directly the guys in charge.

Both shops are located on Gamla Stan, which means Old Town, Stockholm's historic central neighbourhood. Red dots on the map indicates the shops location. The bigger one is SFB, which is the best place to find recent stuff from USA, but only as Trade Paperbacks. And also, right across the street there is a great Coffee Shop , where you can hide from the cold outside and read your recently bought books. :-)