Forbidden Planet

Like the NYC store of the same name, it’s crowded as all get out, & there’s a good chance you’re paying a bit extra for the «pleasure» of shopping there, but if you’re the type of consumer who enjoys this sort of merchandise, it’s certainly convenient to find so much of it in one place. On vacation from the U.S. & in Liverpool for a couple of days before heading over to Ireland, I was delighted to find this shop & equally determined to find some reading material for my holiday Number Twos, but to no avail. Perhaps I’m too caught up, or perhaps I just couldn’t find anything truly special, but that wasn’t the fault of the shop. It was also very early in a 3 week vacation & I didn’t want to overstuff my baggage with all manner of things I could find back home, right? I was a bit unprepared when I stumbled on this shop, so I had no idea whether there were UK variant covers on this issue or that & wound up leaving with a wee Ghostbusters vehicle before Paul Feig bastardizes that franchise with his upcoming abomination of a film & the collector market is flooded with garbage featuring the likes of Melissa McCarthy pretending she ain’t afraid o’ no ghost.
At any rate, their selection is top notch, with current runs of anything & everything you’d be after & the staff when you finally reach the front of the line, seem helpful enough that they’d probably sooner assist you in finding what you’re after than punt you out of the shop. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re either a geek or you’ve got one in your immediate social circle, so it’s well worth a pop-​in.

Really good comic store, like all the other forbidden palenets it’s full of geeky stuff, board games, card games, comics books… If you are a fan of the above you owe it to yourself to pay a visit next time in Liverpool! They also have space upstairs in order to let the customers play games.

This shop is a great place to buy gifts for the geeks in your life. From comic books to video games and from action figures to T-​shirts, you name it and it’s here.
Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Super Man, Spider Man … The whole lot.
I’ll admit this shop made me feel a little uncomfortable. I guess that’s because I’m really not a sci-​fi person or a geek, and these sorts of places always seem seedy to me.
But I do like a good dose of Star Wars (only the original 3) once in a awhile, and I’m a Charmed fan and a fantasy reader (preferably children’s), so I’m not wholly weirded out.
All around it’s a decent little shop, especially if you love this kind of stuff or have someone in your life who does – makes the Christmas shopping easier.

Forbidden Planet is a geeks paradise. It stocks lots of cult items such as comics, graphic novels, posters, t-​shirts, models, figurines, books, memorabilia and much more.
The shop is small but well organised into clear sections. It is kept clean and tidy and is bright and airy.
The staff, although a little patronising like many true geeks are, are helpful and knowledgeable about their stock. If you want something they don’t stock they will order it in specially for you at no extra cost.
The items here are a bit expensive compared to some other similar shops, but they are of a good quality.

Thanks largely to the glut of superhero movies that have hit the big screnn in the last 5 years or so and (apparently) Jonathan Ross the geek is no longer a group to laughed and sniggered at for thet have inherited the world — but I’m very sure most of them would prefer it the old way when at least their precious heroes and villians were not being bastardised for mass market consumption!
As a youngster I dabbled with comic books or TV series but really didn’t have the focus and dedication needed to be a full on sci-​fi, horror or animé geek as waiting for the next Scorsese or Cohen Brothers picture took presidence — although I can tell you the shop takes its name from a 1956 scf-​fi film that starred a young Leslie Nielsen!
However with a wide variety of books, games, toys, t-​shirts, films comics and graphic novels in a broad range of genres you are probably going to find a number of things that will interest you. Maybe you’re more of a geek thn you think?

Geek is in at the moment. It’s definitely hip to be a square, something that kind of annoys me as I belong to that vaguely uncategorisable bunch of losers who aren’t geeks and so therefore don’t have any conventions or costumes to make ourselves look more interesting.
Forbidden Planet is therefore irritatingly daunting. A browse around here for me fills my mind with paranoid mysteries. What will that weirdo at the counter think if I pick something up and turn it quizzically over in my hand? Will he snort with derisive guffaws or yell at me to put it down before I break it?
While most things here make me wonder just who in their right mind would buy it, I can’t help myself from occasionally bumping across something that I just want, for reasons I’m not quite sure of. Lovecraft’s Necronomicon? A one-​hundred-​and-​ninety-​seven-​quid Tusken Raider statue? A cave troll’s head? Gimme gimme gimme.

Forbidden Planet as you might have imagined from previous reviews, is one of those dark shops yet a thrilling store for passionate fans of horror movies, comic heroes, WWE and sci-​fi all bundled under one roof. For those with an addiction, this is heaven but sometimes feels more like hell when you see the scary figurines they sell!
Every item in this shop is a collectable from toys and books to clothing. They have a brilliant website too, where you could spend lots of time flicking through their terrific range of products. Be sure to check it out. This is all offical merchandise, typically for the geek and a unique shop to browse whether or not you’re a huge fan of the above.

Forbidden Planet is a dark and shifting place where to be honest, I should be forbidden from entering, mainly because I get looks from the guy at the counter who must have a geek-​o-​meter and apparently, I’m not cool enough to be there (oxymoronic, but true!)
However, I love the selection of manga and comics and as a massive Doctor Who fan (possibly shouldn’t admit that) if it wasn’t £24.99 the life size cardboard cut-​out of Matt Smith which is pride of place in the front window, would be mine, Mine I tell you!

Let’s hear it for the geeks! Situated on the lovely Bold Street is Liverpool’s branch of Forbidden Planet, the UK’s largest chain of stores of its kind, harbouring all kinds of memorabilia for all kinds of shows, not just those for sci-​fi buffs (you can find some amazing Family Guy toys for example), and a bunch of comics. Because of its specialist nature you can find yourself paying through the nose for some of the items so just be sure to pick carefully. For example — and I won’t judge you, I promise — but if you want one of those (daft) Team Edward or Team Jacob t-​shirts you can find them far cheaper online.
This is a pretty well-​stocked branch, very reliable. It happens to have an extremely large WWE section full of toys, magazines and DVDs so if you’re a wrestling buff or know one, this is the place for you. While the staff aren’t always overly friendly (just think of Comic Book Guy in The Simpsons or the loveable nerds in The Big Bang Theory) they do know their stuff, and they’re more than happy to point you in the direction of special offers and reduced items. Adorkable.

I have a confession: I was a huge Buffy fan. Yes, I was (and thanks to the Vampire Diaries, still am) a fan of hunky vamps, and used to watch Buffy (and the Angel spin off) religiously. But where, other than Buffy conventions, would I ever meet like-​minded people? In Forbidden Planet.
Occasionally referred to as the shop for geeks, this is where you head if you have a secret or embarrassing addiction to anything sci-​fi. You can collect figurines of your favourite Dr Who baddies, browse the comics looking for the edition where Superman eats a bowl of Kelloggs sprinkled with Kryptonite (ok, I made that up) and get an X-​Files ‘The Truth is Out There’ t shirt. They also have all the info and related media about up and coming trends, such as the latest movies and newly invented superheroes. Geek or not, it’s great!

Dames with guns
Doctors with time-​machines
& Super-​heroes with special powers
You guessed it, we’re talking about the weird and wonderful world of comics and graphic novels. If you’re a collector or a fan, chances are you already know the staff at Forbidden Planet by name. If you don’t, go and check the shop out. We’re talking aisles of comics and graphic novels from manga and animé to The Iron Man and Cat Woman. They also have oodles of awesome toys, collectibles, tee-​shirts, posters and gadgets including Dr Who figurines and Sonic screwdrivers.

Forbidden Planet is the UK’s biggest chain of comic book/​memorabilia stores. You’ll find all your latest merchandise from all geek/​cult shows, from Family Guy to Star Trek to WWE, and whatnot. Action figures, posters, keyrings, statues, all sorts — even replica swords, if that’s what takes your fancy. The prices on these things are generally quite high because it is a specialist store selling imported goods. But if you want them, and you are wary of buying online, you don’t have many other options (although be sure to check the more standard stores like Woolworths, Argos and Toys R Us — when they do have the same items, they are usually a lot cheaper than you’d pay here).
The Liverpool branch on Bold Street seems very reliant on its (extremely impressive) WWE wrestling section. But it is also very well-​stocked with the latest comics and memorabilia, and stock is updated regularly. The staff seem rather cliquish and elitist at times, and prices can be astronomical, but there is a sizeable section of reduced items and again — much of what they sell here, you don’t find anywhere else.