Hobbies & Special Interests : Comics, Collectible Toys and Pop culture !

TGIF !

These being a casual Friday, I think I will cover a more light-hearted topic today with this being the first article covering hobbies and special interests. 
After all, you may have just moved to a foreign land but that doesn’t mean you should put your pastimes on hold!

Hence I’ll start off with something I personally love which is .. Collecting comics and toys!
 

So where do you go to get your weekly fix? Here are the most popular joints in Melbourne ..

• Comics R Us

• Located right in the middle of the city, it is really easy to get to and has a great selection of current and back comic issues. 
• It’s quite a large spacious shop and I love to loiter and admire all the really old comics on the wall. Not to mention the gorgeous collectible toys and statues. 
• The regular staff (Matt, Mark & Ryan) running the place are really friendly and always up for a chat. 
• They also have another branch not far from the city as well along fashionable Chapel St. 



Comics R Us

• Used to be packed on Friday and weekends but have since lost quite many of their regulars ever since their 2 best staff left to open their own shop! (see All Star Comics below) 
• Classic Comics 
• Situated on near the State Parliament building on the east end of the city. This is a tiny shop that has all the current comics but limited amount of back issues and toys on display due to a lack of space. They do a lot of business on Ebay so I guess shop space is not such a big issue. 
• Their prices are the cheapest but the place isn't too comfy to hangout due to its small space. Anymore than a few people having at a chat at the counter and you are bumping bums here! 
• So if you like cheap but don’t want/need to hang around, then this is the place to go. 
• Off topic but if you do visit this place, do try the great Malaysian food at Laksa Me in the adjacent building! 
• Minotaur Entertainment Megastore 
• The biggest pop culture place in Melbourne, their selection of goods are by far the best covering everything from toys, comics, books, clothes, DVDs, etc. 
• But BIG normally means impersonal and this place is no different. Their prices are also a lot higher than the others. 



All Star Comics

• If you want variety and a one-stop shop, this is the place. Otherwise the others would be better choices. 
• All Star Comics 
• The new kids on the block! Just opened on Feb this year by 2 great guys – Troy and Mitch – who used to work at Comics R Us. 
• I can’t comment much as I haven’t been there yet (it’s in a more remote part of the CBD and inconvenient for my personal situation). But from what I can see, they are going from strength to strength and building up quite a following! Which is great to see as these guys are genuinely nice blokes. 
• I’ll definitely pay a visit sometime and update this blog post with more information.