Would I call myself a geek? Perhaps. My husband did buy me geek socks for Christmas. And I did do a…read morecourse in genetics of my own free will. And I like reading books on grammar. Ok, so I'm a geek. Then, this place was made for me, right? Well actually, this is more for the comic book geek kind of person, but I was still tempted to go along to see what this place was like. It just opened (on Saturday) so I wasn't expecting much. It is pretty easy to see with the signage (look for black/yellow hazard tape coloured signs), and you head down a set of stairs with some seriously cool comic wallpaper. Into the main room and your eyes will be hit with walls of bright yellow and fluro lights. You'll find a cafe, lots of seating, comics as well as figurines and some locally made crocheted characters too. There was a guy standing near the cafe to "brief" people as they came in, if they walked in looking bewildered and confused like I did. I really appreciated this as he was super friendly and chatty without being pushy or overbearing. There was quite a lot of people in here for a Thursday lunch time seeing as it just opened, and in fact they'd sold out of hot dog rolls as well as a couple of paninis, so they must be doing well. I settled for a cupcake (with a batman logo) and had a seat. There is plenty of seating although I imagine if it got busier, you might have to share a table with a stranger (not necessarily a bad thing!). They have a display of comics for you to read while you eat which I thought was pretty cool, as well as board games to play (just leave a £5 deposit). They are still ironing out some things - they are getting wifi, so at the moment it's a reception black hole with no phone/internet (what is a geek to do?!) but I imagine that once that is sorted this would be a pretty good place to hang out for a geek-out. They sell a bunch of American themed snacks and lollies (candy/sweeties) if you are so inclined. I liked the vibe of this place. Geeky - obviously, but also friendly, relaxing and (dare I say it) a bit cool. Nice one, guys!

Friendly helpful staff, Good place to go if you like playing…read moreYugiho, Pokemon, Magic: the gathering to name but a few games that they play here

Deceiving. They make it seem like you'll receive hard copies of books - they even scam you by…read morecharging shipping. It's written in very fine print and easy to miss that you'll be receiving digital copies.

This is an interesting wee place. Where Forbidden Planet and A1 Comics know they have a monopoly on…read morethe comic book market in Glasgow, this little shop has somewhat taken the wind out of their sales. It is basically a walk in warehouse. It offers comics, toys, action figures, DC & Marvel figurines and has a growing number of customers worldwide. Buying comics can be a bit of an emotional minefield and not one I know a great deal about but the folk in here seem to know what they are talking about and do all they can to help you. They know my friend in there by name, which probably says more about him than it does about them :) Red Hot Comics has a real growing reputation amongst comic book lovers in Glasgow.

I was appalled when I heard from a friend that employees at Forbidden Planet Glasgowhad customised…read moredisplays for International Pride Month and then were told by management to take them all down. That's a terrible message to send when you're in the Scottish city with the biggest Pride celebrations in the country. I won't be shopping at Forbidden Planet in Glasgow again. We're a pretty big part of fandom, you know. Imagine if we all chose to take our business elsewhere.

Am I a Geek? You bet I am…read more THis store carries all the ephemera that you'd expect to find at a store that caters to geeks, nerds and comic book fan boys. From bobble heads to stuffed animals to collectible cards, it's all found right there. I even found a collectible figurine from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which amused me to no end. I ended up getting a few things, and am happy to say that though this store is not yet in my area, I hope it will be soon. They have one in NYC, I dont see why they won't have one in Orlando.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Pre-ordered an item through them online. Waited weeks for it to be sent. In our…read moreemail correspondence they said they had sold too many preorders and were trying to allocate enough stock. Weeks passed and nothing came of it until they ultimately issued a refund. The item now costs more to buy than what I paid for it at preorder. DO NOT TRUST THEM.

GEEK-ORAMA Him…read moreIndoors and I popped in here this afternoon...he is a MASSIVE comic book "aficionado" (read:geek!! ) This is a store he hadn't been in before, so I got his "pleeeeeease" face...So I was kiiiiinda like "uuuuugh, OK we'll go in for a wee look..." I'm not gonna lie, I was expecting a small, dingy, crammed store with slightly arrogant staff...but no, it's bright, airy and the staff was friendly and helpful! I fear I made a huuuuuge cos-play faux pas whilst in the shop-lol-I saw a girl dressed in a Star Trek outfit, presumed she was employed there so said "hiya"...she looked at me like I was weird-turns out she DIDN'T work there (I saw her leaving with a friend just before we did...!!) so I was just saying Hi to random folk...haahaaa!! Oh well, at least I was being friendly!! I ended up actually buying something (did NOT expect that-HAAA!!) and I even had a slight Game of Thrones geek out (bought a House Targaryen mug-teeeheee...) Him Indoors has already declared he'll be getting most of this year's Christmas pressies (really, ALREADY!!??) from this shop, so I fear I will become a regular check in here...! Lol I'd definitely recommend this shop to anyone who wants cool wee bits from TV shows (there's a whole stand for Breaking Bad stuff-was a tough choice between a Heisenberg mug and the eventual winner!!) As with all these "collectible" shops, it's a wee bit expensive, but it's what it's expected! All in all, better than a lot of these shops, IMHO...

If Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons was real, he would work in here…read more I don't read comics, but I know enough to know there's a genuinely good selection on the go in here. I go to pick up obscure gifts for people and generally let me jaw drop at some of toys and games in here. There's alot of that in here, just looking around and such. Given the recent trend for superhero movies, there appears to be enough of an appeal for places like this to survive. And I'm all for it.

Brightening up the area behind Argyle Street with its bright yellow exterior, is the quirky A1…read moreComics which sells, you guessed it, lots and lots of comics. It has the latest imports as well as back issues and the knowledgeable staff go out of their way to help you. Like its sister store Static Games, my brother is a regular customer and chats about the guys here by their first names. I was once with him when he popped in & they chatted like old friends that even I, a comic novice, felt totally welcome and was in awe of their geeky knowledge. A fun place.

went in to ask about graphic novel, when I was trying to explain what I wanted the owner of the…read moreshop kept talking over me. when I asked about the two other shops in Glasgow, his response was "I don't know and I don't care what they do". I found him to be rude and ignorant.

If stan lee and the fantastic fours the thing had a love child, chris the owner would the that…read morechild. I have known chris for many years and it gives me immense pleasure to see him in a nice shop and when he started selling current comics as well as back issues I was over the moon. If you like comics and live in the west end show him some love. If your into comics but not from the west end SHOW HIM SOME LOVE! The shops 2 mins from hillhead subway, you've no excuse.

About a week ago I went in here because I collect oddities and also comics (in fact, I used to be a…read morecurator of a comics museum in NYC). After a quick walk through of the store, I noticed that my boyfriend was looking through a selection of books- they were all part of a series, and neither of us had seen them before. As I looked through the titles and flipped through some of the pages, I started to think that some of these books would be good gifts to bring back to my friends in NYC. Naturally, I started looking more carefully at the titles, trying to decide which of these books would be suited for my each of my friends. We were probably there looking at the books for maybe 5-7 minutes (if that) when the owner/proprietor/sales clerk came up, asked if we needed help and then grabbed one of the books from my hands, saying that this is not a library (and I know the difference between a library and a store, since I'm a professor and going to libraries is kind of a thing that I do on a regular basis). It is very hard to determine whether a book is worth buying without skimming through the pages.... I was actually about to buy that book by the way, but I was so shocked at how rudely I was treated that I walked out and continued my way to the National Galleries. This was my first experience in Edinburgh, but thankfully the rest of the city was very warm and kind.

A wonderful store that sells all things geeky. Although not quite as extensive, just like the chain…read morestore Forbidden Planet this store gets regular deliveries of many of the latest comic books and additionally has a very extensive collection of older ones. There is also a collection of manga available as well as many other geeky things such as action figures, board games and trading cards. The shop keeper himself is very helpful and knowledgable about the goods he sells, and is perfectly willing to give advice if needed. I highly recommend this store! 5/5

Great shop! Loads of stock, all varieties. Comics are sold bagged and boarded! Real friendly…read morestaff. Saves having to travel to Glasgow to get your comic fix!

It was late one Thursday evening and I had missed the late night shopping due to a rehearsal I was…read moreat. I needed to kill some time and also was still in thinking mode about some Christmas present ideas. I stopped outside Waterstones and though 'ach I'll hiv a wee nosey' so I came across some audio books and a staff member pointed me in the direction to more. I explained I was looking for something my dad and she suggested a couple for me. Well he absolutely loves them. Yay! I just want to thank the kind girl who helped me out. I was struggling for ideas and just didn't know where to begin as there's just sooo many titles. I also asked on the off chance to see if they had the Yo! Sushi cookbook at a cheaper price rather than purchasing it from Yo! Sushi themselves. Unfortunately they didn't have it in stock but the Sauchiehall Street branch did but it was about 9.30ish and it wasn't on my route to the restaurant I was heading to. It was the same price too so was best just to nip round the corner and get it out the restaurant. The staff were very helpful and took their time to help me even though it was near to closing time. Athough not as well stocked as Sauchiehall Street it catered my unexpected needs.

You have to hand it to Waterstones (and also book publishers); in the era of the e-book/Amazon they…read morehave managed to re-invent the book shop experience. I used to love book shops when I was a child and teenager then as I became a young adult I began to favour the music/record shop instead, but it wasn't down to just me being more into music than books it was down to the whole shopping experience. I found music shops exciting and book shops then a bit dull and staid. When the 1st e-books & mighty Amazon/online book shops came on the scene the poor high street book shops had to either re-invent themselves or suffer like the many record shops sadly did with the increase of mp3's/online music. Waterstones were one of the big players in the book shop scene and thankfully they chose to up their game. This particular shop has been very successfully re-invented & I wouldn't have even known had I not decided to pop in one day just out of interest (and admittedly to kill some time before my bus!) I remember it being a bit boring a few years ago when I came in but now it's so much better. It's split over 3 levels and the ground floor now has a really great gift and stationary section. I found some super cute washi tape and wrapping paper that was ideal for some home wall designs I had in mind. Also they had many other lovely greetings cards and gifts of all sorts including Scottish themed bits & bobs for the tourists and your family members or friends who live outside of Scotland. The book displays themselves make you want to engage with the books and touch them; something that I think is SO important when shopping. I hate shops where I feel as though I am browsing a museum with products that have a invisible 'Do not touch' sign in front of them. Bah. Hell no. I'm a tactile person (hello!) when it comes to shopping so I like to FEEL everything and books feel (and smell!) really good. The covers, the embossed/raised fonts, the flick of the pages, the shiny and matte coverings...I know the old saying is 'You shouldn't judge a book by its cover' but damn! A great book cover can make or break a book in my opinion! Another touch I like here is that the staff members have their own tags they can use to put on books they particularly like with a mini review. I know Borders used to do this & I always really liked it. The staff here (and all the other Waterstones too) are also really lovely & friendly. Whenever I've had any questions they've always been super helpful and informative & they've never acted as though I am a nuisance or asking a ridiculous question. They also have a cafe here serving Matthew Algie coffee and they're open most nights until 7pm making this a perfect wee place to stop off after work for a wee swatch at some books, a coffee and wee read too before you head home. They also have book signings and a monthly book group too. You can also order books online if they maybe don't have them in stock and earn some points if you sign up to their card at the same time. If you chose to pick the books up yourself from a store it's free so no p&p to pay. Nice one! Nice work Waterstones, you've made book shopping a truly fun experience again.