There are rumours that Jared, owner of OK Comics, hatched from an egg from atop a volcano. I cannot…read moreconfirm this, but I can say that a world without OK Comics would be a a world without joy. Everything a comic book lover needs is nestled in this cosy little store. Downstairs you have the latest releases (as I like to call it, the Wednesday Wall) plus back issues from some of the bigger publishers. You also have graphic novels, trades, and manga - often some of it at a discounted price. - perfect for people just getting into comics. Upstairs is like a comic museum. 50p back issues in classic cardboard boxes and even more trades to whet your whistle. This is a great place if you're looking for that one issue to complete a story arc. Back to Jared and co. The staff are some of the friendliest and most knowledgeable that you could ever come across. I've been in other comic book stores around the country (and world) and very few can compare to the awesomess of the OK staff. If you're a comic book fan, get your fleshy behind to OK Comics. If your interest in comics has been piqued by recent box office smashes, then let your legs escort you to OK. Is that enough gushing? You want something negative? Ok, well, I heard that at the stroke of midnight the comics in the store come alive and contribute to 60% of the grafitti in the city centre.

OK comics is a valuable addition to the independent shops in Thornton's arcade, providing a broad…read moremix of genres from the predictable sci-fi to a hardback Moomin book nestled in the window. The shop has a clean, light feel and is tidy and organised enabling enjoyable browsing through their many high quality comics and unusual books. The staff are friendly and welcoming, even if, like me, you are a bit clueless about the world of comics, having ventured in there looking for a present for my dad! This is a shop with a real sense of identity adding to the buzzing scene of quirky shops in Leeds'city centre, and having won the Leeds Guide retail legend award, it clearly offers a quality range of products and offers excellent customer service.

One of the best shops I have been to. A great selection of comics plus a continual supply of…read morespecial offers.

When I lived on Oldham Street many moons ago, I used to pop into Forbidden Planet on a weekly basis…read moreto pick up new copies of The Sandman, The Invisibles and other cool comics. These days, I only venture in now and again for something specific, like Reinhard Kleist's awesome graphic novel based on the life of Johnny Cash - I See A Darkness. For me, the layout and interior of Forbidden Planet lacks the ambience and wow factor of somewhere like Dave's Comics in Brighton but their range of comics, manga and graphic novels is faultless. For true fantatics and collectors, they also stock a massive range of cartoon, comic and pop culture memorabilia including tee-shirts, games, videos and toys. Personally, I have my eye on one of Frank Kozak's toy smoking rabbits complete with eye patch.

Travelling Man sells things like comics, clothing, and games. It's a nice shop and whoever is…read moreworking there is normally helpful, as I normally go in for a gift rather than for myself. Prices seem ok too and I just think it's a good shop as if you know anyone who loves comics/role play/games then you are bound to find something for them here.

From the owner: We feel passionate about comic books, boardgames and RPGs and we want you to feel the same. Our…read moregoal is to get everyone in the world to love at least one comic or game. We want to let the uneducated know that they're not just for kids. Comics can be about love, hate, politics, religion, life, death, anything. Sometimes stereotypical and sometimes the most amazing out-there pieces of literature you will every read. We want to bring comics from subculture to mainstream because we love 'em. We see boardgames and RPGs as activities which bring people together Face to Face rather than distant online events. They are about friendship, community and good old traditional fun! We run regular gaming events at all our stores, for more details just give us a call, we'd love to tell you about them :) We want to meet other people who feel the same and people who are just curious! We are a small independent business run by some of the friendliest people you will ever meet!

I have to give a major shout out to Paramount Books - a fantastic independent bookstore nestled in…read morethe sometimes overlooked and forgotten Shudehill area of town. Ok so there may be a million KFC ripoff takeaways and a few random shops that have seen better days around it but Paramount stands out as a well looked after 2nd hand book store with loads of character! I was pulled in on a wet and windy Monday by their comic book sale - in fact there's a whole area in the back dedicated to rare comics and graphic novels (fantastic selection) - inside there's a fantastic selection covering everything from music and film to politics, history and philosophy - really good to browse and possible pick up a tome to take home (wow that rhymes...) The best part of this place is the owner who basically is exactly what you'd be looking for if casting this place in a Hollywood movie. With glasses dangling from his neck and a scholarly look as he sorts the shelves - the classical music in the background makes you really feel what a unique place this is in the world of chain stores and amazon. Make sure you check out Paramount soon and enjoy a slip back into yesteryear!

Thank the lord for Paramount Book Exchange…read more One of the few independent bookshops left in Manchester, it's a strictly DIY affair run by a genuine book lover. The sign outside suggests it's only open Fridays and Saturdays but it's usually open Monday to Saturday unless the owner has popped out for something. The lively window displays give a great indicator of what's in store with stacks of new, vintage and secondhand books everywhere. Fans of cult fiction, sci-fi, horror, crime noir, queer fiction, biographies and pop culture will find much to treasure here as the stock leans more towards William Burroughs, Poppy Z Brite and Neil Gaiman than Harry Potter. There's also a small selection of 60s-90s vinyl for crate diggers. All they need is a coffee machine and I'd happily move in!

Staff were very informative and polite. Enthusiastically helpful. Were honest about whether or not…read moreI would actually like a comic, based on the Information that I provided. Provided me with over 9 recommendations, and answered all of my questions. Will be returning. I was assisted by Kelly, and she was 10/10

TM Saved my interest in games and such…read more.. I went into the shop with a friend to try and get into gaming a little as have never really got it before. Liked it a lot in here, clean and friendly and has a much better atmosphere than the total BO fest that is Fanboy 3, a nearby store that perpetuates the stereotype that all Geeks smell. Had it not been for how nice and cool TM was, FB3 would have totally put me off and made me feel dirty even thinking about gaming.

Angel Hill is a great little unknown comic book store in Doncaster, above a nail art shop on…read morePrinting Office Street. The staff always take the time to chat to you about the latest releases, and what you are currently reading. In this shop, I was recommended a comic that introduced me to what now is one of my favourite comic book characters - the Scarlet Spider. There's a little desk and a seat to read on, and a quite a range of action figures too. The only problem is that it's a little small, but I guess that adds to the charm!

If Japanese cartoon culture is your thing then consider this your Manga Mecca…read more A veritable treasure trove of imported comics, figures, posters, cuddly toys and accessories this really is a well stocked and well informed establishment. However. Time spent in TOKYO15 & POPO15 + = very little sex. A large collection of adult toys

If it was in the Northern Quarter, Deco would be constantly bustling with deejays and producers…read morelooking for new sources of inspiration. Tucked away in suburban Withington however, it's a bit of a well kept secret. I've only popped in a handful of times myself but each time I spent a good twenty to thirty minutes flicking through the racks looking for treasure. There's hundreds of CDs for the iPod generation and crates of lovely, dusty old vinyl for record collectors. As all the stock is secondhand, the quality varies record to record with the cheapest records usually being the most scratched or warped. Genre wise, Deco seems to have a bit of everything from pop and rock to funk, soul, reggae, hip hop and jazz. You're unlikely to find a rare Ornette Coleman or Karen Dalton album here but you could probably find lots of Ella, Louis and Billie. The first time I went I picked up a Kate Bush album I'd been after and the second time, a mint copy of Johnny Cash Live at San Quentin. Endearingly, Deco also sells the kind of secondhand books you'd find at Record and Tape Exchange in London. We're talking hefty rock biographies, contemporary fiction, crime fiction and the occasional cool comic book. As you might have guessed, I'm a bit of a fan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Ts4M3irWM

One of the things I miss about my South Manchester days is the collection of treasures it threw in…read moremy general direction. Sure, I'm surrounded by this sort of stuff in the Northern Quarter, but the jumble and bargains of Withington were pretty awesome. If you take a trip to the Post Office, bet you'll get seduced by Deco. This shop's achieved its five stars for me because even though I no longer collect DVDs, here they're mostly £3, which is technically cheaper than renting a movie for the night (after all, it is mere minutes from our apartment) - and you get to keep it! They're arranged by genre too which is lots of fun. Good way to test your definition of "horror" against someone else's. I was pulled in by the immense tractor beam of a selection of Cure LPs. I don't have a record player but have often toyed with the idea of obtaining one. Lo and behold, they sell record players. My friend snagged an old Bang and Olufsen treasure, similar to the one my father had. £40 and a fiver for a Cure album? Bargainous. And I never even looked at the books! If you're near Withington, you need to give this place a blast.

Magma Magma books is possibly one of the coolest shops I…read morehave been into in a long time! Why you may ask? Because it sells MOOMINS merchandise and books!! They sell all sorts of cool things here like books, magazines, swirly notebooks, cuddly toys (moomin ones!), eco friendly stuff which comes in the shape of recycled objects made into something else uselful, the mother board coasters are pretty snazzy! Like the other shops on Oldham street, its only small but the layout is perfectly set out to seem like there is so much space! I love it!

Situated on Oldham Street, but a hop and skip from the Night and Day Café lies this fantastic…read morebookshop. I've been visiting this place for ages, even if it's just to browse through the store and short list future gifts. I've recently acquired some American Film Making/Studies from there (the Steven D. Katz shot by shot/cinematic motion - books that are usually pretty hard to get hold of unless you're on the net. This is one of those places where the staff know what they're talking about and can help either find what you're looking for or influence you enough to take a punt on their own expertly led recommendations in the vast array of different books and magazines in this store (increasingly rare in the accountant led 'United Chaindom'). It's a shame many more shops were as enthusiastic and passionate as the folks behind magma...I know they can't all be this way but it's currently unfairly balanced. One large chain book store dominates now (and with unfortunately less choice, more celebrity led airport reading fodder) and with supermarkets getting in the act of the book market (albeit with a truly disturbing 'array' of 'books') we should be thankful that places like this are still open in our cities. A large section of this shop sells magazines which are more like the aforementioned coffee table books the higher echelon of mags if you will. Film, Architecture, Typography, Illustration, Photography, Graphics, Fashion, Art, Design, Cities all these creative acts and scenarios collude together in the books and magazine range. They sell a top mag called 'Specialten' which is a 'bi-monthly collection of short films, music videos and exclusive interviews' which comes with a DVD for the media. Just reminded myself to pick up the next edition as I type this... This shop (alongside one or two in London village possibly the other two Magma's as it happens) was the only such store to stock Daniel Johnstone's graphics/drawings books (and as such is referred to in the fantastic Daniel Johnstone documentary). Reanimate your creative synapses and spare at least half an hour to imbibe the glorious fractions of the arts world we don't see as much as we should. It's always a pleasure to walk into a store like this, find what you're looking for (or see something jump out at you which grabs your interest by the book ends) and after downpiping your debit/credit details into the 21st Century piggy bank walk from the shop, freshly acquired book in hand. Rifling through the pages of a new 'Ilva Table book' in a nearby boozer/café is one of life's great, small pleasures.

The Toy Shop calls a spade a spade...i.e. it sells toys! For those of you who like jigsaws (I…read morecertainly do!) this seems to be The Toy Shop's favourite product as much of their shop is dedicated to quite a wide range of different jigsaws at reasonable prices. There are plenty of little fun trinkets that would be perfect party bag fillers as well as outdoor games, toy cars and trucks, some beading/ craft type sets and a few dollies among other items. This would be a good place to stock up on last minute birthday presents for the youngsters in your life as there is something to suit most ages and tastes. There isn't a huge range though, but bearing in mind it is a reasonably small market stall it covers most bases well.

In a market room packed and filled to the brim with shops selling useful things ranging from…read morehardware stalls to things related to clothing and hobbies or crafts, and of course foodstuffs, there is very little focus on children, other than stalls in hope of rotting their teeth with confectionary! Therefore, The Toy Shop is a great little store, and whilst it may not focus on the latest games and action figures plastered all over our television screens, there are still a lot of boxes and figurines to buy here. Toys that wont cost you the earth, but with keep the kids distracted for at least 5 minutes, and will satisfy them if you have dragged them out with you to go shopping!