One of the best comic stores I've ever been in. Friendly staff and a large selection of comics…read more But the best part of this store is the displays of figurines! I've never seen such variety and craftsmanship. I brought a friend who isn't a collector and he said he could stay for hours. It was just amazing to see from an art standpoint. Bought some reprints for dirt cheap. I like to hang them on my walls. They had an X-Men #1 from 1963 reprint I've been looking for for a long time. They had lots of them...I regret not picking up another for a friend while there. I totally agree with other reviewers in here: I love the way they have organized the shop. Marvel over here, DC over there, etc. This shop is a must visit if you're in Calgary!

Me and my Fiancé were in to do some Christmas shopping. We…read morewere ignored and when I ask for help I never got help We kept looking just to see what was there. We finally left I said good bye and nothing was said back. We just went online and bought the sideshow stuff off there, it must be pretty nice for a store not to need our business in this economy. We will never be going back also I don't think they are LGTBQ2 friendly.

This place is flipping amazing. Like if your looking for some old dvd of game that's the place to…read morego. And even though it says Comics and Collectibles there is very low comics. But one strange thing about this place is that I was just look at the "Magic The Gathering" cards and the worker said "Where do you live" and that was quite creepy. But other then that this place is awesome.

Great variety on collectibles including toys, (heman, g.i joe, star trek, star wars, superheroes)…read moreWW2 items, books, comics, game cards. I have an account where they will order whatever comic I want, just browse through the giant preview magazine. They seem pretty good for being able to hunt down single issues too. Fair prices, and friendly ownership and staff. They also cater to Magic the gathering gamers, of which I am not one, but you can see the regular tournaments being played. Definitely worth a visit, even just to look.

For the longest time, I had no idea Alpha Comics even existed as the shop is literally on the other…read moreside of the city from me. Where more well known comic stores might have bigger buildings and better locations, Alpha Comics makes up for in something I haven't seen in a comic shop for as long as I've been going: customer service and availability. Alpha Comics deals specifically with new issues which means there is little to no selection of back-issues. I thought this might be a problem at first, until I realized how little I cared to walk into a store only to sift through boxes of unorganized garbage to find the one special treasure. Due to this, Alpha Comics has a very clean and organized display which makes finding exactly what you want a dream. It's become a necessity these days to focus more on the customer experience; with the internet being a part of peoples' everyday lives, the world market has opened in a way that puts more power than ever in the customer's hands. Rather than continue business based on the traditional business model of helping customers when they walk in the door, Alpha Comics has embraced the power of social media and is quickly becoming a strong online voice for the Calgary comic book community. Every time I've had a question, they've been there to answer me within an hour even on the busiest of days and have even offered me a couple times to put aside some books I've been wanting for my own convenience. Chris, the owner, is a fantastically nice guy who is super knowledgeable about what people want and has helped open my eyes to some lesser-known series relateable to my interests. As I've said before, I live across the city and I STILL choose to go to Alpha Comics every time I need some issues and am able to. We need more stores to look towards the little guy and see how things can be done right and hopefully one day even Walmart might be considered as good as Alpha has been.

I once had a friend that traveled halfway across the country for hard to acquire comics that he…read moreneeded and got back home by hitchhiking all the while keeping the comics in mint condition. Not really; He got them off of eBay, but geeks will go to great lengths to get what they want/need to complete their collections or expand them. I was drawn to this shop after reading about it on the site. It sounded very promising. I arrived to find that it was a bit before opening. Nearby is one of those "Card game collecting places" like 'Majic' and what not. I piddled around in there looking at some of the things there were, all the while thinking "I'm not even THIS much of a nerd" Oh well, to each their own, I suppose. I wandered back over to find the owner and sole worker in the shop, Chris sorting through his daily work. He greeted me, offered help and was quick to assist in getting the comics I was looking for (and had called ahead for him to put on hold). I decided to ask him a few questions about popular series and individual comics and he was throwing out names I'd never heard of. Wow, this guy knows his stuff, and better yet, loves it as much (if not more) than his customers. I ended up getting a few more that weren't on the list. Avengers vs X-Men collectors : If you can't get a hold of a certain issue because it's sold out, look here. He had a ton of first editions from Round 0-2 and I'm sure will be the same with 3 on so on. Great place, great owner. I will return.

Don't waste your time if you're looking to trade anything. Was actually insulted by his trade offer…read moreand not even close to fair . Also noticed his prices for older collectible comics is definitely over priced . The owner comes across as a hoarding collector.

I've been going here since I was a kid. very friendly and knowledgeable staff. I love the hole in…read morethe wall approach. the atmosphere is wonderful. Everytime I walk into the store the smell and look is the same from when I was a kid. it really takes me back.

My WORD! I have never, in my life, seen a better stocked store of trades and hardcover graphic…read morenovels and comics in my life! This store was an absolute delight to wander around in, which I and another American friend did for well over an hour. Just an absolute delight, with even a well stocked discount hardcover section, which I took full advantage of, and had a delightful time finding books that I wanted. We ended up spending several hundred dollars, and the clerk even gave us an unasked-for discount! All and all, a wonderful store, highly recommended to all my visiting friends from the states.

Very good selection, best i've seen. The atmosphere is basically my ideal. The staff are incredibly…read morehelpful. Cant stress how helpful, and the books are in great shape. will try to come again.

Very happy with the selection of manga. I've been searching for some of these for a while and they…read morearen't in any of my local bookstores. I'm very pleased to have come here.

This has been my Comic Book store since I was a wee little awkward dork…read moreIt helped me grow into the magnificent awkward dork who write these reviews! I also played a lot of Magic here, which was less pleasant as I am just awful at the game, but the owner gave me a consolation pop after getting just WRECKED in my first tournament. which was nice.

An extremely varied and knowledgeably curated selection of books thoughtfully presented. Friendly…read moreand helpful staff. Highly recommended.

I didn't have enough time…read more.. I wandered into Shelf Life Books too close to closing time. As I browsed the shelves, I quickly discovered that I was a special independent bookstore and felt a certainly literary nirvana that I had last experienced at Powell's Books in Portland. The selection was thoughtfully curated and was strong with the Canadian Author force. Around every corner was a new thought-provoking discovery and a desire to linger and explore further. Then it was time to go.... .....I'll be back.

Out of business since March 2023. Closed without warning. Many customers were unable to get their…read morebooks left for cleaning and grading. Follow up communication was confusing and inconsistent.

I was recently doing some birthday shopping for a friend and I knew that the one thing he'd…read moreappreciate more than anything else would be a gift bag full of books. Really? Yes. I headed over to Coles in T.D. Square and I must say: the service was *excellent*. The girl working the store was ouber helpful and she even gave me an added discount because of the number of books that I was buying! Despite the fact that T.D. Square is under major construction right now, I highly recommend that if you're in the market for some new books, you head over to this specific location. The service really sets them apart, and good service always goes hand in hand with a good review :)