April 11, 2011
Okay, time for the Sunday night shop hop where I check out an independent business in New York City. Forbidden Planet is a store not far from where I live. I’ve walked by it probably thousands of times, but never entered it. I’ve always considered it a comic book store and while I was really into comics as a kid, I’m not anymore. But while looking around for a place to go tonight, I found out they sell a lot more than comics in there. They have books, toys and what appears to be some really cool inventory. And they’re open till 10 pm, perfect!
We'll go down 14th street to Broadway...
And baboom...here we are at Forbidden Planet.
There's a decent crowd in here for a Sunday night.
LIz was working behind the front register. She's super cute and friendly and you should note that five cents out of every dollar spent at Forbidden Planet goes towards buying her a second eyeball.
Okay, let's check out some of the books in here.
Anything connected to the Weekly World News is worth buying!
Wow, Dick Tracy's been around for 80 years. And he even survived that horrble movie.
You know Garfunkel isn't happy about this!
This is a great book about the history of newspaper comic strips.
And here's the manager of Forbidden Planet, Jeff Ayers. He started working at the store when he was 17-years-old and the store was across the street.
Check out the figurines in here. Smurfs and Simpsons and Dinosaurs...oh my!
I love the Ugly Dolls!
Lots of people browsing and reading in here on a Sunday evening.
And there's a second floor as well.
Let's go check it out.
More inventory! Let's take a look around.
They have a large selection of DVD's.
Dice!
I love that Gumby bag!
Meanwhile, back on the first floor Bryan shows off the store's newsletter.
Check out the Marvel shot glasses, very cool!
I hate to be a critic, but this artist made Rosie's bucket head about two sizes too small. Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.
What I Bought
I got Jrumpy the Ugly Doll and a Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! magnet. I should’ve gotten the Gumby bag too, what was I thinking? I have to get back there!
Forbidden Planet
840 Broadway (@13th St.)
212-473-1576
Further reading and watching: New York Magazine, facecrack, NY Citysearch and RB NYC.
You also might like: Rocks, Broken Watches and Nose Hair Trimmers.
Five Weird Comic Book Covers
Betty And Me
The Rifleman
Superboy
World’s Finest
Jimmy Olsen
30 Comments
Reader Comments (30)
Faster Pussycat magnet brought back memories of those B movies Russ Meyer did, big breasted girls. I was never big on comic books. Janis with Tom Jones was a great clip, two very strong singers who could scream and also sing soft ballads.
It's true! That guy Jeff has been there forever.
I do remember when it was across the street - it was a darker and dingier space but I loved it!
(Now it's a shoe store)
Smart man doing the shop hop at the end of the weekend, when you know where your weekly budget is at and not on right after payday when you can find all kinds of trouble. I had been on this places web store many times, but always thought it was UK & mail order only. Good to know there are some over here now.
Liz :)
@Al: I've never seen that Tom Jones and Janis clip, it was a nice surprise to find it.
@Handel: Cool that you know Jeff!
@Marty in Montreal: You need to get here and check out the store in person!
@GENE: I agree!
I love Ugly dolls...
I love ugly things in general....
nice shop.
I'd seriously go nuts in there!
Those aren't dice, those are geek 8-balls, 20 sided widow makers, or how a nerd rolls. Tread carefully human.
Cool store! And you're right, that Gumby bag rules! Love the Faster Pussycat magnet!
You're right about Rosie's head...Howard Stern is always saying it's too big to fit inside the television...and I heard she was dating 'Bat Boy' anyway since she lost her last show...and I always did think that Archie knew a thing or two about beating off....
@Gidgie: You would go nuts in there, it's loaded with cool stuff!
@csp: Nope, they are dice.
@Barfly: I gotta get the Gumby bag!
@Jaws: It disturbs me somewhat that you've thought about Archie's masturbatory habits! Jughead would be one thing, but Archie?
That's a good price on the Ugly Dolls. Looks like a cool store. And you SHOULD have gotten that Gumby bag, dammit!
"I'm GUMBY dammit....GUMBY!!" - Eddie Murphy as Gumby...Saturday Night Live.
@Biff & Jaws: That does it, I WILL get that Gumby bag...dammit!
Yes get the Gumby bag and fill it with booze, then go back uptown to see the king.
Hey, that's quite a performance by Tom & Janis! Kind of fun to see him getting into a funkier groove, & quite different from the ballady stuff I remember on English TV. I certainly missed this Granada performance in 1969.
Forbidden Planet is a good place - I'm there from time to time on impossible missions for comic stuff for the kids I work with. I wonder if they still have copies of Too Much Coffee Man? I love that comic & still mean to get a TMCM t shirt. Will have to go & see!
@Clacky of Bunt's Downunder: Genius idea!
@onemorefoldedsunset: I didn't see TMCM, but that doesn't mean anything, I didn't get a chance to scope out everything. Let me know the next time you're in the neighborhood and you can be a guest star on MAD. (Like that's a big fucking deal!)
another great post...am sorta bettin' you are kickin' yoursel in the a$$ for not checkin' this "planet" out before...i could probably spend hours in "planet" and not even realize it...a little off topic but damn you seem to find some of the greatest lookin' females on this planet...and more off topic your comments at other places always floor me...i wonder at how you do it...
It doesn't seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.
Anthony Hecht
rr
@raginrr: I do wish I had stopped in in the past, but I will be returning now! It's easy to find good looking females in New York! The city's loaded with them! Love that quote!
Haven't been in FP for 20 years or so, but always glad to see it's still there when I go by.
The nightcap is incredible! Talk about strange bedfellows. Absolutely a gas.
Thanks, Marty, and thanks for finally getting our butts into Whitman's. It was great, just like you said, though quite a bit busier on a Wednesday evening when it wasn't freezing out. The Juicy Luicys were exceptional, the pickles fantastic. Great tip, and they're only a block or so away.
@dark1p: Really glad you went to Whitman's! It's a nice place and so far it's the best cheeseburger I've ever had in NYC. I'm glad the place was busy, I want it to do well and stay in business because I'm going back! And I was thrilled to have stumbled upon that Janis Joplin/Tom Jones clip! Glad you enjoyed it and nice to hear from you! Thanks for following the blog!
damn forgot to mention your nightcap,,,mad does find some classics....this was one...but what really blew my mind was that janis and our past v.p. dick went on a blind date once...
rr
I love ugly dolls too. My son has a knock off. I'm trying to find reason in your "you might also like's" and so far all I have found is confusion. That trimmer disturbs me. Along with all of the comic book covers. Although I might need to read some Rifleman because you know how I love wood!
@rr: What? Janis Joplin went out with Dick Cheney? Please explain, that's hard to believe!
@kari: There is no reason behind the "You might also like's" that's the reason behind it!
so cool this store!! I would spend hours and hours in there!!
I always carry gumby's wife in my hand bag, one of my favorite toy!!
Go get that gumby baaaaag!!!!!! yeeeeeah!!
Great Stuff!
I could get lost for days in there.
Thanks for checking it out!
@Zioum Zioum: I will try and get that Gumby bag this week!
@"Boris:" You'd love it in there Daddio!
Hey, Marty, I'll definitely consider it, but stardom is a bit of a scary prospect!
@onemorefoldedsunset: One word: Sunglasses!
Wow what an amazing store that is. I would absolutely love the place. Thank you for letting us tag along Marty.
Have you ever seen the movie Fantastic Planet? It is wild and amazing, I love it.
http://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Planet-Lubomir-Rejthar/dp/B000TZN7KQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1302707007&sr=1-1
@Tiki Bar Susie: I haven't seen that movie, but I will check it out. Thanks for the link!