March 2015 - this is by far the most popular post in my blog. I'm sorry to say that I still haven't finished the updated version of this list - there are many more comic book shops in Paris than I have mentioned here (or visited), so it is getting long and complicated. I just need to edit everything down, as the point of this posting is not to be complete list, but just to help to find the best places.
Any tourist has only limited time, so, for now I'd say - if you are interested about comics, visit Super Heros (near Pompidou), Album shops (on both sides of the intersection), FNAC (in Forum des Halles) and you will probably find everything you need. And, when near Bastille, then Opera BD and BDNet.
January 2014 - I'm working on Estonian version of the updated list now, I'll update both versions in February 2014. But I think the info here is mostly up to date.
This is an overview of comic book shops in central Paris, written and photographed by me and based on my own subjective experiences there. This is the English version, Estonian original is here.
There are many comic books or Bande Dessinées published in France any given week. Most of them are originals, some translated from English or Japanese, many of them on much better paper stock and binding than in original version.
Some numbers - in 2009 there were 4863 different comic albums published in France, 3599 of them first editions. It makes 10 new books every day!
It's not an easy task to keep track what's happening, and, when in France, to find the books one likes. Selection is massive, it makes sense to make notes and some kind of pre-selection before the trip and to keep cool head when first time in front of all the shelves and stands, filled with all the hardcovers, one cooler than another.
***
But first: Paris is a very logical city. Districts, or
Arrondissements of Paris are arranged like a spiral. Two last numbers in postal code show the
arrondissement, so 75005 is in #5.
Eiffel Tower is in 15,
Louvre in 1, Centre
Pompidou in 4,
Panthéon in 5.
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If I must recommend comic shops in central Paris, then the first choices are actually relatively simple and not exactly comic book shops -
FNAC and
Virgin Megastore.
Really, it is the best to start from the big mainstream bookshops, as they are easy to find and comic sections there are usually pretty impressive.
FNAC
Forum des Halles
FNAC is a chain of supermarkets all over the France and in some other countries. All of them are not bookshops, for example the one on Champs-Élysée is selling music, films and games. One of the biggest bookshops I know (and it's also the one easiest to find) is in
Forum des Halles shopping centre, not far from
Pompidou museum and church
St-Eustache. The house itself with it's inner yard below the surrounding ground is interesting, also FNAC's BD selection is quite substantial. Another FNAC with books and comics is in the massive shopping centre near the big square arc in La Défense.
La Défense
Virgin Megastore
Virgin Megastore entrance in Louvre
Another quick recommendation is
Virgin Megastore. One of them -
Virgin Louvre - lies in
Carrousel du Louvre, in underground shopping street below the museum. Entrance is right near the upside down glass pyramide. It's easy to find and visit, all the prominent new albums are there, as also other books, DVDs, music and various stationery stuff.
On
Champs-Élysée, near the
Franklin D. Roosevelt metro station is another Virgin -
Virgin Champs-Élysée. This one is a real megastore, comics section there is really massive. The people working there are writing recommendation notes to the covers of the best books, so it is possible to discover some new and interesting stuff. Really nice place, every tourist will walk past of it anyway.
Virgins' big plus is that they are open longer than museums. Virgin Louvre is open until 8 (Mon, Tue) or 9; Virgin Champs-Élysée until midnight.
If those giants are not enough, there are many specialist comic shops, selling books but also all the other merchandise from t-shirts and mugs to toys and statues.
Album
As much as I know, the biggest comic book shop chain in France is
Album. They have many shops around the country, I've been in Nice and it's as
nice as the Parisian ones. Shops are big and there is everything comic releated to be found from BD albums and imported US pamphlets to artbooks and toys.
Two main
Albums are located on the crossing of
boulevard Saint Germain and
boulevard Saint Jacques. Who's already around Latin Quarter and fountain St-Michel, will find them easily. One of them -
Album Comics - sells American stuff, all the new
Marvel,
DC,
Dark Horse and indie books, but also the most important French releases. Shop's windows are covered with statues, busts and vinyl toys. There's also very good artbook section, with all the
making-of movie books, sketchbooks, artist artbooks and US and Asian picture books. Artbooks in general tend to be heavy and imported ones are not cheap, so it's possibly the best idea just to browse and remember all the cool stuff. And then to go home and get them from the net, without the need to drag them around the airports and planes. (From the shop's viewpoint it's not a nice thing to say, I know... Sorry!...)
Address:
67, Boulevard Saint-Germain 75005 PARIS
Another big Album shop is directly on the other side of the crossing, this one sells French BD albums. Right near the door there are stands with new albums, older albums are on the basement level. This is important not to miss, as on the ground level there are only the just published books, plus manga and merchandise sections. Most of the stuff is down there, including some nice shelves with sketch- and artbooks. Album chain is also publishing their own free promo magazine.
Albums are open until 8, on Sunday until 7.
Address:
84, Boulevard Saint-Germain 75005 PARIS
Rue Dante
Poster for Rue Dante comic book night
Right there starts the main comic book street in Paris -
Rue Dante. There are several smaller shops, one next to another, including a couple of them with blue Album signs. As much as I know, one of them is the original first
Album. Some of the shops are specialized on manga,
Aaapoum Bapoum (more about them later) sells also cheap secondhand books.
Editions Déesse
Who is interested about American superheroes, should visit
Editions Déesse. This shop is also in Latin Quarter, quite near where the tourist ships are boarding behind the Notre-Dame. Shop is small and really superhero-centric. But, what is special there - they have published several high quality
USA artist portfolios. I haven't seen similar ones from their homeland - like
Travis Charest's
Captain America portfolio. But, as for regular American comic book releases, Europe is not the best place to buy them - they are much cheaper in US-based Internet shops.
Address:
8, rue Cochin 75005 Paris
Super Heros
The wall with fresco by Tardi
The name is misleading, as this shop is nothing about superheroes, instead it's one of the best comic shops I've been. It's not that big - like many shops in Paris it's narrow and deep - but it's filled with books. I think all the important releases are there, but it looks like this shop has a little bit more sophisticated taste. The selection has not only the hit releases, but also books from smaller publishers, some of them look like self published stuff.
The speciality of Super Heros are the books with
ex libris - small signed and numbered prints glued to inside cover. It is probably the easiest way to get signed BD albums, and the best thing there is - they are like additional gifts from the shop, so the books with and without
ex libris cost the same!
But I must warn - the sign
"Ex-libris offert" on the book means that it is physically not yet ready and buyer of the book will receive it on later date. Of course, if you're a tourist with limited time in Paris, it's hard to organize... The same with all the signing sessions, but it makes sense to check the homepage - maybe there is something happening on the right day. The same with all the other shops and signings.
Super Heros is really close to the
Centre Pompidou, on the left side of the street, directly to the left from the square in front of the museum.
Address:
175, rue Saint Martin 75003 Paris
BDNET.com
One of the surprises form me was
BDnet.com, as it was right around the corner from our rental apartement, really close to the
Place de la Bastille, on
rue de Charonne. Nice shop with two rooms, with, as it seemed, daily changing selection. As the name gives away, it's also internet shop; with it's big and competent selection it is a valid alternative to all the Amazons and Alapages. I like to visit their homepage just to see what new books are out this week. For example, here's their
comic book chart of the moment. Actually, there are two shops, other one is near the
Place Nation.
Addresses:
Librairie Bdnet - 26, rue de Charonne 75011 Paris
Librairie Nation - 36, Bd de Charonne 75020 Paris
OperaBD
Near the Bastille square is another BD shop, small but cozy and with good selection -
Opera B.D. Open seven days a week, from 11 to midnight. I've got several books there I didn't find anywhere else. Also, this shop's website is one of the best places to get an overview of new French albums.
Address:
2, rue des Tournelles 75004 Paris,
Metro: Bastille, exit r. St Antoine.
Un Regard Moderne
This bookshop is a real
cultural phenomenon. I'd recommend to
google it, to see what it's all about. It is filled from floor to ceiling with comics, manga, artbooks, erotica and all kinds of obscure releases, so there's only room for 2-4 customers at time. The doorway was so scary that I didn't dare to slip inside...
Address:
10 Rue Gît le Coeur 75006, Paris
Aaapoum Papoum
This shop is also close to
Latin Quarter. (Smaller one is on
Rue Dante.)
Aaapoum Bapoum is different from the other BD shops I know. Selection is big and there's enough room to move around and to browse, but the emphasis here is on older books. Some of the books are obviously second hand, but it looks like there are also some leftovers directly from publishers. There are also new books, some of them expensive special editions. This is the only place I know one could find books or magazines for just a couple of euros.
Aadress:
14, rue Serpente 75006 Paris
8, rue Dante 75005 Paris
Librairie Boulinier
One can find comics and manga in every bigger bookshop in Paris, even
BHV's book department has pretty decent comic section.
Boulinier, a shop in the neighbourhood of the big Albums, is not only book and music shop, it has also quite massive comic section with vintage looking tables and shelves filled from floor to ceiling with BDs.
Address:
20, boulevard Saint Michel 75006 Paris
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But still - sometimes it is easier to buy online. Some books are impossible to find, sometimes the only copy there is pretty tattered. Shipping from French interent shops is uniformly expensive, but the process is simple and for the people in other EU countries it's also hassle fee. Of course, one can't browse in
Amazon.fr,
alapage or
BDnet, so to find something new and intriquing stuff is not easy, but shopping is actualy faster than in real time and in real shops. But, what will happen' when the parcel is on it's way... will it arrive intact?... Usually it is. Usually.
Rue Keller
Paris is the same as the other places in the world, as the shops there are not necessarily eternal.
Like on
Rue Keller - there were and still are several comic book and manga shops, but some I visited year ot two ago are now gone or replaced. Like
Myth & Magic, a pretty cool artbook shop. Or another manga shop...
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So, that was my longish overview of
BD and comic shops in central
Paris, based on my own experiences and trips there. I hope this overview can be of help. All comments are welcome!
