Geek in Greenwich Village
St. Mark's Comics and Toy Tokyo
When I lived in New York City, I used to spend a lot of time in Greenwich Village. Two notable geek stores on the block are St. Mark’s Comics and Toy Tokyo. They’re both a bit difficult to find (St. Mark’s Comics is on a lower level than other shops, and Toy Tokyo is on the second floor, with only a sign and a painted Godzilla to guide you). They’re both packed to the gills with their respective material: St. Mark’s Comics is full of comic books and old toys and collectibles; Toy Tokyo is full of fun, hip toys, from The Simpsons to Domo-kun. But are these two shops worth the walk? Find out after the break:
St. Mark’s Comics is probably best for its ambiance. It feels like being inside of the mind of a stereotypical geek: dusty, crowded with old memorabilia, hidden away in some basement area. Ironically, it’s not really a great place if you’re looking for a particular comic book. I’ve bought more comics at Jim Hanley’s and Forbidden Planet, where the shelves are much better organized and the staff is much more knowledgeable. Instead, I go to St. Mark’s for great geek inspiration, to see old toys and get a fun sense of nostalgia. So if you have an ample amount of time to browse and want to remember when geek was as far away from chic as possible, this is the place for you.
Toy Tokyo, however, is hip and fun, with a wide variety of vinyl toys, plushies, kawaii trinkets from Japan, and both American and Japanese pop culture icons (a la Astro Boy, Star Wars, Godzilla, Nintendo’s Mario, and Peanuts, to name a few). The Kidrobot store in Soho is much more minimal and manageable, but the crowded and frenetic nature of Toy Tokyo is also very enjoyable.
Has anyone else been to these stores and agree/disagree? Anyone need directions? Feel free to comment away!
Tags: comics, greenwich village, new york city, plus
This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Mass Made. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.