Helped needed - Nostalgia and Comics store in Birmingham information

[PeterMcKinney]

Hi everyone,

I am a new member of the Comics UK forum and I am seeking some help about the classic comic book shop which used to be in Birmingham, Nostalgia and Comics (which is now called World's Apart). I am a very occasional blogger about comics, TV, movies etc and I am interested in writing a piece about the shop and how it got started. Currently I am in the research phase (I am nowhere near the writing stage) and am trying to gather as much information as possible about the store.

My research has only just begun; I believe the store was opened by Philip Clarke in the late 1970's to take advantage of the boom in science fiction and comics. I know it is now owned by Forbidden Planet but I am more interested in those early days.

Ideally, I want to hear from and interview people who were involved in the opening of the shop or who worked there to learn more about its opening, development and what those early pioneering days were like. I am born and bred in Birmingham and spent many a Saturday browsing the shelves and spending my pocket money in Nostalgia and Comics, so this is a personal project which I hope fellow comics readers would also enjoy reading.

If anyone is able to help with any information or point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. If anyone has any interesting stories about Nostalgia and Comics, I would also love to hear those as well!

Cheers

Pete McK

[stevezodiac]

I used to buy comics from Phil at the London comic fairs and was still in contact via email until a year or so back. I'll try to get in touch and ask if he'll share his email address with you. I've also been in contact with artist Mike Higgs who was a friend of Phil's.

[stevezodiac]

My Gmail only goes back to April 2024 and I cannot locate an email address for him. He is still selling on ebay though under the name of phil4comics. If you do a search for "wally robertson" you'll find his items as I bought loads of Wally Robertson roughs from him. Sadly its almost impossible to message a seller on eBay now and I stopped selling stuff after the Simple Delivery farce came in back in April.

[Richard S.]

some N&C adverts here...

https://boysadventurecomics.blogspot.co ... omics.html

...I've got an updated version of this post set to run on my blog on August 23rd so be sure to check back then

[PeterMcKinney]

Thank you both so much. I will seek out Phil on eBay.

[stevezodiac]

Mike Higgs bought some copies of Illustrated Chips from me and I had his email too. It was great to chat with the creator of the Cloak.

[stevezodiac]

I don't know why but ebay has made it impossible to message a seller. Even when I was selling I couldn't send a message to bidders.

[PeterMcKinney]

Thanks for your help. I have sent Phil a message on eBay last night. I am hoping he will be able to see it.

[stevezodiac]

I have a newspaper article about Phil Clark and his comic selling in a Birmingham newspaper from the 1970s. It's in my storage unit so locating it will be difficult as there are dozens of crates and boxes filled with comic stuff.

[PeterMcKinney]

No worries. I have boxes of books and comics in my loft. If you ever find it I would love to see it.

[Richard S.]

More vintage adverts for the best comic shop in Birmingham - yes it's Nostalgia & Comics

https://boysadventurecomics.blogspot.co ... omics.html