Living in the countryside for a pop-culture fanatic can be hard. Everyone plays footy instead of watching sci-fi and good luck when it comes to finding someone that can translate a Klingon text for you. However if you are in Victoria, at least if you are into comics you are covered, thanks to a shop called Good vs Evil.
Located in Bendigo, Good vs Evil would easily have the biggest comics range in central Victoria. A whole wall in adorned in comics and there are usually plentiful stacks of all the latest issues to come out that week sitting on the counter for you to peruse.
Like many comic shops these days, Good vs Evil has diversified to take into account the ever expanding needs and interests of the Pop Culture enthusiast. There are sections of DVDs, a full section of various Manga and of course the obligatory collectables such as Pop! figures and and board games based on movies and video games.
There is also the Games Workshop section. Now all that stuff is kinda a closed book to me, I tend to look at it in the same way outsiders look at me collecting Transformers, thinking “Wow – do the guys into this ever get laid?”. But I’ve seen on Saturday afternoons the store opened up with tables set up for big groups of guys all sitting there playing this stuff so it must have its appeal, and its great to have somewhere to meet to indulge the interest.
Speaking of Transformers, here is why I personally shop there. Matt, the owner, is a fellow TF fan and I have been relying on his faithful service to get me every TF comic I require for the past five years. He always comes though, and something that is a sign of a proprietor that genuinely cares about his clientele, I’ve often rocked into the store for him to say “Trev, I saw this and knew you would want it and chucked it aside for ya”. After this fashion I’ve gotten all the FP TF publications over the last few years as well as the physical copies of what were originally net comics. And if ever I find out about a comic that is now years old that I want, Matt is sure to do his best to track it down for me – a top bloke indeed!
P.S: There has been no ‘Comics for Comments’ deal here. If anything I’m slightly resentful towards Matt – I’d love nothing better than to run my own comic shop and that bugger is living the dream I should be!
Note: If in one of the major cities I can recommend Pulp Fiction in Adelaide and Comics R Us in Melbourne. Pulp Fiction is small but the owner is great for a laugh and will pour through box after box to find you what you want. Comics R Us in Melbourne has a funny crew of guys who have often had Bill Hicks playing on the store speakers of a Sunday morning and their glass cabinets often have a range of old 80’s toys in there that the rare toy hunter will drool over. Minotaur in Melbourne has a huge range of pop culture stuff but it can all be quite expensive. There is also Kings Comics in Sydney that I visited many years ago that I found some HOC figues at and I quite liked Daily Planet comics in Brisbane. I’ve been to one other there but can’t remember which. Should I ever hit up these big cities again a more detailed review will come your way!