John Gilbert behind the counter of Comicrazy
COUNTER CULTURE W
hen John Gilbert was studying at UWS in Paisley, he stumbled across an ill-served gap in the non-mainstream market. “I noticed that, outside of uni, most students went to Glasgow for something to do. What was the reason for that?” His eureka moment came while compiling a thesis on whether or not record shops could survive in the digital age. “What I got from that was they could,” he recalls, “but it had to be more than just a record store. There had to be a community involved, it had to sell
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food and drink as well as merchandise. That’s the same ethos and process I’ve used with Comicrazy. There are comics, board games and card games, but there’s also the community all around that. Without the community it wouldn’t work.” John’s brainchild first flung open its doors in 2015. Since then it’s become a busy one-stop shop for geek culture enthusiasts. So what does it offer? “The biggest trading card game in the world is Magic: The Gathering,” says John, “then you’ve got Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon. People can come in and take
part in tournaments, they can take part in pre-release events where we get the products a week or two before they come out. We also do a Dungeons and Dragons roleplay evening on a Monday that’s absolutely massive.” And the comic side of things? “The stock we hold is predominantly new releases, we put them on the shelves every Wednesday. Whatever we don’t sell we put in the back issue boxes.” The popularity of Comicrazy is hardly surprising. Any local business that provides regular events such as Pokemon training parties for parents
Photos by James Stevenson, insta: jablesphotography
A convivial oasis for comic book, trading card and board game fans, Comicrazy is one of Paisley’s most distinctive community cafes.
