Brave New Worlds

Cool and unique stuff in this place. My boyfriend loved the stuff that they have in their stores. Staff can be a little more friendly though.

My first comic shop visit in Philadelphia = awesome. Excellent selection of toys as well as comics. Was super impressed by one of the employees — I provided him the most ridiculously minimal amount of metadata, something to the effect of «Im looking for this comic, its kinda funny, aesthetically like Saga, but not published by Marvel».As we walked to the shelves he asked me to keep talking and within 15 seconds he honed in on what I was looking for. As a librarian and human I was amazed — something they hadnt had in store for more than a year. Great store and great bunch of folks.

Brave New World is hands-​down the most clean and most organized comic book store I’ve ever been into. It’s easy to find what you want, the service is great and they have a email mailing list that tells you events they are holding at their locations (this one and in Willow Grove, PA) and all the new release comics for the month. It’s location is great is just a short walk from 2^nd and Market Sts.

Pros:
–Organization is key! They were so organized that even for someone who had never experienced comic book stores before can easily find their way in this place. I loved how they separated kids, award winning, vintage, and volume, marvel, «adult» sections for each other.
–The staff there was super friendly and patient, never rushing your browsing.
–The prices seemed fair.
–They even had all sorts of other gadgets and toys… sorry, they’re «figurines».
–Sign up with them and after 10 comics you get rewards.
Cons:
–Wish I had more time to spend in there, and more money! Haha!

Best comic shop in the city. Rob and Brian have made the store’s environment welcoming to all customers. If you are new to comics just ask them for suggestions and they can set you up with some great books to read. Like most other shops they let you set up a pull list, and will set aside books you ask for every new comic book day. This means you won’t miss an issue if you can’t make it in every week. They also have a book club where after 10 graphic novels or trade collections you earn a free one. They’ve also feature numerous events including midnight release parties, book signings, and a woman friendly ladies night. If you want to receive it, they send out a weekly newsletter letting you know what to expect on the stands that week.
What makes the store welcoming? Well, its clean, well lit, organized, and spacious. This may seem like common sense, but its not a guarantee for other comic shops. Second off, as I mentioned, Brian and Rob are friendly and helpful. Once again this is not always the case with comic shops as some workers will have combative attitudes to customers. And finally they practice a «comics are for everybody» attitude being welcome to readers regardless of who they are. The lack of this attitude at another store in the city has ruined the experience for me and my fiancée. At Brave New Worlds we both feel welcome and safe.
My main focus on the store is comics which they are well stocked in current issues. They also have a large selection of collections as well. They also feature a few board and card games. The store’s selection includes toys and character busts and some apparel. The selection isn’t gigantic but it matches the size of the store. And as I mentioned if there is something you are looking for they don’t have, and they can order it, they will.

This is the best comic store that I have been to. I’m from buffalo and I’ve been to midtown comics in NYC, but Brave new world is hands down better. Great selection of comics and hard cover comic books. Amazing selection of figures and statues.

I’d say say this in my favorite comic book shop in Philly, but it’s probably my favorite comic book shop I’ve ever stepped foot in. Well, I guess second to their Willow Grove location as that’s the store I grew up with (and their original Jenkintown location). Anyway I love this store and always end up buying more comics (or toys) than I intended.

Friendly, well-​intentioned staff with a store that seems more focused on the comics and collectables like Magic, Warhammer, etc. In short, more profit-​oriented and commercial feeling, to a degree, but much prettier than a hard-​core gaming store like Redcap in University City (it helps to have money and location).
However, that commercial tilt means, for example, they are very weak on European Board Games like Settlers, Puerto Rico, and Caylus. In my opinion, they could (and should) put more effort into educating and supporting customers to explore that genre of gaming, as well.

Clean, lots of products and kind staff. This is a pretty great comic book shop, but they also have lots and lots of board games! My favorite! They also have a lot of toys, t-​shirts and other merchandise if that’s more your speed. Will definitely be back.

Best shop in the city, and honestly one of the best I’ve been to period.
When I moved to Philly I was unsure of where to get my comics and a friend recommended me here and I’ve never looked back. Rob and Brian are nice, and knowledgable. The shop itself has tons of variety, and it’s easy to spend WAY too much money here. It’s one of my constants. I don’t know what I’d do without this place.

Decent little comic shop. It doesn’t have the most stock or the most organized shelves, but I think the discount they offer on any trade book after you’ve bought 9 or 10 (i forget exactly) more than makes up for that. That’s a really great deal if you buy all your comics in trade paperback or hardcover form, which I do. Other things that make this place nicer than some other comic shops: 1) No lingering smell of B.O. Yes, that can be a problem. I’ve walked into some comic retailers with friends who commented «This place smells like how I imagine a tightly packed Comic-​Con smells.» 2) No one will be condescending or creepy towards you if you’re a lady. That’s majorly important to know if you’re a lady vetting comic shops.
Brave New Worlds isn’t my FAVORITE place to buy comics in Philly, but I end up there a lot because it’s the one within walking distance of my apartment. While there are other stores I prefer to Brave New Worlds, it’s still a very good store and I recommend it highly if you buy a lot of trade books.

I started regularly collecting again and this is now my favorite store in the city.
I love that I get an email from them on Mondays with the new books for the week, and then I just have to email Rob back and let him know what to put aside for me. No subscription required. I’ve even emailed on the day the books came back asking for a certain title and they replied back quickly to let me know they would put it aside. That’s impeccable customer service in my opinion.
Comic book monger Brian is usually in the stores when I grab my books, and he’s always helpful and nice.
They run some great promotions — for BEFORE WATCHMEN for instance, if you collect the entire series and get your card stamped then you get a WATCHMEN hardcover. They have a trade club too; something like 10 trades earns you a free one. That’s pretty darn sweet of them.
I think I liked the old storefront space a little bit better but it’s still pretty spacious and full of all kinds of other goodies than comics: statues, toys, etc.
This place is mad decent. Seriously the best comic shop in Philly.

This is my favorite comic store in the city, so far. I love the layout (even though their old location was better), and the selection is usually on par! They have a nice variety of displays and merchandise as far as figurines, statues and all that stuff. Of course, it’s all stuff I’ll never be able to afford, haha!
The guys here are 100% the friendliest I’ve encountered so far. The only thing that would seem to upset them is if they see someone trying to touch the large Darth Vader in the corner. I saw this one dude with a group of women come in and browse, and he started reaching up at it. The clerk demanded he back up so fast, I swore he was going to fire Omega Beams across the store!

This shop was my second stop on my adventure to check out comic stores in Philly while visiting with my boyfriend. I liked the entrance area with the local art and the Spider-​Man statue. We were greeted warmly when we walked in and I must see the highlight of this store is the layout. There is a giant Silver Surfer and Darth Vader thatm as you can see, I needed to take pictures of. They have no section for back issues at all, but overall they have a nice selection of trades, new releases, and seemed very supportive of the local community.

As long as I live in the city of brotherly love, I will –never– (repeat NEVER) go to any other comic shop for any of my comic, trade, merch or dork related attire needs.
The staff of Brave New Worlds are absolutely above and beyond helpful. Not once have I experienced any condescending glances (you won’t get it unless you’ve seen it) or anything short of perfect customer service. Today, the young man working saved my Halloween by telling me that the store DID have the sonic screw-​driver that I was looking for. When someone calls at noon on a Sunday looking for a very goofy (and specific) peice of nerdy fandom, 99% of humanity would roll their eyes. NOT SUPER AWESOME GUY! He knew exactly what I was talking about and when I came in later to pick up some trades (and said sonic) he had put it aside. Oh and he was wearing an Arab Strap shirt which makes him KING OF THE COLONY OF AWESOME!
Free comic day is normally hell. Every other shop in this city was packed, either with a line out the door, staff that wants to (secretly or not so secretly) die… nope. Not these guys. They were chipper, happy to find things, and on top of their game. The free stuff was located at the back of the store, in an organized fashion.
The store is set up so that you flow thru it effortlessly. Trades are organized in a great way, with more popular artists in the middle of the store, and everything else organized on the right wall. Comics are on tall shelfs, with plenty of room for browsing. If you need a super rad Captain America zombie shirt (ok I don’t know if this exists but it should) this shop will most likely have it.
While I was browsing, a difficult customer came into the shop, asking the clerk a million stupid questions that a google search or even looking at the stores website could answer. King Awesome of Colony Awesome answered all of them with patience. It takes a very cool person to deal with people on a Sunday.
There is a reason that I will never shop anywhere else. The staff are awesome, the store is great and if they don’t have something you need, they’ll know exactly how to get it. It’s a hike from my house but a little cardio never killed anyone.

Okay, I’m not into comics (don’t stop reading my review after seeing that sentence), but I didn’t come into the store for me.
Word around town was that there was a lifesize Darth Vader in the store. Now, I’m not a Star Wars nut either, but my 8 year old daughter is. And we visited the store for her. She was in awe at the ‘collectible’ SW figures, the SW goodies they have behind glass, and all of the mini SW aircraft (i.e., Death Star).
The store was well organized, clean, and while we didn’t buy anything, it was a memorable visit for my SW fanatic. A trip to Brave New Worlds further solidified her appreciation for all things SW-​she even wanted me to ask how much the ‘big’ Vader was to take home and keep in her room. Worth a stop.

I admit I was not here for comics, but had so much fun browsing the tchotchkes and trinkets they had. I adore awkward, ugly collectibles, stuffed animals and the like to put on bookshelves etc. They had ugly dolls, squishables, domo/​friends, mini microbes, and millions of other actions figures and plushes. Impressive collection!
Would be a good place to browse around with friends for a point and laugh adventure. Going to save up money so I can go again and buy a bunch of squishables and a Nibbler plush they had!

Brave New Worlds is freakin’ awesome. Their location down at Old City is clean and inviting. One of the main things I love about this place is that it consist of friendly folk who appreciate you taking time out of your day to browse their shop. I love everything down to the store logo and the friendly discussions on all manner of geekery.
It’s not really a back issue place, but considering that I’ve been out of the comic loop for a while, I can’t think of a better place to sync up than Brave New Worlds. Conversations, graphic novels, gifts, book clubs, signings, getting pointed in the right direction, etc.
BNW definitely gets the Kenny Seal of Approval.
They earned it.

No matter what your geek vice of choice is, BNW is sure to satisfy your every need! I have been a customer for the past 10 years, and will remain one for the next 50!
The staff at BNW is incredibly helpful– these guys really know their stuff. They give fantastic suggestions and have introduced me to comics that I never knew existed!
I also enjoy the wide selection of toys and figurines that they keep in stock. This is a great place to go for a gift for the nerd in your life (or yourself).
Whether you’re a seasoned comic vet, or just getting your feet wet, BNW is the best bet!

Great selection of new comics of all genres and styles, from superheroes to indie drama. Excellent selection of merchandise and collectibles. Friendly, highly knowledgeable staff. All-​around inclusive atmosphere – definitely not a «boy’s club.»
BNW runs some fun events too, from their book club discussions to gallery shows on First Friday, book release parties and signings, and movie nights at the Troc. They’re very involved in the local geek community.
Highly recommended.