What a great spot. We received exceptional service and loved the wide selection of comics, graphic novels and just all the fixins a geek could only dream of. My kids age 4 to 10 found all sorts of things to make their hearts sing. Found street parking right in front of the store. The owner was extremely helpful and went out of his way to make us happy. I hope to return to Fantastic Comics on our next visit to Berkley. read more

Very clean, spacious, and well stocked. Employee's always give you a smile and a nod when you walk in. They always have tons of new issues, they are not individually bagged but they are very clean and in good condition. Only down side is that back issues (at least the ones i was looking for) where a bit on the higher side. read more

Helpful and friendly staff but still growing in the breadth of its new and back catalog selections. Fantastic will have most of what you want, though. Great open layout so you won't feel like you are in some musty nerd dungeon if you aren't comfortable with comics. read more

I'm not much of a comic guy, but, and this is a big but, I enjoyed myself for an hour or so checking out all of the material this nice store featured. I bought a few comics for one of my daughters (Sofia). The sales staff and cashier were very friendly. If you've got time to spare, head on over to Fantastic Comics. Oh wait the heck, make a point of it. read more

As I stumbled in a stuper into the store the staff was very friendly and sat me down and put some comics in my hands and some warm soup in my belly. Truly they are fine people. read more

Fantastic Comics is a great shop, right next to Downtown Berkeley BART, and the people that work there are friendly and helpful. The store has a great collection of new stuff, and trade paperbacks. Good vibes, good recommendations from the workers, and a pretty store. Heads up, parking in downtown Berkeley can be hard to come by, take public transportation! read more

Awesome store. They have a really expansive collection, all of the new single issues, friendly and knowledgable staff, and foster a very welcoming environment. Can't recommend it enough. read more

Great selection, knowledgable staff, and shockingly clean. Most comic stores I've been to are so icky. I love this place. The owner Uel is wonderful he always has interesting and accurate recommendations for me and people I like to shop for. read more

This place rules. Great selection and super friendly/helpful staff. Highly recommend.

They have the comics I'm looking for, which is good enough. The staff hasn't been rude to me but twice I've walked in and no one is at the register. I wanted to buy a trade but no one is there to ring up my purchase. read more

Rude customer service. I'm never coming here again. There are other stores with better selections and staff that will treat you like they want your business. Stay away unless you really need to find something that other stores do not have...which I don't think is possible with their meager selection. 0/10 worst experience I have had at any store in a long time. read more

Just recently began reading comic books again so I decided to come to this location per the yelp reviews. The only bad thing was the parking (which they have no control over) otherwise I was very satisfied I only ended up purchasing 3 comic books but will return again in the future the place is very well laid out and they do have a lot of comic books, t-shirts, figures etc. very friendly folks as well highly recommended. If you don't take public transportation bring a lot of quarters so you have plenty of time to browse around. read more

I'm a 19-year-old art student who hopes to work in comics one day. I have been going to comic shops for only a few years now (maybe 3 or 4) but I have been a fan of comics since I could read. I was always hesitant to enter in comic book shops because the few that I had entered before fantastic comics tended to have a "nerd elitist" vibe (the "comic book guy" on the Simpsons). I've learned since then that I was just extremely unlucky during those attempts and that those were extremely rare. Fantastic comics has always been an welcoming place to me (which was great to see seeing how I had the bad rare experience with a couple of other places). I was given the impression that the staff there was approachable and genuinely loved comics. It was also cool that they seemed very patient when asked about what might be common knowledge about certain genres or fandoms. It's got a really good selection, helpful and welcoming staff, and is a very cool place to explore if you are interested in getting into comics or even if you are a long time fan of comics. read more

Great comics, great selection from a range of publishers and distros, really friendly and helpful staff. Will definitely be back!

Great collection of the major comics publishers, along with great graphic novels and a small collection of manga, but most amazingly has a table of local zines and self published bay area comics right up front in center. In a place where every square inch of real estate counts, this is total dedication to the community, which is amazing. Of the comic stores I've been to in the bay area, its also the nicest environment: wood floors, enormous ceilings, well spaced displays. Plus, knowledgeable staff who will hold the closing of the store if you just have to get that one weird graphic novel before they close. read more

I stopped by Fantastic Comics yesterday to buy a birthday present for a friend. When I mentioned that I was also thinking about picking up Rat Queens for myself, the salesperson at the register gave the book a glowing recommendation. I bought the book, and I loved it! Thank you, Juliette at Fantastic Comics, for the excellent recommendation! read more

I love Fantastic Comics. The staff there is amazing, friendly, and well-versed, and the place is just very fun. They always have what I want. Thank you guys for being awesome! read more

This comic store is bigger than the ones I have gone to recently. It is well supplied and it is in great condition. Cool place. Will definitely be back! read more

Fantastic Comic store is a great place if you want to find something to entertain yourself or your kids, obviously you have to go through a lot stuffs they have, but I recommend you ask for help, I spent a lot of time searching one specific comic but I was not able to find it until I ask the guys. The place is near bart station, it is convenient for people that just visit Berkeley. I have been on other stores but this one is just great. Because I feel the items are not well organize I give four stars, but other service was great. read more

This place is great! Lots of titles and the layout is really clean and welcoming. It's so easy to find things here and I love that they also have a local artist section! read more

Bob is a nice guy. Wish they did pull lists here. First come first serve so get there when they open.

We were greeted immediately. Very knowledgeable staff, Thank you! found perfect gift for the love of my life

I consider this place a higher end comic book store. They have a lot of graphic novels, cool novelty items, and they are always up on the newest comics. I mostly collect Wolverine exclusively, and they have all kinds of editions, so i just need to pop in see what I don't have and start purchasing. read more

I hate to be the dude who is the yelp-ratings knight for the store but I need to respond to Josh H. I realize people's opinions are subjective (I have a few complaints myself -- why is the store carrying glamourpuss?!) but almost everything in the review borders on being objectively wrong or mistaken. re: "stingy with trade ins" I don't think they have a trade-in program at all, so it would be really strange to characterize it as "stingy" They will sometimes buy books depending on what you have, but as a rule of thumb you will never get a better price from a comic store than you will selling it yourself on ebay, though they will very likely give you a better price than the bookstore next door. They also have a discount program for students, etc... By no means are they running a charity (except for that toys for charity thing that one time), but "stingy"? re: "up charge last month's issue" This is at least somewhat true, but these particular issues are also bagged and boarded, which account for some of the increase in price. The back issue area also has discounted issues as well (which are not bagged and boarded). Issues from previous weeks are also often still on the racks at cover price. re: "customer service modeled after Comic Book Guy" Worst... Characterization... Ever. I've seen the staff when they have good days and bad, but I've really only seen them become short with people who were rude or even abusive. Now, do some of the staff sometimes dress or physically resemble Comic Book Guy in the right light? -- let's just say that the legacy of Rory will live on in more ways than one. (BTW the rumor that Comic Book Guy was based on Rory is apparently a myth.) re: "I go to the comic store to be in awe of the aggregate creativity present in the industry and to connect with other people who like to read comics." Okay, I don't know if you've noticed the drawing board in the corner but a certain local comics creator has been known to drop in and work from time to time. Also, you may have missed some signings by other local creators who happen to also be regular customers at the store. Hang around and you'll see that the vast majority of customers happen to be people who like to read comics -- they are there in the store for that reason alone. This is becoming increasingly rare as a lot of comic book shops have turned to hybrid gaming and other sidelines to keep themselves afloat. Not that they don't sell their share of Game of Thrones books, T-Shirts, and Japanese candy, but Fantastic Comics is still pretty much a pure comic book store, and Berkeley ought to pat itself on the back a little for loving comics so much to be able to support such a place. re: "I also like to go there and find new titles that I would not have found on my own." The reading table up front is crammed full of new material from a wide variety of independent artists and publishers. Some of them are really out there, some of them are short-run editions and you might not know to look at it based on the covers, so you might need the help of staff to guide you to one. Don't be afraid to ask -- they won't give you the Comic Book Guy treatment. re: they have to focus on a "sense of place" instead of making a quick buck off of some old paper. I can buy all my books online There are far easier and less painful ways to make money than running a comic book store in this age, so the idea that ANY comic book store, let alone this one, is after a quick buck, is misguided at best. While it's always important to have a welcoming environment, the invocation of "sense of place" brings to mind a coffee shop full of couches, where people congregate, chat for a bit, peruse the latest comics, then go home and, like you suggest, buy all their books online, which is a great paradigm for a public library (BTW the Berkeley Public LIbrary has an excellent graphic novels section and they are friends of the store, so don't feel shy in checking them out), but a recipe for ruin for a comic book store. This store and the way it's run isn't going to be to everyone's liking and that's fine, but I'd urge anyone who shares any of these misconceptions to give the store another shot. read more

I haven't been there, so can't comment on store, clerks, or merchandise --- and won't be going there, ever. Called to see if he had any interest in some things I might sell. I was nice, brief, and courteous: he was rude -- really, really rude. Super bad first impression. There are other shops, great shops, with nice people. I was checking this out just to see what they were like, because I was going to be in the neighborhood. I'll stick with the other shops: his attitude was super negative. Maybe he has to put up with a lot of crazy and useless calls all day long, and maybe he's just tired of it: I don't know. But that's part of doing business, and being rude is never a good response. Just sayin' -- this was not good. read more

These fine folks know how to run a comics shop. I am an older gent, that got back into reading five years ago, and am now all in. They even don't mind my kids going apeshit every now and then up in that piece. Ask them any question about comics or related topics, and they will know the answer. 12 stars, screw the five star limit. read more

I've been going to comic stores all my life, but Fantastic Comics is more like a second home. The staff are so friendly and inviting, and are always available to make recommendations no matter what your preference. They also have a ladies comic club, where I've made some new friends and had a chance to discover new and diverse books. The team regularly invites industry creators for signings, readings and Q&As so I've had the opportunity to meet comics legends and rising stars alike. The dedication and knowledge of the staff, plus wonderfully curated collection across all comics, has given them a tidy, well organized shop where you can find just about anything. This store adds tremendous value to all of Downtown Berkeley! read more

This is my favorite comic book store ever! I was just getting back into comics about a year ago when I walked into this store and was approached by Juliette (awesome staff member!). We had a great conversation about comics and artists that we both liked, and after a while I left the store with a stack of amazing books that she recommended, an invitation to join the store's Fantastic Ladies Comics Club, and my first ever pull list! Since then, Fantastic Comics has been my go-to for any comic needs and they never let me down. Also, I've been attending the Fantastic Ladies Comics Club every month and it's so much fun to talk about great comics with such an awesome group of women! Juliette and Heather are there almost every time I visit the store, and they always have the answer to any comics questions that I have, and they talk to me without giving me that uneducated or "not a real fan" feel that I've experienced in other shops. I love this shop! read more

This place is great. The owner (and the staff in general) is tremendously nice and helpful. Seriously, he spent upwards of 30 minutes helping me find a good recommendation. Also they have a great selection that is well organized. They also stock a lot of indie titles that you do not normally see. But should you miss anything, they can order it as well. The store looks fantastic and really easy to get to. I try to pop in often just because I enjoy the store. If you like graphic novels, zines, and anything in that family of books, check out Fantastic Comics. read more

Everything about this place is great - super well organized - my two kids were ***ddddyyyyyyiiiinnnngg*** to go to a comic book store. Super informed staff, great section for kids, and lots of interesting reads for me. I was loath to put down my graphic novel to write this review - but its so rare to find truly fantastic service in Berkeley - I had to make a point of doing so. The little dog was, of course, a huge hit but had tough competition from the outstanding selection of graphic novels and comic books my 7 and 8 year olds were obsessing over. read more

I've since gone back to Fantastic Comics, and to be honest? I'll probably be back several times over. They're running a solid comics shop that I'd really like to experience the way a few of my friends have told me they've experienced it. Sucks that my first time through was so impersonal, and the following visit was a little blah, too, but as I say, the shop has great selection and based on that alone, I'm sure they know their stuff. I just hope eventually they'll look at me more like a peer than a number. That's part of the reason I'm posting this update - I don't want to be "the guy who left a crappy Yelp review and gets crappy treatment because of it." Whaddaya say, Fantastic? Wanna talk comics? read more

Every experience I've had with this comic store has been stellar. The store is spacious and clean, and the staff has great customer service. My boyfriend and I are from out of town and when in the area ALWAYS make it a point to swing by. The staff is always kind and meticulous with their recommendations. Definitely recommended. read more

I like the open area, it's easy to walk around and find what you need. The selection was pretty good, I was able to find comics that are going for twice or three times as much online. I can confirm the checkout lady does not greet, just asks are you in our system. I replied No. That was the end of that conversation but hey I don't expect much. Just scan my comics and tell me the total. The store is really inviting so this makes up for the checkout experience. read more