For the longest time, I had no idea Alpha Comics even existed as the shop is literally on the other…read moreside of the city from me. Where more well known comic stores might have bigger buildings and better locations, Alpha Comics makes up for in something I haven't seen in a comic shop for as long as I've been going: customer service and availability. Alpha Comics deals specifically with new issues which means there is little to no selection of back-issues. I thought this might be a problem at first, until I realized how little I cared to walk into a store only to sift through boxes of unorganized garbage to find the one special treasure. Due to this, Alpha Comics has a very clean and organized display which makes finding exactly what you want a dream. It's become a necessity these days to focus more on the customer experience; with the internet being a part of peoples' everyday lives, the world market has opened in a way that puts more power than ever in the customer's hands. Rather than continue business based on the traditional business model of helping customers when they walk in the door, Alpha Comics has embraced the power of social media and is quickly becoming a strong online voice for the Calgary comic book community. Every time I've had a question, they've been there to answer me within an hour even on the busiest of days and have even offered me a couple times to put aside some books I've been wanting for my own convenience. Chris, the owner, is a fantastically nice guy who is super knowledgeable about what people want and has helped open my eyes to some lesser-known series relateable to my interests. As I've said before, I live across the city and I STILL choose to go to Alpha Comics every time I need some issues and am able to. We need more stores to look towards the little guy and see how things can be done right and hopefully one day even Walmart might be considered as good as Alpha has been.

I once had a friend that traveled halfway across the country for hard to acquire comics that he…read moreneeded and got back home by hitchhiking all the while keeping the comics in mint condition. Not really; He got them off of eBay, but geeks will go to great lengths to get what they want/need to complete their collections or expand them. I was drawn to this shop after reading about it on the site. It sounded very promising. I arrived to find that it was a bit before opening. Nearby is one of those "Card game collecting places" like 'Majic' and what not. I piddled around in there looking at some of the things there were, all the while thinking "I'm not even THIS much of a nerd" Oh well, to each their own, I suppose. I wandered back over to find the owner and sole worker in the shop, Chris sorting through his daily work. He greeted me, offered help and was quick to assist in getting the comics I was looking for (and had called ahead for him to put on hold). I decided to ask him a few questions about popular series and individual comics and he was throwing out names I'd never heard of. Wow, this guy knows his stuff, and better yet, loves it as much (if not more) than his customers. I ended up getting a few more that weren't on the list. Avengers vs X-Men collectors : If you can't get a hold of a certain issue because it's sold out, look here. He had a ton of first editions from Round 0-2 and I'm sure will be the same with 3 on so on. Great place, great owner. I will return.

My WORD! I have never, in my life, seen a better stocked store of trades and hardcover graphic…read morenovels and comics in my life! This store was an absolute delight to wander around in, which I and another American friend did for well over an hour. Just an absolute delight, with even a well stocked discount hardcover section, which I took full advantage of, and had a delightful time finding books that I wanted. We ended up spending several hundred dollars, and the clerk even gave us an unasked-for discount! All and all, a wonderful store, highly recommended to all my visiting friends from the states.

Very good selection, best i've seen. The atmosphere is basically my ideal. The staff are incredibly…read morehelpful. Cant stress how helpful, and the books are in great shape. will try to come again.

One of the best comic stores I've ever been in. Friendly staff and a large selection of comics…read more But the best part of this store is the displays of figurines! I've never seen such variety and craftsmanship. I brought a friend who isn't a collector and he said he could stay for hours. It was just amazing to see from an art standpoint. Bought some reprints for dirt cheap. I like to hang them on my walls. They had an X-Men #1 from 1963 reprint I've been looking for for a long time. They had lots of them...I regret not picking up another for a friend while there. I totally agree with other reviewers in here: I love the way they have organized the shop. Marvel over here, DC over there, etc. This shop is a must visit if you're in Calgary!

Wow, blow me away Batman! And Robin, and the Hulk, and GI Jo, and Wonder Woman, and Yoda... and …read more.. and. I love this store, this is a huge inventory of comics, action figures, bobble heads, t-shirts, books, etc from DC to Marvel Comics. My inner child was running around the store, screaming, and summer salting, thank god my adult self was there to keep her in check. This store is so well laid out, I am not a comic expert but I do know a well organised and easy to find lay out. There is an area, just dedicated to Marvel, to the Hulk, to Trekkie fans, to Star wars fans, to Walt Disney fans. There is also a very nice selection of collectible comic books hanging behind the cashier's desk, the top row being hard to get comics from the 40s. WOW. I was absolutely thrilled to find this location which is in fact the only location in Calgary so if you have a comic obsession you know what dimension to beam yourself to. Just on the tip of Sunnyside.

This place is flipping amazing. Like if your looking for some old dvd of game that's the place to…read morego. And even though it says Comics and Collectibles there is very low comics. But one strange thing about this place is that I was just look at the "Magic The Gathering" cards and the worker said "Where do you live" and that was quite creepy. But other then that this place is awesome.

Great variety on collectibles including toys, (heman, g.i joe, star trek, star wars, superheroes)…read moreWW2 items, books, comics, game cards. I have an account where they will order whatever comic I want, just browse through the giant preview magazine. They seem pretty good for being able to hunt down single issues too. Fair prices, and friendly ownership and staff. They also cater to Magic the gathering gamers, of which I am not one, but you can see the regular tournaments being played. Definitely worth a visit, even just to look.

Cool store, lots of amazing things to buy. owners are amazing people, by far one of the best comic…read morestores in Calgary!

I ordered a series of figures from the Neca Aliens line. The payment went through and I then waited…read morefour days for shipment confirmation. To clarify, I ordered from Calgary, to Ontario. They didn't ship, during the week, for four days. They also neglected to inform me that one of the items was sold out, and I didn't discover it until they arrived. when I wrote them, they took five emails to finally answer me, claiming they had processed the refund for the one figure. No apology, no explanation, nothing. I checked my bank balance, as I have online banking and the refund hadn't shown up. It still hasn't, a month later and they aren't answering emails. From everything I've read, they seem to like some customers but not all. I will absolutely never shop from these people again and I suggest you don't either.

Don't waste your time if you're looking to trade anything. Was actually insulted by his trade offer…read moreand not even close to fair . Also noticed his prices for older collectible comics is definitely over priced . The owner comes across as a hoarding collector.

I've been going here since I was a kid. very friendly and knowledgeable staff. I love the hole in…read morethe wall approach. the atmosphere is wonderful. Everytime I walk into the store the smell and look is the same from when I was a kid. it really takes me back.

I just moved back to Calgary from Toronto and thought I'd get back into comics by starting a file…read moreat a local comic book store. I can say without a doubt this is the best comic shop I've been to in Calgary. The staff is friendly, prices are fair, and their customer service is the best in the city. I'll continue going here for the foreseeable future.

For me, walking into Words and Pictures was like entering an unknown dimension. No offense to…read morenerds or geeks, (which does include my spouse), but this would be a store where my spouse, his buddies and anyone else I'd consider to be a nerd or geek would hobby shop. I am not one (based on my opinion and a recent pole for the purposes of this review) and realized how much of their world I am oblivious to as I perused. The only thing I could connect with was the Archie Comics and a few crazy figurines. W&P is jam packed with items such as comic magazines, books, role playing games, collectible cards games (my spouse just helped me to figure out those acronyms - RPG's and CCG's), figurines, toys, there's an entire section of Tokyopop, etc. I was intrigued by a lot of the books and actually spent a fair bit of time in here. I found a special edition Bizarro Comics book that was a good birthday gift for my spouse and a great addition to our coffee table books. I actually laughed out loud while leafing through it, which sold me. The staff was very friendly and being that I was an obvious stranger to this territory, they asked several times if I needed help. The store is very organized and clean. Also awkwardly quiet even with others shopping there, which of course suits the nerd stereotype. This store is a great place for gamers, collectibles shoppers and folks looking for a bit of a blast from the past. They provide comics appraisals as well. 27/30 for Yelp's 30 Day Challenge

Really nice store with very friendly service. The store includes a comic store, so a good place of…read morevisiting with people of mixed interests. Good prices for used vinyl

25 years ago this was a good store. Today it has very poor selection of used LPs. Most of the…read moreinventory is new vinyl. 90% of the used LP's are flea market or things you could have acquired at a Recordland Dollar Sale. However, I had a couple LPs pulled that I was somewhat interested in, but changed my mind after having a conversation with the guy behind the counter. When I entered the store, I asked if he was the owner, he replied, "well sort of". Not sure what that means? So anyway, this is where things went downhill. I had a record that was clearly stuck inside the paper sleeve due to some sort of stickiness. When I successfully removed the record from the sleeve, I asked the guy for a new sleeve and told him to dispose of the old one because the LP was stuck to something inside along the edge. His condescending reply, "oh nonsense, it's probably because the paper was folded". I thought to myself, "well that was an odd reply, what's this guy's problem? Why would he immediately dismiss the fact that it was legitimately stuck?" I've been collecting records for 50 years. I've had thousands of LPs pass through my home, buying and selling via Goldmine Magazine, and later on the internet through various platforms. I can assure you, it's not my first time removing an LP from a paper inner sleeve, Lol. But hey this is a record store, and that was your typical condescending record store "sort of owner" guy reply. Straight out of the Empire Records play-by-play handbook. Anyway, I eventually began looking for CDs near the till, and overheard part of a conversation between the "sort of owner" and his friend who'd just entered. The "sort of owner" said that he was being pushed out or evicted from an apartment or house that he was renting, and in need of another rental property. His friend mentioned Ramsay, then their discussion switched to the cost of homes and rentals today. Having lived in Ramsay for nearly 30 years, and being 6 ft away, I chimed in with my two cents, mentioning that I was very familiar with the area, and flipped a couple of houses for a decent profit several years ago. I was about to say that part of the reason the housing market skyrocketed the way it has is because of people practicing the house flip for profit. I was also going to add, that at the time I didn't have a crystal ball, it was just a job, and a means to support my family and keep a roof over our heads. Unfortunately I never had a chance to say any of this because the "sort of owner" cut me off saying "don't pretend you don't know! You're the one to blame! It's because of people like you that we can't afford to buy a house today, and why rent is so high!", bla bla bla. The next thing I know "sort of owner" begins waving his arms, ranting on and on about this. Then I asked again, "are you the owner?" To which he replied, "why, do you want to buy the store?" With that, I replied "your business must not be doing well if you can't afford to buy a home, or pay your rent. Not to mention offering to sell your store at the drop of a hat, so no thanks." Touché I thought, one insult deserves another. Besides at this point it was 2 on 1. Then he and his buddy began to whine because I hurt "sort of owners" feelings. Keep in mind, I wasn't the first one to throw any insults or escalate the discussion. To the "Sort Of Owner"... How long do you think a 120-year-old wooden structure will last? Do you think they are timeless, and don't require upkeep? At a certain point these homes need to be renovated, updated; exterior facia replacement, new insulation, vapor barriers, new roof, interior subflooring, flooring materials such as hardwood, carpet, tile, linoleum, etc. Not to mention removal of plaster walls due to mold, being replaced by drywall where framing is involved. Then we have cabinetry in the kitchen, bathrooms, as well as fixtures in the aforementioned. And let's not forget about electrical panels, wiring, and plumbing upgrading! Unfortunately these upgrades are not free, despite what you might think. Without these actions, a 120-year-old home would become dilapidated and unsuitable for habitation. The end result would be demolition, with some sort of ugly eyesore infill taking its place. Obviously the infill thing is happening on a smaller scale, but if many of those older homes weren't renovated and saved, they'd have been demolished, and replaced by more infills, thus Ramsay and Inglewood would lose their classic charm. Also keep in mind, if that were to have happened, those infills would cost as much as an older renovated home if not more. So you'd still be whining and priced out of the market in those neighbourhoods either way. Bottom line "sort of owner"...if you can't afford to buy a home in Calgary, or pay the current rent, stop blaming someone else's successes on your life's failures, as that's a losers game. Time to grow up. Typical of so many millennials, lacking perspective and never seeing anything objectively.

In pursuit of completing my XMAS shopping early I identified a couple of books I wanted to give as…read moregifts. Rather than looking to the big retailers I really wanted to support local. They've always been super helpful when I've been in-person, guiding me to extraordinary and unique books, but I had never considered if I could order from them online. And of course you can! They use BookManager as their online store and it works great. I ordered online Sunday at noon and had my books in-hand early afternoon Monday. Delivery man was an elderly gentleman, super friendly and all masked up. Thank you!

I used to frequent this bookstore as a young girl every week. I would save up all my money and buy…read moremyself a book from my favourite series then nonstop read until I had finished the whole thing. Today, the bookstore has remained really welcoming and the staff are knowledgeable on good reads. Limited selection (hence the 4 stars) but overall excellent place to spend some time pursuing novels.