In Your Neighbourhood: How a Bandra comic book store became a home for Mumbai’s nerd culture
The store remains open from 11 am to 11 pm and delivers pan-India through WhatsApp, its website and Instagram.
The Comic Book Store on Linking Road in Bandra West has emerged as a cultural hub for Mumbai’s growing community of comic enthusiasts and collectors. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee) Before there was a shopfront on Linking Road, there was a one-bedroom hall-kitchen, a borrowed laptop and a deadline no one else knew about.
Hamza Sayed launched his comic book business online in 2019 with Rs 2.5 lakh raised against his family home, after spending nearly two years navigating licensing paperwork. The timing was deliberate — the day Avengers: Endgame released.
“I wanted to see if this could work,” he said. “This was something I was doing for myself, a gift to my younger self.”
Four years later, that experiment took physical shape on Linking Road in Bandra West. Surrounded by clothing stores and cafes built for constant footfall, the comic book store has quietly survived and grown. Inside, shelves are stacked with graphic novels, single-issue comics and collectibles, but the space is less about spectacle and more about refuge.
“When I opened four years ago, this kind of thing didn’t exist,” Hamza said. “I used to go to Crossword and other bookshops. They had graphic novels, but only certain ones. There were no single-issue comics at all. And whatever comics they sold, the pricing wasn’t fair.”
Designed with inspiration from The Big Bang Theory, the store’s interiors are stacked with single-issue comics, graded collector’s editions, Topps trading cards and action figures, creating a dedicated space for serious comic enthusiasts.(Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)
The store draws inspiration from The Big Bang Theory. “That show mattered to me,” Hamza said. “It made being a nerd feel okay. This store reflects that.”
The idea, however, was never just commercial. “I was a loner growing up,” Hamza said. “I didn’t have any friends. Comics were my company.”
That sensibility continues to shape the store. Over time, it has evolved into a gathering point for people who rarely find spaces built around their interests. Customers linger, debating story arcs, films, anime and games with strangers who quickly feel familiar.
“People don’t just come here to buy,” Hamza said. “They finally have a place where being obsessed about something isn’t strange.”
The business began online in 2019 and transitioned into a physical store in 2022. The risk was substantial. Hamza said his family sold their only house to fund the venture.
“That was the only property we had,” he said. “I come from a single-mother household, and she supported this fully. Without her, none of this would have happened.”
According to Hamza, being India’s only licensed comic book retailer sets the store apart. “Single-issue comics are history,” he said. “You can’t replace that with a compilation. Collectors understand that.”
That seriousness is reflected in the inventory. Among the most valuable items on display is a CGC-graded 9.2 copy of The Amazing Spider-Man Issue No. 300 — the first appearance of Venom — signed by Todd McFarlane and Stan Lee, priced at Rs 6.5 lakh.
Working at the store is 28-year-old Shivani Gadwal, a self-proclaimed book nerd drawn to indie comics. “A lot of people come in asking for Marvel because they recognise the characters from films, and real comic book readers come for rare DC comics and Japanese manga,” she said. “But once they start reading, their taste changes.”
With three colleges located behind the store, footfall remains steady. “Kids sometimes walk in just to look,” she added.
The store is open from 11 am to 11 pm and delivers pan-India through WhatsApp, its website and Instagram.
Next up is a 3,000-square-foot outlet in Bengaluru, scheduled to open in April. Hamza said it will be the city’s first comic book store and only the second licensed one in the country.
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