Founding , central London Forbidden Planet London was the third major comics store in the city, eventually replacing what had been the leading shop, Derek Stokes's
Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed, signing
The Two Towers at Forbidden Planet,
New Oxford Street The first Forbidden Planet began life in 1978 as a small store in
Denmark Street. As the scope of the store expanded beyond comics to embrace film and television, a second store was opened just around the corner on
St Giles High Street. Landau, Lake, and Luckman later paired with James Hamilton and Kenny Penman to open other stores. Penman and Hamilton were owners of one of the UK's oldest comics and SF stores, Science Fiction Bookshop, in Edinburgh, which had opened under previous owners in 1975.
Later developments , central London On 30 September 2003, the London store moved to larger premises at the northern end of
Shaftesbury Avenue. Forbidden Planet opened a second Megastore in
Clifton Heights in Bristol in 2005, and a third in
Southampton in 2007. In 2006 the company launched
forbiddenplanet.com, an e-commerce retail site offering a wide range of products and hosting details of the company's many events and signings. On the evening of 3 December 2023, the Bristol store caught fire;
Avon Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that the blaze was not started on purpose. On 30 September 2024 Forbidden Planet confirmed a 7 December 2024 reopening, with a schedule of signings, costumed characters, decorations, and goodie bags.
Forbidden Planet NYC The first New York store opened in 1981, located at 56 East 12th Street and Broadway in
Greenwich Village. Forbidden Planet NYC was founded by Luckman, with Americans
Phil Seuling and Jonni Levas acting as silent partners. who was Seuling's partner at
Sea Gate Distributors and was his former girlfriend.) , New York on opening day, 24 July 2012 The store had one of the most extensive selections in the world of in-print science fiction and fantasy paperbacks, primarily from major genre labels such as Ballantine, Del Rey, Ace, and so on, but also some
small press materials. There were also large and small press magazines, some hardbacks, tie-in toys and merchandise, and comics. They occasionally had book signing appearances by famous authors such as
Douglas Adams. The location across the street from the
Strand Bookstore and less than a mile from
Baird Searles' The Science Fiction Shop made the area a mecca for genre fans. An additional New York store opened in the mid-1980s at 227 East 59th Street in
Lenox Hill, On 24 July 2012, the New York City store moved several doors south to 832 Broadway, where it would enjoy 3,400 square feet of retail space. The New York store is not part of Forbidden Planet International, as they are owned by rival organizations. Like many shops, Forbidden Planet struggled during the
COVID-19 pandemic. The New York branch launched a
GoFundMe to survive, in light of the city's high rent. ==Companies==