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Forbidden Planet Comes To Norwich? Back Of The Net!

Forbidden Planet International are to open a new comic book store in Norwich city centre

Published Sat, 07 Feb 2026 05:57:06 -0600

Article Summary

Forbidden Planet International announces plans for a new comic shop in Norwich city centre.
The store will take over the former BrightHouse location on St Stephens Street.
Norwich already boasts several comic and collectibles shops across the city.
Forbidden Planet is one of the UK's largest comic and pop culture retailers, founded in 1978.

Norwich, the home of Alan Partridge, is getting its own Forbidden Planet comic shop, from the mostly northern half of that franchise, Forbidden Planet International. The new shop will be located in the former hire purchase chain BrightHouse premises in St Stephen's Street. An FPI representative stated that "I can confirm that we are planning to open a new Forbidden Planet store in Norwich. At this early stage, plans are subject to legals, fit-out and final preparations, so we're not yet in a position to confirm an opening date. We're really looking forward to bringing Forbidden Planet to Norwich and, in due course, serving the local community with our full range of comics, pop culture, blind boxes and collectors' merchandise, backed by over 50 years of retail experience."

The Bright House, Norwich — BrightHouse, Norwich / Google StreetView

Norwich already has a number of comic book shops, however, such as Canary Comics & Collectables in Dixon's Shopping Centre, and the famed Abstract Sprocket on Benedict Street, as well as Cosmic Jo's Galactic Trading Outpost on Bedford Street, as well as The Television And Movie Store in Millennium Plain, which already does a fine line in Funko. Forbidden Planet International ma be coming to a full market…

Forbidden Planet is the trading name of two separate UK-based comic book, manga, science fiction, fantasy and horror bookshop and merchandise chains across the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States, and is named after the 1956 feature film of the same name. Founded by Nick Landau, Mike Lake, and the late Mike Luckman in 1978, it has grown considerably in the interim into one of the largest comic book chains in the world. Today, the main shareholders in FP International are James Hamilton, Kenny Penman, Andrew Oddie, Richard Boxall and Colin Campbell, while Forbidden Planet is owned by Nick Landau and Vivian Cheung.

Norwich is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, about a hundred miles north-east of London, with a population just shy of 150,000 and claims to be the most complete medieval city in the United Kingdom, with cobbled streets, ancient buildings such as St Andrew's Hall, half-timbered houses, medieval lanes and the winding River Wensum that flows through the city centre towards Norwich Castle. And yes, is the home of the fictional comedy creation of Steve Coogan, Alan Partridge. I wonder if theu have a Funko Pop of him yet?

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