Stayin’ Alive: NYC’s Forbidden Planet launches crowdfunding campaign

Forbidden Planet NYC is not only one of the great legacy comics shops in the US (I remember visiting it back in the 80s, when it was a pilgrimage for nerds). It’s also one of the iconic shops of present day NYC, a giant superstore on the high street of lower Broadway, filled with the stuff that dreams are made of.

And the current shut down has hit it hard. With just a small mail order business for income, it has zero money coming in, says manager Jeff Ayers, and many many bills to pay.

Many bills.

FPNYC has launched an Indiegogo campaign with a hefty goal – $300,000 – but for retailers in that part of New York City, that’s typical alas.

Ayers writes passionately of the store, its heritage, and its situation:

Whenever I think of Forbidden Planet NYC and the role it’s had in the careers of some of the biggest writers, artists and other creators, from giving them their first shot in a major marketplace (even if it’s just a few copies of their first self-published comic or handmade vinyl figures) to promoting their work when they reach the pinnacle of their fields, I think of this quote I once came across in an old issue of the Comics Journal: “I avoided Love & Rockets for a long time just because I thought it was just, like, a fanzine. I remember when I finally bought it, after Forbidden Planet had opened, and I remember that they had a huge stack of them for years…” – former Pratt student Daniel Clowes.

Since the beginning of the current crisis, myself and others have worked from home to help maintain the store’s business and customer relationships and organize a way to come back from all of this.  The sad truth of the matter is that nothing will be the same for some time, but we need to ensure that FPNYC is in a position to reopen when the time comes.  To do that we are humbly asking for your assistance in keeping FPNYC on its feet.

We’ve gone a month with zero revenue coming in and massive expenses going out.  Rent, utilities, and other bills have added up quickly.  The cost of doing business in New York City is astronomical, especially in a ground floor location off Union Square.  We’ve recently turned our website back on for mail order, but honestly this will yield just a small portion of what is needed to keep us viable.  Even when we’re able to open again we will face enormous challenges amidst the continuing epidemic.  We want all of our staff to have a job waiting for them when the quarantine is lifted, and of course their safety and that of our customers will be of paramount concern.  We understand that things are tough and other good causes in this time of need abound, but we ask that you help in any way you can.  Even if it’s just by sharing this campaign.

For better or worse, NYC has changed since FPNYC first opened its doors.  At one point in the not so distant past you couldn’t walk a singe block downtown without coming across an interesting shop, club or gallery space.  Places like See Hear and Kim’s Video lined the streets and liberated the minds of people who braved to enter their doors.  You could walk into CBGB or Coney Island High with a fork glued to your forehead and no one would give you a second glance.  They were safe spaces before safe spaces were even a thing.  Unfortunately, so many of these spaces weren’t safe from the razing of the city’s independent spirit and the raising of New York City rent.  Forbidden Planet NYC has endeavored to keep that spirit alive through it all.  Your background, class, race or religion doesn’t matter when two people experience the same form of art, and now more than ever we need the arts to survive and bring people together.  We have fought tooth and nail to continue to be a place where you can be yourself and we want to remain exactly that in a post-pandemic world.

A New York without Forbidden Planet would be a sadder, drabber place. The store faces steep obstacles, as does nearly everyone in this pandemic, but it also deserves our support.

The goal is currently up to $15,000 so a ways to go! Get in there and help save a legendary shop.

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