Comic Book Store in Kitchener Complex Since 1997: GnB Comics

GnB Comics is a Singapore comic book store that has been in the trade since 1997, when it began as an online shop before most local retailers had a website. GnB Comics, at Blk 809 French Road, Kitchener Complex #02-38, Singapore 200809, is closed on Mondays. Its Google listing gives noon to 7pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, noon to 8pm from Thursday to Saturday, and noon to 6pm on Sunday.

The shop's About page tells its origin story with a grin: GnB started as GnB Comic Online Supermart back in 1997, and the owners like to say they were dot com before dot com. After 24 years they finally built their own online Supermart, and they describe it as a slow, ongoing unpacking of treasures from their warehouse, with new items added as they dig. The sign-off on the page sums up the attitude: still collecting, still digging, still GnB.

That warehouse matters to visitors because GnB keeps a lot of its back stock off the shop floor. The website has a Warehouse Finds section, and the shop treats the online store and the physical counter as one business.

GnB calls itself an official CGC dealer, and graded books are a big part of its range. The website splits them into CGC classics, CGC Signature Series, a CGC 99 dollars and below section for newer collectors, and a mint 9.9 shelf. One example on the site is Red Hood #1 graded 9.8 at S$189.00. For a collector in Singapore, buying slabbed books locally saves the shipping risk of ordering graded comics from overseas.

The other big draw is the variant cover selection. GnB keeps separate shelves for Marvel, DC, Image and other ratio variants, plus a special covers section organised by artist, from Alex Ross, Skottie Young, Peach Momoko and Artgerm to Southeast Asian names such as Leirix, Alan Quah, Derrick Chew and Tan Eng Huat. There is also a Local and Regional Comics section, which is a good place to find work from the region that the bigger chains rarely carry.

For readers rather than collectors, GnB stocks the collected editions too, from Marvel omnibuses, Epic Collections and Mighty Masterworks to DC Compact Comics and omnibuses. Sample prices on the website include Absolute Batman Vol. 1 in trade paperback at S$27.90, Absolute Superman Vol. 1 at S$23.90 and The Long Halloween in the DC Compact Comics edition at S$21.90. Pre-orders for single issues are listed too, such as Maximum X-Men #1, cover A, at S$8.90.

The menu reaches well beyond superheroes. There are complete sets from Dynamite, Image, IDW, Dark Horse and BOOM!, classic and retro comics, reprints, posters, statues and busts, T-shirts, comic supplies and a small manga section. GnB also runs a Wrestling Corner with wrestling merchandise, which is an unusual sideline for a comic shop and gives the store a crowd of fans who come in for that alone.

Pre-orders are where the regulars spend most of their time. The website files them by publisher, with separate lists for Marvel, DC, Image, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse, Dynamite, Zenescope and IDW, plus a dedicated Absolute pre-order shelf for DC's Absolute line. New arrivals are sorted the same way, with extra sections for Disney titles and Transformers facsimile editions, and a run of blank covers for anyone who collects sketch covers from artists at conventions.

Orders placed online can involve a short wait. A note on the site thanks customers for their patience and explains that back issues, pre-orders and payments that have to be verified by hand take longer to prepare and send. That is another reason a counter visit makes sense for anything you want the same day, while pre-orders for future releases are easier to place through the website at your own pace.

GnB has long leaned into the community side of comics. Its About page describes the shop's regulars as the GnB Universe, a close-knit family of collectors and readers, and the shop has a membership scheme for them. Free Comic Book Day is a fixture on its calendar, and the website lists the 2026 Free Comic Book Day titles for sale, such as the Conan the Barbarian: Tides of the Tyrant King #0 issue at S$3.00.

An honest note before you go: GnB sits in an older housing and shop block rather than a mall, so it feels more like a neighbourhood specialist than a destination store. It suits collectors who know what they want and readers looking for trades and graded books. If you mainly want manga volumes, a bookstore with a dedicated manga floor will have far more choice, and for weekly American issues on a Monday, when GnB is shut, Comics World on Selegie Road is open from noon.

Kitchener Complex is the block at 809 French Road, in the Jalan Besar and Lavender part of the city, and GnB is up on the second floor at unit #02-38. Look for the stairs or lift to level 2 and follow the unit numbers along the corridor. Because the shop is closed every Monday, plan your visit for Tuesday to Sunday, and note that Sunday has the shortest window, closing at 6pm.

The neighbourhood is a good one to wander after the shop. Jalan Besar is known for its old shophouses, hardware stores and coffee shops, and the stretch around Kitchener Road and Syed Alwi Road leads toward Serangoon Road and Little India. It makes an easy pairing for an afternoon: comics at GnB after noon, then food and a walk through Little India as the evening cools down.

Address: Blk 809 French Road, Kitchener Complex #02-38, Singapore 200809. Hours from the Google listing: Monday closed, Tuesday and Wednesday 12pm to 7pm, Thursday to Saturday 12pm to 8pm, Sunday 12pm to 6pm. Sample prices: Absolute Batman Vol. 1 TP S$27.90, The Long Halloween DC Compact S$21.90, Red Hood #1 CGC 9.8 S$189.00. Trading since 1997. Official CGC dealer.