HD Comics: New shop opens in Market Parade for Cork's comic book lovers 

Alan Hurley has opened the first dedicated comic shop in the city since Comic Vault shut in 2023

Alan Hurley of HD Comics at the Market Parade in Cork. Picture: Noel Sweeney

Within the same week that one much-loved independent Cork City business announced it was closing (Prime Time clothes store on Washington Street), another opened. Located in the Market Parade mall, connecting the English Market to Patrick’s Street, HD Comics is the first fully dedicated comic book shop in the city since Comic Vault on Oliver Plunkett Street Lower closed almost three years ago.

The people behind it are childhood friends, Alan Hurley and James Dwyer. “James is more of an entrepreneur; I’m more of a comic fan,” says Hurley, who says they only decided to start this venture in October.

“A comic shop is fairly straightforward. You buy the stock, and you sell the stock. And you read the stock,” Hurley adds with a chuckle. “It’s not really complicated. I know there’s going to be other complications, but running a shop is fairly simple.

“We’re both pretty easy-going people. We really want this to succeed, obviously, but it mightn’t. If it doesn’t it’s not the end of the world.”

Alan Hurley at his comic store in Cork. Picture: Noel Sweeney

Hurley has loved comics all his life. “I remember getting my first Buster comic on my sixth birthday and literally being obsessed. And reading the Beano,the Dandy and Buster for a few years.” 

An aunt who used to work for a magazine distributor in Dublin passed on issues of Batman, Superman and Spider-Man. While an uncle gave him his collection of Spider-Man and X-Men.

“I’ve been getting comics every week ever since and I haven’t stopped,” he says. 

Hurley’s main occupation is as a portrait artist. And while he feels it was nurtured in him when he studied art at Colaiste an Spioraid Naomh in Bishopstown, he doesn’t believe he would be doing art if it weren’t for comics.

“I got into that through comics. Even though it’s not comic book art t’s all art, and I just love art,” he insists.

Hurley got his first taste of running a comic book shop in the final eight months of the Comic Vault. When its owner took up a new business opportunity, he asked Hurley, a regular customer who had filled in behind the counter on a few occasions, if he’d like to take over. Hurley decided to give it a shot.

“Through that then you learn how it is and you learn things you should be doing and shouldn’t be doing,” he reflects. “The Comic Vault was a good shop, but the location wasn’t great. We felt if we wanted to continue, we would need a better location, and at that stage we couldn’t really afford to get a better location.” 

Since the Comic Vault closed, he and Dwyer would regularly discuss the idea of running a comic shop, but a visit to Cork’s first fully fledged Comic Con event at the Marina Market on the docks last October was the spur they needed.

“We saw how busy it was,” Hurley notes. And indeed, it was said to have drawn more than 6,000 visitors. “We didn’t think we’d actually find suitable shop locations, and we actually found a few in the end. Within a certain budget. We thought they were going to be more expensive.

“Rent! Don’t get me wrong. It’s not cheap around the city, but for here it’s pretty good. Especially as it’s a small unit. We wouldn’t be able to afford anything bigger, but we don’t need anything bigger. It’s perfect for what it is.” 

HD Comics is cosy, well-stocked and attracted a lot of business in its early days. Hurley concedes that comics can appear pricey to some — a single issue floppy comic is around €5, while an average trade paperback is about €20 — but he points out more affordable lines such as the DC Compact Comics range.

Alan Hurley inside HD Comics at the Market Parade in Cork. Picture: Noel Sweeney

“They’re very popular books,” he outlines. “They’re packaged smaller. They’re novel sized. They’re much cheaper. They’re really good for getting people into comics. They’re around €12/€13. You get a really big story. You get 12 issues in a really nice package. It’s not a risk really. And all the stories are proven to be popular.”

Another DC publication that has proved extremely successful is their Absolute series, and local demand for the recent Absolute Batman title, written by Scott Snyder, has proved to be very keen.

Currently, the downstairs section of the shop contains new and certain quality out-of-print, second-hand books, while upstairs hosts proper second-hand and older comics. But by the time March comes around, Hurley promises they will have all the up-to-date titles.

“I’m excited,” he exclaims. “When all your orders are up to date then your big days are a thing called new comic day, which is every Wednesday.”