Goblin Market Manga & Curiosities

We've switched over to Christmas music, but we promise there's no Wham or Mariah Carey! Instead, we've lovingly created a holiday playlist with the Darkness, Captain Beefheart, the Damned, David Byrne, and a bunch more of our favorite bands. 🖤

We're really tired, and we'll respond as fast as we can! But unless it's something urgent, that probably won't be till after Christmas, which is our next day off

Don't try to friend me on my personal accounts when we've never met and message me on discord because I didn't respond to an email in 4 days over a holiday weekend!

Please be patient if you're trying to contact us, especially if you want us to promote your events! We try to get back to everyone, but we get a lot of messages, and this is a really busy time of year.

Now we're packing up the book fair, switching to holiday displays, and preparing for next weekend's trolley tours. (OK, I spent a lot of this evening working on a holiday playlist for next weekend that doesn't drive me crazy. But I get to unwind sometimes!)

This weekend's queer book fair was great, and we were blown away by the support!!! (Not gonna lie, having our worst Saturday in years on small business Saturday on the back of a slow summer had us starting to worry) And it was a lot of work

And we've had a really long couple weeks! We spent our only day off (Thanksgiving) assembling shelves and rearranging the store so we could be prepared for small business Saturday. Then that got snowed out, so we spent the next few days furiously planning for our holiday events.

Other than that, everything you see--ordering, social media, big events, and everything else--is just the three of us. We get a ton of emails and messages, and we try to respond as quickly as we can, but we don't have an events team.

Can we talk about boundaries for a sec? We love what we do, but I wish people would understand that we're a really small store! We have one part time employee who averages about 8 hours a month to help out with big events.

A folding chair in gross Chicago street snow. There's a print on the chair with a Field Guid to Chicago Dibs

A Field Guide to Chicago Dibs art print with an ironing board, television, grill, traffic come, folding chairs, virgin Mary lawn ornament, exercise bike, milk crates, and plastic toy car

Can't make it in to shop? Call dibs on our website, and we'll hold your order for up to a week. No folding chair required!

Print by @harebrained.bsky.social

A hand holding a candle with a pic of Mothman and the words Mothman's Burning Gaze in from of a plaque with Mothman's head

May we all be cleansed by Mothman's burning gaze

Today!

A porch goose dressed in a red fur line coat, hat, and ruff in the snow. Behind the house is a lot open sign in the window of Goblin Market

Stop by this afternoon for a big dose of Midwestern hospitality! Starting at 1pm, grab free a cup of hot cocoa with all the fixings in our Art and Community space. ❄️

[Member-led] Protecting Our Democracy Postcard Party · Indivisible Chicago Northwest Send messages to politicians, media, celebrities - anyone who has a platform and can do something to help protect our democracy. The printed postcards have been designed and printed by one of our memb...

Tonight at 6pm, join us to send messages to politicians, media, celebrities - anyone who has a platform and can do something to help protect our democracy. www.mobilize.us/indivisiblec...

Don Alsafi of Goblin Market behind a bunch of boxes of books

Last delivery before Black Friday! We're open until 6pm today, then we're closed tomorrow for Thanksgiving.

Flyer with an illustration of a cat in a pumpkin with the words It's A Goblin Market Thanksgiving

Hang out with us this Sunday at our Friendsgiving party!

Three people in costume standing over a player laying on the ground. Their pose implies they are in prayer and the character on the ground is dead

A costumed player holding a potato

Two people in costume. One is in a green Tudor style dress and the other is in gold brocade and furs.

Thanks to everyone who played Court in the Act last night! You were all amazing, even if you didn't catch the murderer.

Indie rpgs with a sticker featuring a mouse in a vampire costume. The stickers list the player count on the games.

We just got a huge indie ttrpg restock. Check out our new removable stickers that answer the most common question we get — how many players is this for?

(we love having a sticker maker!)

An Elizabeth painting with the words Court in the Act, and Elizabethan Murder Mystery. Friday Nov 21, finger foods provided

We're down to our last few tickets for Court in the Act—An Elizabethan Murder Mystery this Friday! There are only a few roles left, so the remaining tickets are 40% off.

Tickets: courtintheact.eventbrite.com

We strive not to arrange majority-white #TTRPG tables for our #actualplay #fundraiser, so we’re leaving applications open a while longer. Folks of any race, ethnicity, and gender are welcome to apply! And we’d really appreciate a boost in your RPG circles to get us in front of more people!

Daniel of Goblin Market holding a copy of Yokai by Shigeru Mizuku. He's standing in front of a shelf of manga at Goblin Market.

Keep the spooky season going! Daniel’s pick this week is Yokai: Shigeru Mizuki’s Supernatural Parade. This isn’t a traditional manga with a story but more of a bestiary presenting 100 illustrations and descriptions of yokai and other supernatural beings from Japanese folklore.

A woman painting a Santa hat on a frog on the outside of a shop window

The front exterior of Goblin Market. The windows are painted with a Halloween & Christmas theme

We're not ready for spooky season to be over! And if Michael's can sell Christmas trees in September, we can make Halloween last a while longer. What do you think of our spooky Christmas windows?

A bookstore display shows two shelves filled with colorful queer fiction. On the upper row, the visible books include titles like Dicurious, Herculine, The Princess Knight, We Have Reached the End of Our Show, and others. On the lower row, from left to right, is The Entanglement of Rival Wizards, a handwritten sign, and Heart of Iron by C.M. Alongi. The sign is written in black marker and says: “Even More Queer Prose (fantasy, romance, sci-fi, horror) Coming Soon!” The books all feature bright illustrated covers, and the display sits on a dark wooden shelf against a light wall.

We're expanding our prose offerings! What do you want to see on our shelves?

A beige flyer with a row of bright blue illustrated canned-food items across the top: green peas, chicken soup, instant ramen, silly chili beans, oatmeal, fruit cocktail, and sweet corn. Centered bold black text reads: Volunteers needed. Below it, teal text says: “Can you help us transport food to Brave Space Alliance on Mondays or Tuesdays? DM @goblin.mkt to volunteer.” Along the bottom, there is a second row of the same illustrated cans.

For more info or to volunteer to help out: fooddrive.nerdychicago.com

Section header: Dry pantry items Items listed underneath: Dry beans Dry lentils Dry or flavored rice Mac and cheese Pasta and pasta sauce Instant potatoes Peanut butter Jelly Cereal, oatmeal, or grits Pancake mix or Bisquick Instant coffee Bread Tortillas Cooking oil Next section header: Canned goods Items listed underneath: Ravioli or spaghetti Chili Soup (all varieties) Canned beans Canned vegetables Canned fruits Canned chicken breast Tuna

Bold black text reads “Coat & winter clothing drive.” Beneath it, smaller teal text says “Supporting New Hope Food Pantry and Brave Space Alliance.” A list of items follows in black text: Gloves Hats Handwarmers New socks and underwear Scarves A subheading in bold black text reads: “Bulky items – bring to Goblin Market.” Items listed under it: Winter coats and jackets Sweaters

We can accept dry pantry items and canned goods that are unopened and not expired.

We're also collecting winter clothing. Some locations don't have a lot of storage space, so please bring bulky items, like coats and sweaters, to Goblin Market.

A flyer with stylized illustrations of seven bright blue canned-food items along the top: green peas, chicken soup, instant ramen, “silly chili beans,” oatmeal, fruit cocktail, and sweet corn. Bold black headline text reads: LINCOLN AVENUE FOOD DRIVE Smaller teal text underneath: SUPPORTING THE BRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE COMMUNITY PANTRY DONATE DRY PANTRY GOODS AND CANNED GOODS TO THE BRAVE SPACE ALLIANCE COMMUNITY PANTRY AT ANY OF THESE LOCAL BUSINESSES: A list of participating locations follows: BEERMISCQUOUS — 2812 N LINCOLN AVE BOOKCLUB — 2871 N LINCOLN AVE COFFEE LAB — 2823 N LINCOLN AVE GOBLIN MARKET — 2868 N LINCOLN AVE HERITAGE BIKES & COFFEE — 2959 N LINCOLN AVE OLIVE BLACK — 3032 N LINCOLN AVE ROTOFUGI — 2780 N LINCOLN AVE S&G RESTAURANT — 3000 N LINCOLN AVE THREE AVENUES BOOKSHOP — 3009 N SOUTHPORT NOVEMBER 16–30.

Help keep Chicago fed! Lincoln Ave businesses are teaming up to collect donations for the Brave Space Alliance community pantry from November 16-30.

[Member-led] Protecting Our Democracy Postcard Party · Indivisible Chicago Northwest Send messages to politicians, media, celebrities - anyone who has a platform and can do something to help protect our democracy. The printed postcards have been designed and printed by one of our memb...

www.mobilize.us/indivisiblec.... #Chicago Northside @goblinmkt.bsky.social

Bring pens and stamps.

Don Alsafi holding Die and the Die RPG at Goblin Market

The award-winning fantasy/horror/RPG comic from Kieron Gillen & Stephanie Hans is back with a new series! And did you know they've created an actual RPG to go along with it? Pick up the new comic and the RPG Quickstart Edition, and see for yourself!

Whistle party at beermiscuous, wed., nov 12 6pm, 2812 n lincoln and at three avenues, 3009 n southport, overflow at goblin market, 2868 n lincoln

TONIGHT! Whistle Party at 6pm! Co-hosted with Three Avenues and @goblinmkt.bsky.social! Pack whistles with your neighbors and keep our communities safe.

The outside of Goblin Market. There are cute ghosts and autumnal leaves painted on the window. The plant holder is covered in snow, and there's snow on the windowsill. The open sign is on.

It's so pretty outside! Brave the snow and pay us a visit!