Hello, friends. If you collect American comic books and live in Japan, you know how expensive shipping is from the US. I realize I’ve never actually bought a comic book in a store here. Those in the know, tell me: do any of you actually buy comic books in a store? If you do, where (Kanto area preferred)? I’ve stepped in a bunch of manga stores but I’ve never seen an American comic book in one. A little bit tired of online browsing, to be honest.
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Googling for アメコミ専門店 comes up with a few stores in Tokyo.
I’m not in Kanto – the only place I could find down here in Kansai was in Kobe, and that shop was a) tiny, b) overpriced, and c) more about selling merch than comics. So I buy all my comics digitally these days – Comixology was a godsend, and I will hold a grudge towards Amazon for a long time for mucking it up.
I buy digitally because the comics here are so expensive. But, physical English copies are available in Osaka Umeda at Kinokuniya.
ヤフオク is not fully reliable but goes a long way. But for New stuff idk
(Honestly at this point the paper-light tablet has been the move)
There are English comics at this store in Shinjuku:[https://store.kinokuniya.co.jp/store/books-kinokuniya-tokyo/](https://store.kinokuniya.co.jp/store/books-kinokuniya-tokyo/)
The prices are more expensive than back home (of course) but not nearly as much as the shipping costs when you order online.
I’ve been reading Marvel comics since I was kid, I’m a huge Marvel comics fan.
In Akihabara there’s a small comic book shop named Blister. Not only do they have the US comics in a box look to their layout they also have Japanese versions of a lot of comics (more of the special books). I’ve gotten Secret invasion in Japanese from them earlier in the year.
They do have DC & Vertigo too.
On Yahoo Auctions they have a category specifically for American comics:
[https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/category/list/2084008750/](https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/category/list/2084008750/)
Before the pandemic you could often find some really good deals on there, but prices have gone through the roof over the past 3 years.
In the past I’ve occasionally found American comics at Mandarake, but its not something they regularly stock.
used comixology before
Very good question.
When I moved here I scoured a lot of places to see if I could find anywhere stocking new stuff, but came up empty. The best I could do was Aoyama Book Center in Roppongi. Not been in years, just checked Google Maps and it says it has closed down. It mainly stocked TPBs but they had quite a lot in English.
If you’re after vintage stuff (probably not) there were a few places in Kanda/Jimbocho. I found a place that was mainly selling US movie posters that had a lot of stuff in the front of the store. Prices were high so I gave up.
As some others have suggested, you may want to go digital. Not quite the same as the real thing but if you need to keep up, it’s the most convenient.
Verse in Ikebukuro or I use a re-shipper in the US.
If you want physical copies, Verse Comics Ikebukuro has a good selection and gets actual single issue comics.
Kinokuniya also has some selection.
Depending on what you are looking for, you can sometimes find older and harder to find English comics on Surugaya, Merikari, and once in a blue moon on Amazon/Rakuten.
If you like Marvel and dont mind digital and want to save some money, I highly recommend the Marvel Unlimited app.
My husband used to buy from [verse comics](https://versecomics.jp/) and [blister comics](http://blistercomics.jp/).
Currently living in Tokyo here, had bought from Verse and Blister.
Both are great shops, highly recommend!!
nakano mandarake. I was there yesterday
@Wonder in Jimbocho has american comics in English and Japanese. They also specialize in old Japanese Sci-Fi novels and movie posters, if those tickle your fancy