As we've discussed, your choices for print versions of your favorite American mainstream and smaller-press comics in Japan are very limited. As in almost non-existent. You can find some online retailers and pay massive shipping costs or you can buy digitally. The latter is what I've settled on doing through Comixology and, to a lesser extent, the also nifty Dark Horse online store.
While I don't mean to shill for Comixology-- not being able to download your comics to read them offline is a major irritant I have with them, after all-- or for Dark Horse-- same deal-- as a comic fan in Japan, those are really the only games in town. Strangely enough, after years of accumulating actual hold-in-your-hand comic magazines stored in the classic "longbox," I now have the most extensive comic book collection of my life in digital form. I own comics I could only dream about having-- key books from the Golden Age, almost three dozen Fantastic Fours by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, complete runs of favorite titles from my childhood and teenage years plus a scattering of random choices from some newer offerings. And even though I'm not a supporter of what Marvel and DC are doing these days, I am buying a few individual issues just to keep up with developments or because I like a particular character or other.
Dani Moonstar and Katana, I'm looking at you!
I haven't spent as much money at Dark Horse, but there's no reason for that beyond my obsession with books like Kamandi and The Walking Dead, which you can only buy from Comixology. Eventually I'll hit Dark Horse up for all the Hellboy and Conan titles they carry, plus those Creepy and Eerie collections I love. In the meantime, Comixology also offers IDW and Fantagraphics products, Image, The Rude Dude Productions Nexus issues and their new self-submission titles, some of which are worth reading.
If you're living here in Japan and you're interested, you need to check out both Comixology and Dark Horse.
Showing posts with label buying American comics in Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label buying American comics in Japan. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Comics shopping in Tokyo: April 2013
Monster was a very cool shop to hang out in even if the comic book selection was pretty slender. It's easy to find, only a minute or so from Ebisu station-- right on the Yamanote Line, so there's no chance of getting lost-- and the store is absolutely jam-packed with superhero and movie toys. They seem to specialize in Star Wars but they had a lot of DC and Marvel action figures and statues, plus all kinds of other neat little items. This stuff isn't cheap, but Monster is worth a stop if you're jonesing for little Luke Skywalkers (or that mega-expensive two-figure 1/6th scale Bespin Luke from Hot Toys; he was in stock), die cast metal Batmobiles or plastic figures of Wonder Woman in her new costume. Or if you just like looking at such things. I was hoping they might have the new Dani Moonstar action figure, and while they did have others from that series (with her picture on the back of the package), she was nowhere to be found. Heartbreaking!
The customers were nice, a mixed crowd of young men and women, some parents and their little kids browsing and having pop culture fun. I also found the staff very pleasant. Big smiles and arigato gozaimashitas to seal the deal. I had a great time there, and I can't say I was disappointed not to find a massive selection of new and old comics. I didn't have much expectation of that in the first place. Still, I'll be making regular visits to Monster when I go to Tokyo. It beats hauling my butt all the way to Akihabara to see the same things, plus there are a lot of intriguing restaurants on the same street.
With Blister closed for the weekend, my only other choice was to find Manga No Mori in Ikebukuro. This proved an exercise in frustration. I finally located its former location, which is now a K-Books Men's. They sell those plastic statues and artwork of cutie-pie nearly-nekkid anime/manga girls. Kind of ironic, when one of the draws of Manga No Mori was its reputation for catering to female customers. I didn't expect to find any Cass there-- another shot in the dark-- but I had hoped to find the store at least. Since I'm not into the kind of stuff they sell, I didn't linger at K-Books Men's.
Speaking of catering to female comic customers, visiting the huge Animate in Ikebukuro was a highlight. First of all, just look at it!
That is one mammoth slab of comic book fun. Are there comic book shops this large in the United States? I tend to doubt it, and I doubt if there were they'd be as crowded as Ikebukuro's Animate shop. Just the line for the elevator made it seem like an amusement park attraction. I opted for the steps.
I didn't take any photos inside because I thought it would be rude, but there were plenty of people inside who had no qualms about snapping away. Now I'm thinking it was a missed opportunity. I mean, this place was just bustling and the lines for the cash registers on each floor made looking at merchandise difficult, like trying to watch a baseball game through a wooden fence.
And yes, most of the customers-- but not all-- were women and girls. A very bright, cheerful environment and as many comics about boys kissing boys as you could read in a lifetime. All in Japanese, of course. There is a floor for guy comics, too. And a section with manga-making supplies like paper, pencils, all kinds of ink pens, comic-making computer programs, color markers and more.
I'd read many times about Otome Road, the girly version of Akihabara. Having experienced the dude side in Akiba a few times, I was curious to see how the other half lives. Well, I must be an idiot because I couldn't find it. Others who are smarter than I am have had better luck and you can read about their happier experiences elsewhere. I'm more than a little disappointed I didn't get to visit any cosplay shops there, but if you look at my last photo you can see a brown van parked just in front of the main entrance of Animate. That's for buying food and the young women running it might have been cosplayers. I saw some startlingly white hair. Just down the street was a small park with its own festival in progress.
There I definitely saw some cosplayers. They were having a photo session. I strolled by just to check them out. So I suppose my story has a happy ending after all.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Monster in Ebisu! (Don't worry-- it's only a toy store with American comics)
Okay, for the longest time I've been claiming Blister in Nihonbashi was the only place to get American comics in Tokyo. By comics I mean the newest monthly issues, not the trades; tons of those can be had at Tower Records (Shibuya) and Kinokuniya (various, but Shinjuku is probably the one you want). I'm happy to say I was (more than likely) wrong about that. I have to go to Tokyo for some official business this weekend and since Blister is closed the days I'll be there, I started doing some Internet searches for other possible sources for four-color amusements of the super-caped-heroic kind. Or possibly the Hellboy-ish.
To get to the point, I found a nice blog by someone named Filipo who apparently lives in Japan and collects comics. Filipo missed a chance at Blister (the dreaded orange wall of closure gives me the willies), but found a place called Monster, located in Ebisu. Monster is mostly a toy shop but they have a small selection of American comics. Actually, from Filipo's description, Monster seems pretty much like Blister. Maybe not as ambitious as the original Blister, which was freakin' geek paradise and a must-stop for those tripping through Japan with comic book print running in their veins instead of blood. But still Blister-esque as far as the current incarnation of Blister goes.
I'd been planning to keep things simple-- I would have been satisfied with finding Manga no Mori in Ikebukuro-- because this is really a business trip, but now I'm going to have to stop at Ebisu and find Monster just to see if it's worth making it a regular destination.
To get to the point, I found a nice blog by someone named Filipo who apparently lives in Japan and collects comics. Filipo missed a chance at Blister (the dreaded orange wall of closure gives me the willies), but found a place called Monster, located in Ebisu. Monster is mostly a toy shop but they have a small selection of American comics. Actually, from Filipo's description, Monster seems pretty much like Blister. Maybe not as ambitious as the original Blister, which was freakin' geek paradise and a must-stop for those tripping through Japan with comic book print running in their veins instead of blood. But still Blister-esque as far as the current incarnation of Blister goes.
I'd been planning to keep things simple-- I would have been satisfied with finding Manga no Mori in Ikebukuro-- because this is really a business trip, but now I'm going to have to stop at Ebisu and find Monster just to see if it's worth making it a regular destination.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Ann Nocenti talks about her new book, "Katana"
I'm going to buy the first few issues of DC's new title Katana (on Comixology, of course) because I've always liked this character. Also, I live in Japan, so there's that connection. I like to read American comics to see how they treat Japanese culture and what elements they're keying on. Sometimes the results are pretty amusing!
People are already ragging on Ann Nocenti's writing, which isn't really fair. But this is comics fandom, where fair, open-minded and easy-going have no place. Alex Sanchez's art looks enticing. I'm anxious to see if it holds up over the course of an issue with actual story sequences and panel-to-panel transitions and all that good stuff is involved.
If nothing else, I'll get some good essay fodder for this blog!
People are already ragging on Ann Nocenti's writing, which isn't really fair. But this is comics fandom, where fair, open-minded and easy-going have no place. Alex Sanchez's art looks enticing. I'm anxious to see if it holds up over the course of an issue with actual story sequences and panel-to-panel transitions and all that good stuff is involved.
If nothing else, I'll get some good essay fodder for this blog!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Desperate for American comics, I plunge into the digital world and read "Batgirl" on my iPhone!
Yep. It was bound to happen once I located my credit card. Making trips to Tokyo to visit Blister is fun but way too expensive. What's a comic book junkie to do to get his or her fix here in Japan, if said comic book fan loves not only manga but things like Walking Dead, Nexus, Batgirl and Love and Rockets? That's where digital comics come in handy. Very handy.
One of the fun aspects of going digital with Comixology (and possibly Dark Horse as well, although I have yet to experiment) is having the ability to download your comics to your iPhone and read them through Comixology's app. Yes, this traditionalist finds reading comics on an iPhone fun. I downloaded all my Cass Cain Batgirl issues to my phone (plus my Nexus, New Mutants and old school Valiant titles) over the weekend and they really came in handy yesterday as I ran errands and spent a lot of down time just waiting for others to handle their end of my very important business.
My initial objection to doing this involved not being able to scan the entire page.
I believe page layout to be a dying art in this age of "widescreen" storytelling, where artists generally just stack a lot of horizontal panels on top of each other, then break it up with a vertical close-up inset shot of someone screaming. There aren't that many Will Eisners or Bernie Krigsteins or even Jim Sterankos walking around anymore. It's gotten to where I prefer someone just doing the ancient "three tier" format because you don't have to figure out panel order and sometimes the panels come closer to that pleasant "golden ratio" centuries of Western art has taught us to recognize and love. For example, Jamie Hernandez with his beautiful drawings and simple, clean, fun page layouts.
Page layout is just as important as the panel-to-panel stuff in leading your eyes around and through the action. A good storyteller remembers all that plane of action stuff and where the characters are relative to each other within each panel, but also helps the reader understand what's happening by doing the visual equivalent of expert tour guiding. Plus all those tricks Will Eisner talks about in his books, varying panel sizes and shapes to create the illusion of time passing at various speeds. It all goes back to layout. As a reader, you approach the page as a whole, then delve into the little squares and rectangles within which your favorite characters strut their stuff. I didn't want to lose that.
Anyway, to my surprise, I discovered Damion Scott's Batgirl actually reads better on the iPhone, which takes you through with the rest of the page cropped out, than it does when you have the actual comic in front of you. While he's an excellent action-based storyteller in panel-to-panel terms, sometimes his pages are a bit busy. On the iPhone, some of Scott's panel-to-panel transitions almost animate themselves as you click through. It's a neat effect.
Some of the other books I looked at didn't fare as well. Panels had to be awkwardly snipped to fit on the screen and then "slide" so you could get the entire scene. Sometimes it would give a nice cinematic pan instead, which was often a revelation. Usually, though, this would have a "pan-and-scan" effect like watching a movie cropped to fit one of those TVs like the ones I grew up with, the heavy, wood-framed beauties that were as much furniture as they were entertainment centers. It creates reading pauses that run counter to the artists' intentions.
The small size of the iPhone reduces the figures, which simplifies them slightly so you're losing a bit of the rendering the artists worked so hard on. That's a bit of a disappointment. Again, it serves Scott well because he specializes in broad acting, big, bold expressions and stylized faces that show up quite clearly on the iPhone screen. Some of the artists who use a lot of subtle, fine-lined work tend to soften. I wouldn't suggest any artist change his or her drawing style to fit this medium, but I think artists with simpler looks with fewer lines and lots of black spotting like Mike Mignola and Bruce Timm won't lose a whole lot on iPhone.
On the other hand, the text remains surprisingly clear and readable. So there are trade-offs to the convenience of being able to carry with you at all times as many comics as your iPhone's storage capacity allows. I see it this device more as an adjunct to your reading experience than a replacement for larger formats. It's a matter of convenience reading.
Now my main qualm about Comixology and Dark Horse digital comics is you're paying the same amount as you would for the print issue, but you don't actually own the comic itself, just a license to read it on your computer or phone. At home, I can't download the comics I've paid for and read them offline. I have to visit the websites. I can understand this from a standpoint of preventing piracy, but to be frank, that Black Pearl has already sailed. For now, this kind of like buying comics but keeping them at your friend's house and reading them through a window while she holds them up and turns the pages when you ask.
Even so, here in Japan where American funny books are difficult to come by, digital comics are your best bet for immediate gratification. Walking Dead has been making me kind of sick lately, but at the same time, I can't look away. When #107 comes out, I'm going to be there on the first day rather than having to wait for a collected edition or make a trip to Tokyo in hopes it hasn't sold out at Blister. And it's nice to know I have access to every issue of the Cass Cain Batgirl no matter where I am or what time it is.
One of the fun aspects of going digital with Comixology (and possibly Dark Horse as well, although I have yet to experiment) is having the ability to download your comics to your iPhone and read them through Comixology's app. Yes, this traditionalist finds reading comics on an iPhone fun. I downloaded all my Cass Cain Batgirl issues to my phone (plus my Nexus, New Mutants and old school Valiant titles) over the weekend and they really came in handy yesterday as I ran errands and spent a lot of down time just waiting for others to handle their end of my very important business.
My initial objection to doing this involved not being able to scan the entire page.
I believe page layout to be a dying art in this age of "widescreen" storytelling, where artists generally just stack a lot of horizontal panels on top of each other, then break it up with a vertical close-up inset shot of someone screaming. There aren't that many Will Eisners or Bernie Krigsteins or even Jim Sterankos walking around anymore. It's gotten to where I prefer someone just doing the ancient "three tier" format because you don't have to figure out panel order and sometimes the panels come closer to that pleasant "golden ratio" centuries of Western art has taught us to recognize and love. For example, Jamie Hernandez with his beautiful drawings and simple, clean, fun page layouts.
Page layout is just as important as the panel-to-panel stuff in leading your eyes around and through the action. A good storyteller remembers all that plane of action stuff and where the characters are relative to each other within each panel, but also helps the reader understand what's happening by doing the visual equivalent of expert tour guiding. Plus all those tricks Will Eisner talks about in his books, varying panel sizes and shapes to create the illusion of time passing at various speeds. It all goes back to layout. As a reader, you approach the page as a whole, then delve into the little squares and rectangles within which your favorite characters strut their stuff. I didn't want to lose that.
Anyway, to my surprise, I discovered Damion Scott's Batgirl actually reads better on the iPhone, which takes you through with the rest of the page cropped out, than it does when you have the actual comic in front of you. While he's an excellent action-based storyteller in panel-to-panel terms, sometimes his pages are a bit busy. On the iPhone, some of Scott's panel-to-panel transitions almost animate themselves as you click through. It's a neat effect.
Some of the other books I looked at didn't fare as well. Panels had to be awkwardly snipped to fit on the screen and then "slide" so you could get the entire scene. Sometimes it would give a nice cinematic pan instead, which was often a revelation. Usually, though, this would have a "pan-and-scan" effect like watching a movie cropped to fit one of those TVs like the ones I grew up with, the heavy, wood-framed beauties that were as much furniture as they were entertainment centers. It creates reading pauses that run counter to the artists' intentions.
The small size of the iPhone reduces the figures, which simplifies them slightly so you're losing a bit of the rendering the artists worked so hard on. That's a bit of a disappointment. Again, it serves Scott well because he specializes in broad acting, big, bold expressions and stylized faces that show up quite clearly on the iPhone screen. Some of the artists who use a lot of subtle, fine-lined work tend to soften. I wouldn't suggest any artist change his or her drawing style to fit this medium, but I think artists with simpler looks with fewer lines and lots of black spotting like Mike Mignola and Bruce Timm won't lose a whole lot on iPhone.
On the other hand, the text remains surprisingly clear and readable. So there are trade-offs to the convenience of being able to carry with you at all times as many comics as your iPhone's storage capacity allows. I see it this device more as an adjunct to your reading experience than a replacement for larger formats. It's a matter of convenience reading.
Now my main qualm about Comixology and Dark Horse digital comics is you're paying the same amount as you would for the print issue, but you don't actually own the comic itself, just a license to read it on your computer or phone. At home, I can't download the comics I've paid for and read them offline. I have to visit the websites. I can understand this from a standpoint of preventing piracy, but to be frank, that Black Pearl has already sailed. For now, this kind of like buying comics but keeping them at your friend's house and reading them through a window while she holds them up and turns the pages when you ask.
Even so, here in Japan where American funny books are difficult to come by, digital comics are your best bet for immediate gratification. Walking Dead has been making me kind of sick lately, but at the same time, I can't look away. When #107 comes out, I'm going to be there on the first day rather than having to wait for a collected edition or make a trip to Tokyo in hopes it hasn't sold out at Blister. And it's nice to know I have access to every issue of the Cass Cain Batgirl no matter where I am or what time it is.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Christmas comic book junket underway...
A trip to Tokyo. That's right. Christmas in the big city. We will be making a stop at Blister at some point in the coming week (if it's open) so I'll let you know what's on sale here in Japan.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Amazon Japan is your lifeline to English-language comics in country where a lot of people love comic books
To make a very broad statement, Japanese people like comic books. Comics are mainstream here. People of all ages and genders read them openly much more so than back home where even if you read the artsy stuff you have to use awkward terms like "graphic novel" to differentiate your refined tastes from those of the stereotypical geek who obsesses over how many stripes there are on Captain America's mighty shield. Comic books are available in massive quantities in convenience stores and bookstores all over the place. Then you have your comic superstores like Mandarake. The catch is they're Japanese comics. If you love manga and you can read Japanese, Japan is the place to be!
Unless you want English-language comics. In which case, your best bet is to order from Amazon Japan. Amazon Japan carries everything from BOOM! Studios to Viz and all that's in between. You can also order some out-of-print books from international sources.
I do a lot of business with Amazon Japan. When Fantagraphics puts out their latest Love and Rockets volume from Los Bros Hernandez, I order it from Amazon Japan. When a new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comes out, that's where I buy it. I've now got a nice collection of Dark Horse archive books like Nexus, Creepy and Eerie, plus some DC Showcase volumes and two of their Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus softcovers, Hate! and a lot of other stuff the names of which escape me. This past weekend I got It's Tokyo, Charlie Brown from KaBOOM! Studios and Tales of the Batman: Gene Colan Volume One from DC. I paid for the latter at a convenience store Tuesday evening and delivered by a letter carrier early Friday morning; I would have gotten it sooner, but the first delivery attempt failed because I wasn't at home. I also order English-language editions of the homegrown stuff, like Lady Snowblood, Wandering Son and Nana.
You can even buy a very few mainstream monthly titles-- Superman, Batman, Star Wars and Archie. They're not cheap, but neither is a trip to Tokyo. Even in the States, new monthlies are ridiculously overpriced, but here in Japan, they're even more so. You have to be really desperate for a fix to pay these import prices. If you're willing to wait, it's much more economical to wait for the inevitable paperback collection. If the exchange rates break your way, you can pick up some bargains via Amazon.
You don't have to have a credit card, either. You can use one, of course, but as I wrote, you can pay at a convenience store-- the process involves using a digital kiosk (it also allows you to buy concert and airline tickets plus pay your bills), entering a few numbers, printing out a little slip and having the cashier handle the rest. My favorite option is COD, or cash-on-delivery. You get your books faster this way. The delivery person shows up, you give them the money and everyone is happy.
Especially you, because you now have something fun to read.
Unless you want English-language comics. In which case, your best bet is to order from Amazon Japan. Amazon Japan carries everything from BOOM! Studios to Viz and all that's in between. You can also order some out-of-print books from international sources.
I do a lot of business with Amazon Japan. When Fantagraphics puts out their latest Love and Rockets volume from Los Bros Hernandez, I order it from Amazon Japan. When a new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comes out, that's where I buy it. I've now got a nice collection of Dark Horse archive books like Nexus, Creepy and Eerie, plus some DC Showcase volumes and two of their Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus softcovers, Hate! and a lot of other stuff the names of which escape me. This past weekend I got It's Tokyo, Charlie Brown from KaBOOM! Studios and Tales of the Batman: Gene Colan Volume One from DC. I paid for the latter at a convenience store Tuesday evening and delivered by a letter carrier early Friday morning; I would have gotten it sooner, but the first delivery attempt failed because I wasn't at home. I also order English-language editions of the homegrown stuff, like Lady Snowblood, Wandering Son and Nana.
You can even buy a very few mainstream monthly titles-- Superman, Batman, Star Wars and Archie. They're not cheap, but neither is a trip to Tokyo. Even in the States, new monthlies are ridiculously overpriced, but here in Japan, they're even more so. You have to be really desperate for a fix to pay these import prices. If you're willing to wait, it's much more economical to wait for the inevitable paperback collection. If the exchange rates break your way, you can pick up some bargains via Amazon.
You don't have to have a credit card, either. You can use one, of course, but as I wrote, you can pay at a convenience store-- the process involves using a digital kiosk (it also allows you to buy concert and airline tickets plus pay your bills), entering a few numbers, printing out a little slip and having the cashier handle the rest. My favorite option is COD, or cash-on-delivery. You get your books faster this way. The delivery person shows up, you give them the money and everyone is happy.
Especially you, because you now have something fun to read.
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