Comments on: Mergers and acquisitions

By: thirstygirl

thirstygirl — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:07:49 +0000

The local comic books store has a wee tiny shelf of manga, it’s heavily slanted towards the shonen/seinen end of the spectrum and most series are represented by a single volume which is almost never the one I want. However the genshiken-style generic geek shop has recently expanded its manga selection to cover two walls and they are much better at keeping up to date on series. I just wish they were better at actually fulfilling orders- too many times I asked them to get a specific volume in for me and they haven’t. At which point i revert to the internet.

By: Chris Mautner

Chris Mautner — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:54:25 +0000

I think it needs to be pointed out though that a lot of retailers have attempted to attract manga buyers only to see the books gather dust on the shelves. Manga fans just aren’t accustomed to looking for their books at the comic store and I think it would take a real investment of time and money to change that attitude. And that’s not something a lot of shops necessarily have.

By: MangaBlog » Blog Archive » Borders lament, pretty shoujo, and Christian manga

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:49:50 +0000

[...] David Welsh and Tom Spurgeon are less negative (but not exactly more positive). My local B&N must be one of the exceptions, as they have expanded their graphic novel section to cover an entire wall (although I admit I have never seen YP manga there). [...]

By: Journalista - the news weblog of The Comics Journal » Blog Archive » Mar. 26, 2008: This hair is sapping my strength

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:07:05 +0000

[...] “As for the Direct Market missing the manga bus, I’m decreasingly of the opinion that all retailers are fools if they don’t stock manga. Entrepreneurs seem to function on something of a financial razor’s edge to begin with, and there are probably plenty of places that already sell manga in their communities. It seems like it would take a remarkable amount of strategizing and effort for a local comic shop to compete with a Borders or Barnes & Noble. Do I like to walk into a comic shop and find a healthy selection of manga? Sure, but only if someone on the staff is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the category. Token efforts lead to neglected stock, which seems worse than not bothering with manga at all.” - David Welsh [...]

By: John Jakala

John Jakala — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:58:27 +0000

My first thought about those Secret Invasion preview pages was, how incredibly dull. “It’s non-stop non-action in the Mighty Marvel Manner!!”